Chapter 3
Rowan Townsend was done for the day, and it wasn’t even midnight.
It was early afternoon. He could make it home to Shadows Landing for dinner.
Rowan had accomplished a lot since that night he’d talked to Dr. Patel for the first time.
Now he had a dedicated staff of doctors, physician assistants, and nurses who worked under him.
Although he was the first to admit he wasn’t the best at stepping back to allow them to take the lead so he could take some time off.
Rowan was heading to his office when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, expecting to see that it was one of his family members, probably Damon bugging him to take some time off. Instead, he saw it was Gator calling.
“Hey, Gator,” Rowan answered.
“Are you still at the hospital?” Gator asked directly, sounding so serious that Rowan had to double check that it was in fact summer and not the South Carolina vs. Clemson football game.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I’m bringing a kid in to see you. He was bitten by an alligator.”
“I’ll alert the OR. How far out are you?” Rowan already turned away from his office and headed toward the OR.
“There can’t be any record of this kid at the hospital. The kid’s dad is violent. He tried to kill his ex-wife this afternoon. While I don’t know him, he’s apparently pretty powerful in Holland Springs.”
Rowan stopped walking and frowned. He should be surprised but he wasn’t.
He’d seen his fair share of violence against his patients and their parents.
“Got it. John Doe it is. Tell me about the injuries.” Rowan turned and headed to the supply closet as Gator did one better and sent a picture. “Are you on a boat?”
“Yeah. It’s faster.”
“Okay, I want you to have someone apply pressure until you arrive. The side door on building C is where I want you to come. You can pull up to the edge of the parking lot and tie the boat off there. It’s a bit of a wall to climb over, but you’re tall enough to do it.
I’ll be waiting at the side door. How far out are you? ”
“Fifteen minutes,” Gator told him.
“Got it.”
Rowan hung up and headed to the supply room.
He pulled out everything he’d need and some he might not, but got it all just to be prepared for anything.
Then he headed to the pharmacy and got medication he’d need for John Doe.
He set everything in the last pediatric emergency bay at the end of the hall farthest away from the nurses’ station and was rarely used except in a mass casualty event.
Plus, the hall leading from the side door connected to this wing of the pediatric ER.
Rowan pulled the curtain and closed the sliding door for the bay before he headed to the side door.
He opened it and looked at the parking lot reserved for staff.
The water was hundreds of yards away, but he had an idea where Gator would pull in.
Sure enough, a minute later, he saw Gator’s head appear at the other end of the parking lot with two women behind him.
One woman held a little girl, and the other held a young boy.
Gator turned and took the boy from the woman and began to run.
Rowan held the door open as the group approached. The woman holding the little girl was already shouting off information. “He’s six years, nine months old. Forty-nine pounds and is allergic to penicillin.”
The other woman was pale. She looked as if she might faint. But as her eyes constantly scanned the area, he realized it wasn’t from being overwhelmed, but fear. This must be the mother, which meant the other woman was who?
“I’m Dr. Rowan Townsend,” Rowan told them, but was looking at the boy’s leg. Gator had wrapped it with gauze, but there was blood seeping through the bandage.
“Nellie Hale, and this is my sister and mother of the children, Sue Ellen,” the woman who was taking the lead told him. “Thanks for doing this.”
Both sisters had blonde hair, but Nellie’s was longer. And while the other woman wore makeup that was now running down her face from the water, Nellie clearly hadn’t been wearing any. Her blue eyes were clear and sharp as if evaluating him and something in him wanted to impress her.
“I’m Tally,” the little girl piped up, causing Rowan to smile as he led them down the hall.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Tally,” Rowan said, stopping them at the corner. He looked down the hall full of empty exam rooms. No one at the nurses’ station was paying attention. “Right in here.”
Rowan opened the door to the exam room and ushered them in before closing the door behind them and pulling the curtain. “And who is the brave young man who fought off an alligator?”
Rowan noticed the young boy with the sandy blond hair in a slightly shaggy style wasn’t even crying. He seemed way too old to only be six, which in Rowan’s experience, meant the boy had seen too much evil in his life already.
