Chapter 28 #2
“The what?” Kate moved to the medical bag and pulled out a scalpel.
“No. The long needle and— I’ll get it.” He rushed to the bag sitting on the hutch, then started rummaging around, not remotely bothered by the fact he’d just bumped his pregnant wife out of the way.
“We know from autopsies that if a rib or multiple ribs get broken, they can puncture the lungs. There’s evidence that the lungs can seal themselves if the puncture isn’t too large.
But if air leaks into the pleural cavity, it creates pressure that prevents the lung from expanding. ”
“And you think that’s what’s happening to Rosalind?” Kate ran her eyes down Rosalind’s form.
“It’s my best guess. See how the right side of her chest is rising and falling, but the left side is barely moving?
” Nathan stepped away from his bag with a chillingly long needle and a small metal tube in his hand.
He sterilized them both with carbolic acid, then inserted the needle into the tube.
“It’s dangerous. I can’t promise it will work, and the risk of infection is great, but—”
“Try it,” Yuri croaked. “She’ll die if you don’t, won’t she? She’s dying right now.”
Kate met Nathan’s gaze, then gave a small nod.
That was all Nathan needed to start probing her ribs again. What he was looking for, Yuri didn’t know, but Nathan stopped after just a few seconds. “Someone, hold her down. Tightly.”
Yuri raced toward the table, right along with his brothers. Jonas was there first, since he’d been taking notes.
But Sacha beat him to her other shoulder, and Alexei and Mikhail were both holding her feet, which were closest to the end of the table where they’d been standing.
Yuri looked around for a moment, then settled for holding her hand on the opposite side of the table from where Nathan was working.
“It’s going to be all right, love.” He pressed his lips to her knuckles. “Just hang on for a few more seconds.”
Nathan cleared his throat. “Actually, I don’t know that any of this will be all right, Rosalind. You’re going to feel pressure between your ribs. I need you to try to stay still.”
She didn’t respond.
Nathan counted under his breath, then slid the needle and tube into her skin. Rosalind didn’t even try to move, never mind that four large men were prepared to wrestle her down.
Nathan waited for a moment, then withdrew the long needle from the center of the tube, leaving the tube itself inserted into her side. A faint hiss filled the room.
“Does that mean it’s working?” Yuri blurted.
Nathan gave a curt nod. “It appears so, yes. But something like this is difficult to regulate. I wish we were at the hospital in a proper surgical room.”
Just then Rosalind let out a deep breath.
Nathan adjusted the tube slightly, and a bigger hiss followed. Her chest rose again, this time without even a stutter.
She was breathing.
Yuri closed his eyes and bowed his head, not realizing he’d started to cry until a thumb brushed weakly against his knuckles.
“Yuri?” Rosalind rasped.
“I’m here.” He placed a kiss against her knuckles.
“Rosalind, your lung should begin to re-expand now that the pressure’s relieved.
” Nathan stared down at the tiny tube poking out of her ribs.
“But I don’t know how bad the damage to your lungs is.
I’d like to keep the cannula in overnight to prevent pressure from building again.
Kate, wash the wound carefully with carbolic acid.
We’ll try binding the ribs in the morning. ”
“What’s wrong with me?” she whispered. “What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Yuri clasped her hand tighter, then held it up to his cheek. “You’re safe now. Do you hear me? You’re safe, and we’re going to make sure you stay that way.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “My father was behind the fire.”
Yuri stilled. Was that why her father had beaten her so badly?
“How do you know?” Jonas stepped forward, his notebook back in his hand.
“They were there. The arsonists. In the house. Asking for money.”
“And you confronted him?” Yuri gritted.
Another tear fell. “I didn’t . . . I didn’t . . .” Her breaths quickened, turning short and choppy. “I didn’t feel like I had a choice.”
“I’m going to arrest him now.” Jonas tucked his notepad back into his shirt pocket. “Both for what he did to you and the arson.”
Yuri expected Rosalind to thank him, but her eyes had closed again, her breaths coming shorter and shorter.
“No more talking,” Nathan pronounced. “You need to rest.”
Rosalind’s eyes opened into two tired slits. “Am I going to . . . die?”
Nathan’s throat worked. “I don’t know. If your left lung is so damaged it can’t repair itself, then yes. There’s nothing I can do other than this.”
“But we’re going to do our best to make sure you recover.” Kate scooted to Rosalind’s other side and picked up her free hand. “We’ll keep the wound clean so infection doesn’t set in and bind your ribs as tight as we need to so the broken bones can heal.”
Rosalind didn’t respond. She’d already fallen asleep on the table, her breaths back to stuttering.