"Okay, it's been posted."She puts her phone in her pocket."Please promise me you'll be safe as you can."
"I promise."But I can't deny that I'm scared as hell.
My shift is going slow after we post the picture, and I realize I'm on edge, waiting to see if anything happens.This day has been pretty slow in the ER, but I expect that it'll pick up now that we're getting close to early evening.All I can think about is going home and spending time with my man and our girl.But I still have three more hours, and so does Darren.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I start to text Kelsea, but right as I'm about to send it, we get notification an ambulance is coming to the emergency bay.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and head toward the bay doors just as they swing open, and my stomach drops straight through the floor when I see who's on the gurney.
Nicole.
"Kelsea?"My voice comes out sharp, panic already clawing up my throat as I take in the sight of her, small and flushed, an EMT keeping pace beside the gurney with a hand braced against her tiny chest.
"She was fine an hour ago."Kelsea's practically running to keep up, face white as a sheet, purse still clutched against her side like she grabbed it without thinking on her way out the door."She just seemed tired, and then she started burning up, and her breathing got so fast, Macie, I didn't know what to do."
"Two-year-old female, temp's reading 103.4, respiratory rate's elevated, shallow breathing, productive cough started about an hour ago according to grandmother."The EMT rattles off vitals as they wheel her straight back toward the pediatric bay, and I fall into step beside them without even thinking about it, training taking over faster than the fear crawling through my chest.
"Nicole, baby, it's Macie."I lean down close to her face, and her eyes flutter open halfway, glassy and unfocused in a way that makes my heart clench so hard it hurts."I'm right here, sweetheart."
"Mom."The word comes out on a raspy breath, barely audible, and I feel my throat close up hearing it, hearing how much effort it takes her just to get that single syllable out.
"I'm here."I squeeze her tiny hand as we wheel into the bay, and Dr.Patterson's already moving toward us, stethoscope in hand, calling out orders to get her hooked up to monitors.
"Someone get me a pulse ox on her now," he says, and I'm already grabbing the sensor, sliding it onto her small finger while another nurse gets the oxygen mask ready.Her oxygen reads lower than I want it to, and her chest is working too hard for something this small, little muscles pulling in around her ribs with every breath.
"Kelsea, I need you to tell me everything.When did this start?"I keep my voice steady, professional, even though every part of me wants to fall apart watching Nicole struggle to breathe on this gurney.
"She was fine this morning after y’all left.She was her normal self, playing, ate a good breakfast."Kelsea's hands are shaking, and she's hovering right at the edge of the curtain, close enough to see everything happening but far enough not to be in the way."She took her nap a little longer than usual, and when she woke up she just seemed off.Clingy, not really herself.Then about an hour ago she started coughing, and I checked her temperature and it was already 102."
"Has she had any other symptoms?Vomiting, diarrhea, anything like that?"
"No, just the cough and the fever, and then her breathing started sounding funny, like she was working too hard to take one."Kelsea's voice cracks."I should've brought her in sooner, I should've…"
"You did exactly the right thing."I don't have time to comfort her the way I want to, because Dr.Patterson's listening to Nicole's lungs now, frowning at whatever he's hearing through the stethoscope.
"Sounds like significant congestion, possible early pneumonia or a bad case of RSV given the rapid onset."He straightens, already moving toward the chart."Let's get a chest X-ray, and I want blood cultures and a nasal swab.Start her on the nebulizer treatment now, and we'll get fluids going since she's probably dehydrated with a fever running this high."
"Copy that."I'm already prepping the nebulizer mask, small enough to fit over her tiny face, and Nicole whimpers when I bring it close, too exhausted to fully fight it but scared enough to try weakly pushing at my hands.
"I know, baby, I know you don't like it."I keep my voice soft, gentle, even though my own heart is hammering hard enough I can feel it in my throat."This is gonna help you breathe easier, I promise."
She settles some once the mist starts flowing, eyes drooping half shut, too tired to keep fighting it, and I brush her sweaty hair back from her forehead, hating how hot her skin feels under my palm.
"Kelsea, I need you to step out for just a few minutes while we get her settled and get this treatment started."I try to make it gentle, but firm enough that she understands I mean it."I promise I'll come get you the second we know more."
"I don't want to leave her."Kelsea's crying now, tears streaming freely down her face, and I understand completely, because leaving this room feels impossible to me too, but we need the space to work without anyone getting in the way if things escalate.
"I know, but we need room to work, and I need you to call Darren."My hands are steady even though my voice wavers slightly on his name."He needs to know what's happening right now."
"I already texted him.He should be here any minute, he was already headed back into town when I called him from the ambulance."Kelsea wipes at her face, forcing herself to take a step back toward the curtain."You'll take care of her?"
"With everything I have."I mean it more than I've ever meant anything, watching Nicole's chest rise and fall too fast beneath the mask, her small fingers curled loosely against the blanket.
Kelsea nods, backing out through the curtain just as I hear footsteps pounding down the hallway outside, fast and heavy, and I know before he even comes through the doorway that it's him.
Darren bursts through the curtain, still in his uniform, face white as a sheet, eyes scanning wildly until they land on Nicole hooked up to monitors with a mask over her face.
"Oh my God."His voice breaks completely, and he's at her side in two strides, hand hovering over her like he's afraid to touch her, afraid he'll hurt her somehow just by making contact."What's wrong with her?What happened?"
