Roulette by Thomas Locke

Author:Thomas Locke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down & Out Books

Stacie was still waiting for Eric to call back when the day nurse said a doctor was urgently needed in cubicle three. A child had come in with breathing difficulties.

Stacie talked her way through an extremely careful examination, starting with a search for an obstruction in the airway. It was doubtful the parents could hear everything she said, with the blue baby screaming through every wheezed breath. She listened to the chest and checked the little body for evidence. Then she found the red spot on the baby’s left shin, surrounded by the pinkish rim. A clear indication of severe inflammation resulting from an insect bite.

The little girl was seven and a half months, and a real fighter. Stacie liked how the child watched Stacie’s every action, willing her to stay focused, move beyond her own mysteries and make this crisis go away. Stacie sent the nurse to the pharmacy for a short-acting beta agonist, or SABA.

Ten seconds after injecting the dose, the baby stopped crying.

The child’s response was a textbook case of how fast infants responded to proper treatment. Stacie wrote out an order for methylprednisolone therapy in case the symptoms returned and explained that the child would need to remain with them overnight for observation. She accepted the parents’ tearful thanks, then excused herself and stepped into the corridor. And just stood there. Reveling in the sensation of having done her job, and done it well.

“Stacie?”

She was shocked to find Dr. Henry standing next to her. “I’m sorry, yes?”

“Are you all right?”

The concern was evident in his seamed features. “I’m not sure.”

“You left your phone in the ready room. Carol called. She asks you to meet her at the university hospital as soon as you’re able.”

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