Page 4 of Wildflower Hearts
“Sam! John! Come have a seat,” Bruce called out. “Still smoking, I see!”
There was panic all around when she reentered her floor, staff rushing back and forth. Lyla picked up the pace of her steps, eventually breaking into a run past the nurse’s station. She skidded to a halt by Noah Kingsley’s room, catching sight of his brothers and family being detained outside, while nurses and Dr. Moore hovered around the his bed.
She signaled to the family she’d be a minute and dove into the room, cleaning her hands with disinfectant from the wall dispenser. “What’s going on?”
“Patient is experiencing TC syndrome.” Dr. Moore shot instructions at the nurses as Noah shook violently on the bed. “I need you to take position by the patient’s head, Nurse Hamilton.”
She followed directions while the nurses removed all the loose objects from around the bed.
“Let’s move him to a recovery position on the count of three,” he instructed. “One. Two. Three.”
They shifted Noah on the final count onto his injured side. Lyla bent close to his face, checking his mouth to ensure his air passage remained unblocked.
“I need ten ccs of Diazepam!”
A nurse handed him a syringe while another tied a tourniquet around his arm. Everyone went quiet as he tested the vein and injected the shot. He handed back the empty syringe, and theywatched Noah’s movements slow, his body relaxing. His chest began to move in and out in a steady rhythm.
“Good work.” He took the clipboard handed to him, scribbling down a few notes. “Nurse Hamilton, I will need you to stay on this floor as much as possible. As you’re aware, we’re running short on staff, so I need you to oversee Mr. Kingsley in the case of any more emergencies.”
“You’re giving me clearance to administer?”
He handed the clipboard to a nurse. “That is, if you think you can handle it. Seven years is enough time to know your way around this hospital blindfolded, don’t you think?”
“Yes, Dr. Moore.”
“Good.” He capped his pen and slid it into his front coat pocket. “You’re in charge of this floor seeing how you have most of the runs until shift change. I will need you to pull a double shift. Are you up to the challenge?”
She wasn’t sure, but she nodded anyway.
“Excellent.” He made his way out of the room, stopping at the door. “Take care of the family. I have another operation I need to oversee.”
Lyla nodded again, and he disappeared into the hall. She glanced around to check that no one was watching and took a moment to jump up and down, shaking the tremors out of her hands. As she calmed down, she took another look at the patient, checking to make sure he was breathing fine and that his IV tubes were unrestricted. Satisfied, she flattened her hands over her scrubs and stepped away from the bed.
Chapter Three
“Is he okay?”
She motioned Elias inside. The rest of the family entered behind him, worried looks on each of their faces. A nurse edged around them, and she recognized her instantly as Reba, a short redhead hired a year ago.
“Is there anything you need me to do?”
“He should be fine for another four hours, but please check back in two and oversee changing his IV medication.”
Reba nodded, shooting the family a small smile, and excused herself.
“What happened? One minute he was fine, and then….” He directed his attention to Noah. “Should he be on his side like that?”
“Elias, Noah is… May I call him Noah?”
“Of course, he’d hate for anyone to call him Mr. Kingsley.”
“Noah suffered what we call tonic-clonic epilepsy. It’s a fancy medical term for convulsions caused by temporary abnormal electrical activity in the brain. He simply reacted to the medication. The doctor gave him 10 ccs of Diazepam; it’s a sedative used to treat anxiety and tension when related to muscle spasms.” She glanced at the bed. “It’s common for this type of reaction in patients going through some withdrawal. I noticed his hospital records indicated he’s a smoker?”
“Yeah,” Mark spoke up, “we’ve been trying to get him to quit for years.”
“I understand. I grew up with a father who always carried an extra cigar in his pocket. When a patient suffers a mild attack and has an injury to the chest, he’s placed on the injured side for his strongest lung to assist with fresh air flow. It doesn’t harm him.”
“Are you saying he has a problem with his lungs now?” Elias questioned, glancing in worry at his brother. “No one mentioned that.”
