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“We’ve got a heart rhythm. Move out,” he insisted. And they moved, actively attending to Alessandro. They rushed to escort him into the back of the ambulance. Before they closed the door, the attending paramedic barked out, “We’re going to St. Vincent’s.”
They didn’t give family members an option to ride in the back of the ambulance with Alessandro. There was no time.
As the ambulance sped off down the long driveway, siren and lights blasting, Carmine turned to the butler who had been standing by.
“Tell the driver to get the car.” He insisted with urgency plaguing his voice.
“Gabe,” Carmine said to his son, the one who was still upright.
“I need to get this situation handled, but I’ll meet you guys at the hospital as soon as it's done,” Gabriel advised, trying to remain level-headed in the current crisis.
“Let the guards take care of it,” Carmine said. “Tell them what to do, and they’ll do it. That’s what we pay them for.” Carmine sounded insistent, but Gabriel checked in to make sure.
“Your brother needs you now,” Carmine insisted. “We need you.”
The two men’s eyes met. For the first time in as long as he could remember, Gabriel saw his father show true emotion.
“I’ll tell them to handle it.”
No sooner than Gabriel rushed away, Carmine turned his attention to his wife, who was still on the floor.
“Sofia, honey, let’s get up so we can go see about Sandro,” Carmine encouraged as sweetly as he could muster, giving his own emotional state. But Sofia was slow to respond. She was in shock, and Carmine could tell. Still, they needed to get to the hospital to see about their son. Carmine bent down on his knees and placed his arms under hers so he could lift her up. It was like lifting dead weight as Sofia was still zoned out, still looking down the driveway as though transfixed by the disappeared lights. Carmine was fine with her disposition as long as, physically, she offered no resistance. He was able to lift Sofia to standing, although shakily. He adjusted his arm placement to put one arm firmly around her waist.
“Come on, love,” Carmine said, holding her up and walking her towards the car that had just pulled around.
Sofia moved her feet even though she wasn’t cognizant of it. It had only been a few minutes, but for Sofia, it felt like hours since they had taken her son away. Something within her stirred. She missed Alessandro and needed to see him. Sofia alerted and attended as Carmine helped her to the back of the car. Just then, Gabriel joined them. As soon as he was seated and the car door closed, the driver sped down the drive.
It was an anxious time in the car. Sofia wrung her hands as proof of how stressful the moments between their home and the hospital were. The driver didn’t have to be told that he needed to get them to the hospital expeditiously.
The ambulance whirled into the emergency section. No sooner than the driver put the vehicle in park did the back doors swing open, and a crew of emergency room staff rushed the ambulance.
“Prior cardiac arrest. Resuscitated. Thready pulse,” the paramedic reported. The team rolled the gurney fast inside the hospital as the emergency room team took over. Alessandro’s vital started bottoming out again as they raced him into triage. The emergency room doctor took over after getting the patient’s vitals from the ER nurse. Dr. Valesko barked orders from cutting open the patient’s shirt to running an IV line to try and stabilize his condition. Five people attended to Alessandro, trying to keep him alive. They operated in crisis mode as his heartbeat remained low and thready. They had to get that under control before they could attend to any other injuries. It was critical as Alessandro’s heart nearly stopped again. The doctor had to use all his skills to get his patient’s vitals to regulate.
The Esposito’s rushed into the emergency room. Gabriel walked ahead of his parents and headed to the nurse’s station to get some information on his brother. His parents followed closely behind, equally as anxious.
“May I help you?” One of the nurses said from behind the desk after Gabriel waited a few minutes trying to get their attention.
“Alessandro Esposito is my brother, and we’re trying to find out about him.”
“Hold on a second,” the nurse replied. “Let me find out.”
There were a few anxious moments with all the activity surrounding them while waiting to hear about their loved one. Sofia struggled as she anxiously looked around, wondering where her son was and how he was doing.
“He’s currently back in triage,” the nurse reported out. “The doctor is with him now. We’ll let you know.”
They wanted more information, but the nurse didn’t have any more to give them. They let the nurse's station just as clueless as to Alessandro’s condition as when they arrived. Carmine wanted to ask more questions and demand more answers, but the nurse had already walked away, attending to another family’s needs. They had no choice but to join others in the waiting room, and uncomfortably so. Sofia clung to her husband, frequently looking over her shoulder and avoiding making eye contact with those she encountered. She couldn’t help it. Sofia knew they were there waiting to hear about their loved ones, but she was still uncomfortable being with such a mixed class of people.
Dr. Valesko worked very hard to save his patient’s life. There were momentary swings from up to way down to barely up again. After he got Alessandro’s vitals somewhat under control, he attended to the other injuries, the bullet holes, and lodged bullet fragments that were in his patient’s body. Cutting Alessandro’s flesh caused a dip in his vitals, but Dr. Valesko was able to rectify them quickly.
Even after the patient’s wounds were stitched up, Dr. Valesko monitored him in the emergency room to ensure that he was stable enough to be sedated. Only then did he remove his ER cap and stroll toward the waiting area. He made his way to the nurses’ station and recorded what had transpired.
“Those parties here for Alessandro Esposito?” He asked to the crowd that was assembled in the waiting area.
No sooner than they heard Alessandro’s name were they out of their seats. But Sofia sat back down. She couldn’t read the doctor’s tone or his face to determine if what he had was good or bad news. Maybe she didn’t want to hear what the doctor had to say. To him, her son was just another patient, but to her, Alessandro was so much more. Sofia could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. She could feel the tension rising in her bones. Carmine started to step forward but realized his wife wasn’t standing next to him, so he paused and looked in her direction. When he realized his parents weren’t walking next to him, Gabriel paused and looked back as well.
“Sofia?” Carmine asked as he extended his hand in her direction. She was reticent to take it, she really was, but she lifted her hand to his and slowly stood up. She immediately grabbed onto Carmine’s arm and held it tightly as she fell in step with him.
“Yes,” Carmine answered as the three of them approached the doctor. “We are Alessandro’s family. How is he?”