“It’s okay,” his mother whispered and stood beside him as Gator laid him on the hospital gurney.
“I’m James Avery, it’s nice to meet you, sir.”
Rowan smiled at him as he pulled on his exam gloves.
“Okay, James Avery. Let’s get you cleaned up.
” Rowan pulled the bandage away and examined the wounds.
James gritted his teeth, but didn’t make a peep.
“Good news, James. The bite didn’t reach the bone.
It looks as if he gave you a nibble and Gator got to him before he got more serious about it.
I’ll get you all cleaned up. You might have some scars, but you shouldn’t have any permanent damage. ”
“You’re very brave, James,” Gator told him in a kind voice Rowan had never heard before. Gator was usually boisterous, but this was a soft, gentle voice he was using and clearly James responded.
“Will you hold my hand, Mr. Gator?” James asked. His one hand clung to his mother’s hand and when Gator extended his huge hand, James’s hand disappeared inside of it.
Sue Ellen stared in wonder across the gurney even as Rowan eyed her. She wasn’t doing well. Her sister, Nellie, would fall apart later, but was holding everything together right now. Sue Ellen looked ready to collapse.
“Do you need something?” Nellie asked, seeing his attention shifting away from James.
“Yeah, do you see the oxygen on the wall?” Nellie looked behind Sue Ellen and nodded.
“See the packages of tubing?” Nellie nodded again.
“Open a package and stick it into the oxygen nozzle. Then turn it to one and put it on your sister. The tubing goes over her ears and the canula in her nostrils. There are blankets in the closet there for you all.”
Sue Ellen didn’t even notice when Nellie placed the oxygen on her and wrapped her in a blanket. She was clearly traumatized and bordering on shock but Rowan needed to focus on James right now.
Rowan didn’t insert IVs as often as nurses, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to.
He inserted it in James, who only winced and tightened his hold on Gator’s hand before relaxing.
“I’m pushing fluids to help with blood loss and I’m also giving you a combo of IV antibiotics.
Alligator bites are known for soft-tissue infections, so the IV antibiotics are crucial.
And they’re not penicillin, so you’re safe there. ”
Rowan scanned each item into the computer and saw Nellie staring at him. “Don’t worry, he’s registered as a thirteen-year-old John Doe.”
Nellie let out a relieved breath and gave him a thankful smile.
“Will I get stitches?” James asked.
“If I’m able to see you again, then yes.
However, with these puncture wounds, we do what’s called delayed stitches.
The most important part is washing them out to make sure you don’t get an infection.
Then, in eight hours or so, we can close you up if they look good enough.
If not, you leave them open and they’ll heal on their own over time. ”
“Won’t that leave more scarring?” Nellie asked and Rowan nodded.
“It takes longer and does leave a more noticeable scar. That’s why I’m cleaning it so thoroughly now. If we can prevent infection, we don’t have to leave it open,” Rowan explained as he irrigated the wounds.
It took over an hour to clean the wounds. Rowan stepped back and cleaned up the area before pulling off his gloves. “Let me get you some juice and a snack while we wait for the IV and fluids to run their course. They’re almost done.”
“I’ll help you,” Nellie told him. Tally was curled up on the bed between her mother in the chair and James. She’d wanted to support James when he’d flinched at the cleaning.
Rowan gave her a nod of agreement and then looked to Gator. “You got this?”
Gator glanced down at his calf and nodded. Rowan knew Gator well enough to know that under his pant leg was a huge hunting knife.
“We’ll only be a couple of minutes.”
Rowan held open the curtain for Nellie, who slid open the door for both of them. They slipped out and she followed him down the hall to the room where they kept all the drinks and snacks for the kids.
“Thank you for your help, doctor.”
“Rowan, please. And I’m happy to help. Your nephew will be fine. His leg, at least.”
Nellie frowned, but she didn’t pretend to know what he was talking about. “I know. I’m trying to help, but it might be better from someone who isn’t their aunt.”
They grabbed apple juice boxes and pudding cups before making their way back to the room. They were about to open the door when Nellie suddenly grabbed his arm so tightly that he almost dropped the juice boxes.
“He’s here.”