English Version: Sands & Sparrow

25

The door to the lobby slammed shut as the screeching wheels of a stretcher echoed on the floor. Footsteps rushed, chasing every minute, every second to spare. In the hands of a ticking clock, one life hung in the balance.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, peering at the patient as the medical team hurried the stretcher into the emergency room. One of them took a small flashlight and checked the patient's eyes.

"Give me the assessment!"

"Her pupils are equal and reactive!"

"Blunt force trauma to the head, chest, and abdomen!" a male nurse shouted, connecting plastic tubes and intravenous needles to the patient's skin. "Persistent hypotension after two units of saline!"

Inside the emergency room, the team worked feverishly, not wasting a moment in their battle to save Aveline. A female nurse grasped Aveline's wrist, palpating the pulse. "Pulse is thready at 130!" she announced, indicating an abnormal pulse rate with signs fluctuating between high and low.

"Miss? Can you hear me? What's your name?" The doctor checked for any sign of consciousness, but the reply was only shallow breathing. "She's poorly responsive!" he observed. Suddenly, the monitor beeped. They connected Aveline to the machine to analyze the results.

Standing near her head, a male doctor called for supplies. "I need some 4x4s to control the scalp bleeding." Donning white elastic gloves passed to him by a nurse, he assessed further, "Probably multiple fractures!" After another check, he noted, "She is bleeding in her chest!"

They tore up Aveline's clothes, cutting off the edges, wiping away the dirt, and compressing the wounds to prevent further blood loss.

A long beep echoed; the team turned their heads towards the monitor, alarmed at what they saw. The lines on the screen gradually dropped; the sound signaled danger. Aveline was losing more blood, and her heart rate plummeted into shock.

The doctors sprang into action. "Up to two fluid boluses!" Administering fluid boluses aimed to increase blood volume, enhancing venous return, cardiac output, and thus, organ perfusion. "We have to perform surgery now!" the male doctor declared to the team.

"Somebody page surgery now!" the female doctor urged, her fear turning into reality.

"I'm not getting a pulse!" a doctor exclaimed upon checking Aveline's wrist. "Rose! Start the CPR!" He quickly ordered the intern.

Without hesitation, Rose positioned her palms on Aveline's chest and began the compressions, counting silently to herself: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

She pushed harder.

And again.

With each compression, she sought to induce airflow.

Once more.

And again.

Each press of her hands made the bed creak. A grunt escaped Rose between breaths, her forehead creasing with desperation. "You're not going to die; you're not dying! Not on my watch!" Rose muttered determinedly as she continued the CPR. "Try to hold still," she pleaded with Aveline. "Just breathe..." Rose whispered, her hands pressing firmly against the chest. Sweat beaded on her forehead, sliding down and dropping onto Aveline's cheek, resembling a tear.

The line on the monitor temporarily elevated. "She's got a flail chest on the right!" another doctor reported, identifying the signs.

Rose withdrew her hands from Aveline.

The monitors' sounds offered mixed signals, indicating that the night's ordeal was far from over. Rose felt shivers on her skin, an ominous premonition she couldn't ignore, an instinct that whispered death was lurking close by.