Page 5 of Beneath Her Hands
“We’re going to need a bone-saw,” she called out.
“What? Why?” Jane snapped from the girl’s head where she was trying to take some of the pressure off her brain.
“The femoral artery was severed, there’s no blood flow, and there hasn’t been for a while now, the leg is toast,” Rosalind answered. She didn’t think about it, it was automatic for her.
“So repair it!” Jane shouted as she pulled a tiny square of skull from the top of the girl’s head. The machines monitoring her vital signs immediately calmed down, and Jane rushed down to where Rosalind was standing, effectively pushing her out of the way.
“What are you doing?” Rosalind snapped as she stepped back.
Jane didn’t respond, just started calling for tools. Rosalind watched while Jane repaired the severed artery and was astonished when the blood flow was restored and the leg began to regain color.
“Get at least two more units of blood in here,” Jane said to the head nurse. “Let’s get these other cuts closed up.”
Rosalind jumped in to assist, sewing up a deep cut on the other thigh and one on the girl’s stomach while Jane handled the leg. Everything she did was reflexive, automatic—procedures she’d done a thousand times before—but all she could think about was that leg regaining color.
“What if it throws a clot?” Rosalind asked finally when she couldn’t handle the silence any longer. “That leg was dead, cold, restarting it like that could be catastrophic.”
“It’s unlikely,” Jane said. “Given her age, and the amount of time circulation had been lost, I doubt she will. The artery must have been severed when we moved her in here, otherwise she would have been dead long before she made it to the table. That leg was fine. Regardless, we will keep her under intensive care for the rest of her recovery.”
Rosalind clicked her mouth shut; she knew Jane was right.
“What about your patient, did you get the CT?”
“The results should be back soon,” Rosalind answered.
“Soon? Why weren’t they ready an hour ago?”
“I took her to surgery first, she was about to bleed out. If I had gotten the CT, she wouldn’t have made it to the table.”
“Just like this one’s leg was toast?” Jane’s eyes flashed over the patient as she stood up and pulled her gloves off before tossing them into the waste bin.
Rosalind opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before responding. “I’ve been doing this for a long time?—”
“In active war zones.” Jane cut her off. “This is not war, Rosalind, this was a car accident, these women weren’t bombed, or shot, they need to be treated as accident victims, not casualties.”
“She would have died!” Rosalind shouted back.
“You don’t know that!”
“Yes, I do, I’ve seen it. I know what a brain bleed looks like, she didn’t have one!”
“Doctor Maxwell?” A nurse popped her head into the room.
“What?” Rosalind turned on her. She snapped off her gloves and pulled off her gown as she stomped over to the nurse.
“The CT scan results,” the poor thing’s voice was shaking. Rosalind really needed to work harder on learning people’s names. She handed Rosalind a folder with trembling hands. As soon as Rosalind took it, she darted back out the door. Rosalind flipped it open and released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “See?” she said, holding the scan up, though Jane was too far away to see it. “No brain bleed, she’s fine.”
“You’re lucky,” Jane said, averting her eyes.
“Lucky?” Rosalind snapped. This woman didn’t have a clue. “I’m not going to be running around here gambling, Jane. You’re lucky I came in when I did, or your patient would have bled out while you scraped at her skull!”
“Your arrogance is going to get someone killed!”
“What you call arrogance is actually skill,” Rosalind’s voice lowered. She had to get away from here or she was going to throttle Jane. She stomped out of the OR and headed to thesinks. She began scrubbing her hands violently and Jane walked in behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Jane said as she approached the sink and started her own water. The apology threw Rosalind completely off balance.
“What? For what?” Rosalind asked, fighting to cool her temper.
