A Part of Me Read Free Page A

I stood behind them holding hands.  The doctor took notice of my scrubs with the hospital logo on them and nodded briefly at me.
    “Mr. Crawford is out of surgery, but it is still touch and go.  We took a closer look at the scan of his head and fortunately there is not currently any active bleeding.”  He paused to make sure there weren’t any questions.  “Let’s sit down.”  He motioned to the chairs and we all shuffled to them.  “We removed his spleen and were able to control the bleeding. He had a pretty significant break in his left arm that we were able to reduce and fix with plates and screws, both internal and external.”  I nodded, remembering the fracture I’d noted in ER.  “He had some severe damage to his left leg.  We were unable to save it.”
    “What does that mean?”  Nick asked, his eyes wide.
    “We had to amputate the leg right below the knee.”  The doctor stated carefully.
    “You cut his leg off?”  Nick stood up angrily, knocking the chair back into the wall with the force.  Ava took a hold of his arm and whispered something to him and they walked over to the water cooler.
    “I’m sorry, we did what we could, but it was a mess.”  He looked to Trevor and me.
    “I know.  I saw him when he came in.”  I nodded in understanding.  Trevor looked at me for confirmation. “It was bad Trevor, I told you it didn’t even look like a leg.”  He nodded.
    “Can we see him?”  Trevor asked.
    “Let us get him settled in the ICU and then you will be able to see him one at a time. Give us about an hour and we will come and get you.”  He stood.
    “Thank you doctor.”  Trevor shook his hand and walked back to Ava and Nick.
    “You work in the ER?”  The doctor asked me.
    I nodded. “I didn’t even recognize him.  The entire time we ran the trauma. Not until I saw ID.”
    He nodded, understanding what I meant.  Tom had not looked like himself when they brought him in.  He was swollen and covered in blood.  I was so focused on doing my job that I didn’t even really look at his face.  It was better that I didn’t recognize him anyway.  I’m not sure how I could have done my job had I known it was him.
    “Thank you for everything.”  I said and turned to join my friends.
     
     

 
    Chapter 3
     
    Trevor was the first to go in and see Tom.  I tried to prepare them for what they might see when they went in.  I was sure he would look pretty bad, and I didn’t want them to freak out.
    Ava, Nick and I sat in the waiting area for the Surgical Intensive Care Unit.  We were told that Tom was in a drug induced coma and would remain that way for a few days at least. I assured them that this was normal as we sat in the cold and sterile waiting room.  It never occurred to me how uncomfortable our hospital waiting rooms could be until I was sitting on the other side. 
    The light green walls made the room feel cold and uninviting.  The carpet was industrial looking and the seating was hard and uncomfortable.  The smell of cleaning products was prevalent in the stagnate air.  People wondered by without even glancing at us all day.  I would kill for just a hint of normalcy right now.
    “We need to figure out who is going to stay with him.”  Nick spoke out loud, still trying to wrap his mind around everything.
    “We can take turns.”  Ava said softly, squeezing his hand.
    “I am working nights for the next two weeks.  I can be here during the day while you all are at work.”  I suggested.
    “Talia, you can’t do that.  When will you sleep?”  Ava asked me.
    “I’ll see if they will let us set up a bed in his room.  I’m not sure they’ll go for it, but it’s worth a try” I shrugged.
    Trevor rounded the corner looking slightly pale. “Your turn man.”  He said to Nick as he sat down between Him and Ava. “He’s pretty bad Nick.  He doesn’t even look like himself right now.”  Trevor warned him. Nick just nodded and walked around