Page 9 of Merry Mayhem
“My granddaughter is lying here in a coma! We deserve some answers!” the bald man exclaims.
“Oh my God, do you think she’s in acoma?” the woman asks.
“I’m Dr. Thurman Lafitte,” the man in the Hawaiian shirt says. “Who is the attending physician?”
“You’re Violet’s physician?” Kristy, the nurse, asks.
“I’m retired now,” he says, “But I brought that baby girl into this world. I demand to know what’s happening.”
Kristy clearly isn’t sure what to do. I step forward. “I can maybe be of some help.”
Kristy seems to notice me for the first time. She looks relieved. “Oh, thank God, you’re still here.”
“Okay if I fill them in?”
She glances at the family, then back to me. “Sure.”
Typically, this would be the physician’s job, but I know exactly what’s going on with Violet. This family is obviously about to erupt, and honestly, keeping them calm and providing them with information is more critical at this moment than who gives it to them. I’ll keep it superficial.
“Are you a doctor?” the man, who called Violet his granddaughter asks.
“I’m not. I’m a paramedic. I’m actually the one who found Violet and brought her in.”
They all turn to face me at once.
“You’re the one who found her?” the woman, who I’m going to assume is Violet’s mother, asks.
The nurse, Kristy, jumps in then. “He came upon Violet’s car accident. Probably saved her life. If he hadn’t found her, who knows how long she would’ve been out there.”
The woman gasps and covers her chest with her hand. The man, more Violet’s mother’s age—possibly her father—, looks a little pale.
I shoot Kristy a look. She’s exaggerating. Violet would not have died. She was unconscious when I found her, but she was breathing and was not bleeding, externally or internally, from any injuries. She’d hit her head very hard, however.
Her mother steps towards me. “Thank God for you. Thank you so much for saving my daughter.”
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” I tell her. “But I’m sure it’s what anyone would’ve done if they discovered her car.”
“What happened?” Dr. Lafitte asks.
“That wasn’t entirely clear. There were skid marks on the pavement, and her car was in the ditch, upside down. I’m going to assume she tried to swerve to avoid something. There were no other vehicles or any animals, however. She hit her head and was unconscious when I found her. She’s been unconscious since.”
The woman casts a worried glance toward Violet. “What’s happening? What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s stable. But I am going to say something that’s going to sound really scary, and I promise you it sounds worse than it is,” I tell them all.
They all nod their understanding.
“They have her in what’s called a medically induced coma.”
The mother and her grandfather gasp again.
“A coma?” her dad asks.
“Yes, but it’s been induced and is being monitored closely. They can bring her out of it at any time. They’re doing it to let her brain rest and give her a chance to heal. It will just be for a day or so.”
They all look at Dr. Lafitte for confirmation, and he nods.
“Nothing else is wrong?” her mother asks.
