Finding Love (GxG) -completed-

Chapter 14- Emergency

Andrea was usually very quiet and well controlled, but could not sit still on the ride to the hospital. Elise had given up getting any information about Serena from her because she just kept repeating, “All I know is the hospital called and told me she was in a car accident early this morning. I didn’t receive the call until after noon. They said I shouldn’t drive because I sounded distraught.”

Elise tried to comfort Andrea, but didn’t want to give her false hope either until they knew the details. Serena still has daily classes so was likely going to her 8AM college class. Rochester has over 116,000 people that reside there.  Busy roadways are 2-4 lanes wide, there are ramps, exits, and stop lights. There are also several roundabouts and even some J-turns. If people weren’t familiar with the area or aren’t paying close attention, accidents can happen very easily. Of course construction season is not quite finished either, so that adds another layer of confusion and chaos. Hopefully Serena wasn’t too badly injured. 

The double motion sensor door opened with a “whoosh,” when Elise and Andrea grew near. Elise knew her way around the facility quite well due to clinicals, being employed by the company, and attending trainings and classes here on this campus. Elise took the lead, walking right up to the admissions desk, with Andrea in tow. Andrea continued to ring her hands nervously and bite her bottom lip. Elise was surprised how emotional Andrea was being. Maybe in all the time Elise had been gone or busy, Andrea and Serena had become friends? Elise thought hard about this as they waited for information on Serena and where they could find her. It’s good if Andrea has another friend. I cannot be there all the time, so she needs other people. Yeah, I’m happy for her. I would have to start paying closer attention though to what goes on around me; the fact this was affecting Andrea so severely was shocking to me. 

The Registered Nurse, Soleil, explains that Serena had been in a two car accident that appeared to have been caused by the other vehicle running a red light. Unfortunately Serena’s VW Beetle was headed North and the truck was East bound and hit the driver’s side door at a rate of speed at least 40mph. The only reason the nurse was able to release this information is that it was in the police report and Serena had signed a release for general information to be released to anyone who asked. Apparently Serena had been moved up to the ICU, so we walked to the elevator and rode up to the floor we were directed. Walking down the hall, we watched for signs to direct us to the correct unit and kept walking until we arrived at the correct room. Before we could enter, a young female doctor in light blue scrubs and a long coat, met us in front of the door. “Are you friends of Serena’s?” The doctor asked with a very strong Indian accent.

Andrea nodded. “Yes, friends and roommates. How is she?” Elise asked because Andrea seemed unable.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Penjabe. Thank you for coming. We have been unable to reach her emergency contacts, but the police found your address on her driver’s license and from there, a phone number. Serena suffered quite a serious accident, but we believe she is stable at this time. Her left leg was pinned briefly by the dash, but the firefighters were able to release the dash and get her out. Once the pressure was relieved though, they discovered an arterial bleed in her left femoral artery. They successfully applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but we still had to give her three units of blood. Luckily Serena had a seatbelt on, so her chest is bruised as well as her face, but the airbag prevented serious damage to those areas. She remained conscious right up until we sedated her for surgery.”

As I looked at Andrea, she didn’t seem to comprehend what was being said, but tears ran from her eyes. I looked back to the physician and having more medical knowledge, I had a lot of questions. “Was there permanent damage to her head, chest, or leg?”

Taking a deep breath with her hands in her jacket pockets, Doctor Penjabe answered, “The blood flow to the leg was stopped for over two hours by the time she was extracted from the vehicle and transported. We took her to emergency surgery upon arrival and our top vascular surgeons repaired the damage to the vessels and tissues. We won’t know if there is any permanent nerve or muscle damage until the area has healed completely. She will certainly have a nasty scar, but at least she should retain the use of her leg. Her head and chest appear, at this time, to be superficial injuries as confirmed by CT scan. We have kept her sedated and on the ventilator to allow her to heal, but she should be able to hear you if you talk to her.”

“How long will she need to be sedated and require mechanical ventilation?” I asked.

“We will certainly keep her sedated tonight, but plan to back off on the sedation after reassessing her condition tomorrow morning. Anything else I can answer for you?” We both shook our heads in response, so the doctor handed us a business card and continued, “Here is the direct phone number for the Nurse’s station here in the ICU, in case you have questions or just want to check on your friend. We are only allowing two visitors at a time right because rest and quiet are the best thing for her right now. Her nurse can answer questions for you too.” Dr. Penjabe smiled sympathetically, touched Andrea’s arm in support and walked away.

I looked over at Andrea and just couldn’t help but enfold her in a hug. I wonder why she is so emotional about this? Maybe it’s just too much with her father’s health issues right now? I continued to hold her, “Hey, you okay? The doctor said they are keeping her asleep and on the machine to help her breath. Serena will be okay though.” As I finish talking, I gently stand Andrea up straight, tipping up her chin with my index finger, so I can see her face. Finally she meets my eyes, gives me a watery smile, nods, laughs, then puts her arms back around me and sobs some more. After about two minutes, Andrea takes a long calming breath, stands up, wipes her tears and gives me a more genuine smile this time. Meeting her eyes again, I ask, “You ready to go see Serena?”

Andrea nods before quietly saying, “yeah, I’m ready.”

I put my arm around her shoulders and we slowly entered the room together. The sight of Serena so bruised, swollen, helpless, and with tubes and wires all over is quite intimidating, even for me, and I’ve done clinicals here. We walk slowly to the bedside and Andrea takes Serena’s left hand gently, even though there is an IV in the back of her hand and a pulse oximeter on her finger. The other arm has an IV and blood pressure cuff attached. There is a long tube coming from Serena’s mouth with tape holding it in place and a long circuit attaches the breathing tube to the mechanical ventilator. The whole left side of her face, shoulder, and arm appear bruised and swollen, with steri strips on her forehead, probably instead of stitches. Her whole left leg is wrapped in a soft cast and elevated. This is going to be one long recovery! Andrea begins to talk softly to Serena as she continues to hold her hand. I remove my arm from  around Andrea’s shoulders, I’m busy looking at the machine readings to see how Serena is really doing and what they are giving her via IV. I hear someone walk in the door before they say, “Oh, hi there. Did you have any questions or is there anything I can help you with?” The voice is eerily familiar. I look toward the voice and there stands Kameron!