Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
E lla
Graham and I ran down the stairwell to the emergency department and grabbed a pair of latex gloves.
“What’s going on, Karla?” I asked.
“Shark attack victim. They’re airlifting him here. ETA is five minutes.”
“Shark attack?” I furrowed my brows.
“According to the paramedics, it’s pretty bad.”
“Did you page Dr. Grayson Kind?”
“He’s in surgery right now. Who’s this?”
“This is Dr. Graham Malone. He’s new. Graham, this is Karla, the charge nurse.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said.
“We better get up to the roof,” I said.
The helicopter landed, and Graham and I rushed over to it.
“His name is Brent Connolly, age 32. He was surfing when a shark caught his board and dragged him under. He has injuries to the torso, left hand, arm, and leg,” one of the paramedics spoke.
“Karla, my Uncle Conner is here today. Page him stat,” I shouted. “Start a line and hang two units of blood. Oh my God.” I was startled when I pulled the blanket back and saw his injuries.
“Jesus Christ,” Graham said.
“Brent, stay with us. We’re going to take good care of you,” I said.
My team scrambled to stabilize the patient while trying to keep the bleeding under control.
“We need to get him to the O.R. stat!” I said. “You want to sit in?” I looked at Graham.
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Let’s go, people. We need to get him up to the O.R.”
“Ella, your uncle said he’ll meet you in the O.R.”
“Thanks, Karla.”
Graham and I entered the scrub room and scrubbed in.
“I’ve never treated a shark attack victim before.” I glanced at him as we scrubbed our hands.
“Me either.”
“The scary thing is those bites looked like they came from a great white.”
“How can you tell?” he asked.
“By the radius of the bite marks. I’m certain it was a juvenile great white.”
“Are you a shark expert?” He smirked.
“I know a thing or two.”
We entered the operating room, where two nurses gowned and gloved us.
“I hear we have a shark attack victim,” my Uncle Conner walked into the room.
“Patient is out,” Marty, the anesthesiologist, said.
“My lord.” My Uncle Conner examined his arm, hand, and leg. “He’s going to need multiple surgeries. We better get Nathan in here. Nancy, call the medical center and see when Dr. Nathan Kind can get here.”
“On it, Dr. Kind.”
“Who’s this?” my Uncle Conner asked, gesturing to Graham.
“Dr. Graham Malone, Dr. Kind. Today is my first day here.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Malone. What’s your specialty?”
“He’s the new peds surgical fellowship resident,” I said as I worked on the patient’s torso.
“I like you already,” my Uncle Conner said.
The door to the O.R. opened, and Grayson walked in.
“How’s it going in here?” he asked, walking over.
“I’m doing my best to save this patient’s arm,” my Uncle Conner spoke. “He has massive tissue loss.”
After five hours in the operating room, we were finally done, and the patient was stabilized.
“Get him up to the ICU,” I told the nurse. “And page me when he wakes up.”
I removed my blood-soaked gown and gloves, throwing them in the bin before leaving the room.
“That was intense,” Graham said.
“Yeah. It sure was. I’m just happy the patient is going to be okay.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Graham asked.
“Yeah. Sure.”
“How many Dr. Kinds are there?”
I laughed. “Well, there’s me, my Uncle Christian, my Uncle Conner, my dad, Grayson, my Uncle Jackson, and Gabriel. Oh, and there’s Charlotte, who is my aunt and married to my Uncle Conner. Then there’s my aunt Georgia, who is OB and married to my Uncle Jackson. And Dr. Emilia Kind is a pediatrician at the medical center.”
“I’m sorry. You lost me somewhere.” He chuckled.
“I have a very big family. It can get confusing.” I smiled.
“You were great in there, Dr. Kind. I’m happy I got to witness you in action.”
“Thanks, Dr. Malone.”
“How is the patient?” My Uncle Christian walked up to us.
“He’s stabilized. Uncle Conner was able to save his arm.”
“Good to hear. Come with me, Dr. Malone, and I’ll show you around.”
I smiled at Graham as he went off with my Uncle Christian.
“He’s handsome.” My Uncle Conner walked over and hooked his arm around me.
“Stop it, Uncle Conner. But, yeah, he is.” I smiled.
“I’ll see you later, sweetheart. Great work in the O.R.”
My phone rang, and when I pulled it out of my pocket, I saw Lily was Facetiming me.
“Hey.” I smiled. “You’re on the plane?”
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Adrien?”
“He’s in the bathroom. Listen. Thanks for telling my mom and dad about Adrien. I was prepared for my dad’s wrath when he called me. He tried to FaceTime me, but I kept rejecting it. I told him the connection was bad.”
I laughed.
“Just so you know, he told Simon to get his gun ready.” I smirked.
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait for you to meet him, Ella.”
“I can’t wait to meet him.”
“I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay. Have a safe flight.”
My pager went off. After looking at it, I went up to the ICU to check on Mr. Connolly. When I stepped inside, I saw a woman at his bedside with tears in her eyes, holding his hand.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Kind.”
“Are you the one who saved my fiancé?”
“Me and a couple of other doctors.” I smiled. “Mr. Connolly, how are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better,” he sleepily spoke.
I checked his vitals, and he was stable.
“It came out of nowhere,” he said. “I tried to fight it the best I could.”
“What matters is you’re safe and going to be okay.” I smiled. “The nurses will take good care of you.”
“What about his arm and hand?” his fiancée asked.
“There was a lot of tissue damage, but Dr. Conner Kind was able to save it. You’re still going to need multiple surgeries. He’ll be in tomorrow to discuss that with you. For now, you need to rest.” I placed my hand on his arm.
“Thank you, Dr. Kind.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll check on you in the morning.”
After my shift ended, I grabbed Thai food on my way home. I took it to the patio and sat in the lounger. My dad walked over.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” He sat in the lounger beside me.
“Thai food?” I asked.
“No, thanks. Your mom made a great dinner. I heard about you and Dr. Malone. What’s going on, Ella?”
“Of course you did.” I sighed. “Dad, it was nothing.”
“You lied to him about who you were. Why would you do that?”
“Why did you when you went on vacation?” I smirked. “I heard the stories over the years.”
“I guess you got me.” A smile crossed his lips. “But that was different. Your uncles and I didn’t want women stalking us after we left. Did you sleep with him?”
“Dad, come on. No, I didn’t. I don’t know. An art student studying at NYU just sounded normal.”
“Sweetheart, you are normal. A gifted kind of normal.”
“And too much for some guys.” I set my plate down.
“You know better than that, Ella. You are who you are, and in a few years, you’ll meet the right man.”
“A few years?” I laughed. “Thanks, Dad.”
He stood up and kissed the top of my head. “I have to get back to the house. I promised Willow I’d help her with her homework. I love you.”
“I love you too.”