I’d finally been able to get a signal about a mile from the trailhead, and a trio of paramedics had been dispatched with a rescue litter on a fat rubber wheel to bring Sylvia back down the trail. As they were loading her into the ambulance, she suffered a seizure, which subsided once they hooked her up to an IV. I’d followed her to the hospital in my car, but as soon as the receptionist took one look at me, she’d insisted I be admitted as well.
Almost two hours passed before I finally heard anything about Sylvia.
A nurse in pale blue scrubs came into my room, silently checked my IV and chart, and started out again. “Wait,” I said. “I was wondering if you could tell me about the woman who was admitted at the same time I was. Her name’s Sylvia. She came in with severe dehydration.”
I thou
