Saving My Hope

Chapter 7-Consenting Adults

WARNING:
*[This chapter may cause triggers because there is mention of self harm and Mental Illness]*

~Shaneria Blenco P.O.V~

On time for my shift and instantly thrown a patient.
I must be popular, haha.
Gavin pulls me to the side after I clock in.
"I'll be in with you for the first examination. She has some mental health issues" He says and holds up a chart.
"Oh?" I ask and take the clipboard.
Her name is Beth and she was taken by ambulance because she was found bleeding on the floor from cuts on her stomach.
"Oh" I state again.
He nods, "yeah".
I wave him over as I walk.
Shes in bed #6.
I walk to the emergency floor with Gavin beside me.

I pull back the blue curtains and enter with a smile, "morning, Beth. Im Dr Blenco and this is my friend, Dr Murphy. How are you?".
The 16 year old brunette simply shrugs.
"I notice, no one is with you at the moment. Do you have a parent or legal guardian here?" I ask her at the end of her bed.
She shakes her head.
"Why is that?" I asked, confused at the abandonment.
"They didnt want to" she mumbles and looks away.
I look to Gavin and he does the same.
I write a note on her chart saying that she came in alone.
"But you got signed in ok?" I continued and looked up from the papers.
She nods.
I set the clipboard on the rolly desk beside me and put my hands in my pockets as I go to the side of her bed.
"May, I see your belly?" I ask, gently.
She peers up at me, shyly and shakes her head.
"I need to see if there's a infection, Beth" I reply with the same tone.
She continues to look at me, her blue eyes boring into mine as she realized I already knew.
She then looks away and pushes down the blanket.
"You got undergarments on?" I ask her as I pull two plastic gloves from a glove box beside her bed in a cupboard on the wall.
"Yes" she says, knowing I wouldn't see her head nod at the moment.
I snap them on and then pull up her gown to the bottom of her breasts.
The amount of markings on her stomachs gives me shock.
Some are mostly healed and crusted while others are fresh and still oozing.
"When was the last time?" I ask.
"This morning just before I came" she mumbles.
"What did you use?" I ask as I continued to look over the ones in rougher shape.
"Glass shards" she replies.
I hear Gavin pick up her chart and start writing this down.
"Have you ever seen a psychiatrist, Beth?" I say, and look into her sad and angered eyes.
She shakes her head.
I go to the cupboard again and grab hydrogen peroxide and cotton balls.
I soak a few and gently swipe over them and then dump small amounts of the liquid on her belly.
I point to the foaming of her wounds and explain, "See those bubbles? That means there's bacteria. And glass especially is very dirty, hun".
I set it back in the cupboard and then Gavin steps in as I gently press in and around her belly, "would you be comfortable in telling us what this reaction ricocheted off of?".
She is silent for a moment before she says softly, "I dont know".
"How about this: Dr Murphy is the hospital psychiatrist, your chart says you have some mental health issues. We need to know, Beth, in order to help you. He is a great man and will listen. You can definitely trust him. Me on the other hand, I got to make a phone call, okay hun?. I'll be right back" I tell her and look down at her lying uncomfortably on the bed with her blanket raised up to her shoulders now.
She nods slowly, looking back up.
"Good girl" I smile and the take the clipboard from Gavin and exit Beth's section.
I head to the nurse station.
"Hey could I borrow the phone? A patient is alone in E room #6. Her parents never came" I tell a bored nurse.
"Of course" She says and moves to another space.
I plop down and pick up the phone.
I rest it between my shoulder and ear as I pick up a pen and search for the house phone number.
I find it and punch it into the number pad.
The line rings five times before a lady picks it up, "Hello?".
"Good morning Mrs Watson, Its Dr Blenco from Hope Zion. At 8 this morning your daughter Bethany showed up in our emergency room via ambulatory care due to cuts on her stomach that were needing immediate attention. We noticed there was no one in attendance and asked who should be with her, to which she replied: no one wanted to accompany her. In examining her wounds, I need to run some tests that require parent or legal guardian signature. So if you could immediately come over that would be great" I say in a professional manner as I twist the wire around my index finger.
"We dont want her" Bethany's mother said, chillingly.
"Beg your pardon?" I say, disbelieving what my ears just heard.
"Shes not of our concern no more. Do as you wish. We do not care" she reiterated.
"Mrs Watson. It is illegal to abandon a child" I speak, growing firm with authority.
"Good day Dr Blenco" she says and hangs up.
I look at the phone speaker.
I cant believe what she just did.
I put the phone back on its set and then hold my head up by pressing my temples, thinking.
Gavin comes in with a notepad full of notes.
"Got big news" he says.
"Uh huh" I mutter, annoyed.
"Beth is abused at home" he says.
I turn to him and reply, "kinda figured that".
"How so?" He asks, frowning and crossing his arms over his chest.
"I just talked with her mother and she's disowning Beth. Basically tossing her on the street" I say and stand up with a huff as I look at her chart once again and then hold it out to Gavin for him to transfer his notes onto it.
"She cant do that! Thats abandonment!" He protests and takes the chart angerly.
"Try telling her that" I snort and then head back to Beth.