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“No stitches? Are you sure? There was so much blood!” The woman cradled the boy next to her to ease his crying.
“Head wounds bleed a lot, but we'll use the cold pack first and see how it goes.” Jillian smiled at the boy as his sobs quieted to small hiccups. She cracked a cold pack and mixed the chemicals contents to activate it before placing it gently against the back of his head. “There now, you're so brave. How would you like a lollipop? If your mom says it's okay,” she quickly amended.
“That would be fine.” Joey's mother appeared relieved when her son stopped crying and chose a grape sucker. “Thank you. I'm glad this isn't serious.”
“Not at all, he should be fine.” Jillian wondered if most of the patients she'd see during the afternoon would be children. She didn't mind. Sometimes kids came into the Trinity Medical Center’s emergency department by mistake, instead of going over to Children's Memorial Hospital, which happened to be located next door. She wasn't a pediatrician by trade, but she could handle kids if needed.
Her next patient proved her theory wrong, when a frail elderly lady came in, after nearly fainting in the heat.
Jillian managed to get the woman to drink some Gatorade and took the time to thoroughly assess her to make sure she wasn't having a stroke or any other undiagnosed illness. She kept the woman lying on the exam table for well over thirty minutes. By then, the woman claimed she felt much better.
“Okay, you can leave, but I want you to head straight home. And if you become light-headed again, call 911, okay?”
“I will, dear.” The elderly woman patted her arm. “Thank you.”
The trailer was quiet for another twenty minutes before the door opened again.
“Jillian?”
She was just as surprised to see Alec, holding a young girl whose heart-shaped face was streaked with tears. “What happened?”
“Shannon's arm swelled up from a bee sting.” He gently set his daughter on the exam table.
“Is she allergic?” Jillian reached for another cold pack quickly activating it.
“I don't know.” He looked worried. “She says she's never been stung by a bee before. I thought we needed to come here in case she needed epinephrine.”
Smart thinking on Alec's part. She smiled at the little girl. “Hi, Shannon, my name is Dr. Jillian.” The girl’s sobs quieted to small sniffles. Gently taking Shannon's arm, she examined the large reddened area right above her elbow. “Do you remember what happened?”
“A bee flew near my juice box.” Shannon's tone indicated she despised the creatures. Jillian placed the cold pack over the swollen area, raking her gaze over Shannon in search of other signs of an allergic reaction. The little girl's breathing appeared good, and there were no sign of hives breaking out on her skin. “He wouldn't go away, the next thing I knew my arm burned like it was on fire.”
“And you're sure you've never been stung before?” Jillian pressed.
“I’m positive.” The little girl's head bobbed up and down. Her dark brown hair was the exact same shade as Alec’s but the similarities stopped there. Shannon had big brown eyes, not sparkling green ones.
“I believe you. Alec, the epi-pens are in that right hand drawer over there. Maybe grab one, just in case.” She continued holding the cold pack on Shannon's arm, as Alec crossed over to find the epi-pens.
She wrapped a comforting arm around Shannon's shoulders. The little girl's slipped sideways, leaning her head against Jillian, as if the whole traumatic experience had worn her out.
She smoothed her hand over Shannon's hair, catching a whiff of baby shampoo. Alec 's daughter was a cutie.
The thought of having a child of her own flashed in her mind. Then she gave herself a mental shake. She couldn’t even think like that. Not when she still didn’t have the medical answers she needed.
“What do you think?” His brows were pulled together in a frown as he brought over two epi-pens. “Is she allergic?”
“Not that I can tell. So far, so good.” She flashed a reassuring smile. Carefully, so as not to dislodge Shannon from resting against her, she lifted the edge of the cold pack to assess the swelling. The reddened area was already starting to look a little better. “We should keep an eye on this for a little while, yet.” She waved at the container of lollipops. “Do you mind if she has one?”
“No of course not.” He gave his daughter a curious look. “What flavor would you like? Cherry or grape?”
Shannon lifted her head from Jillian and pursed her lips. “Cherry is my favorite.”
He looked surprised but nodded. “I like cherry too.” He peeled off the wrapper and handed it to her.
She popped the sucker into her mouth. “Thank you,” she mumbled, her speech garbled from the lollipop.
“You’re welcome.” Watching Alec with his daughter, she remembered how he'd mentioned they had only been living together for the past nine months, since her mother's death. She could only imagine how terrible that must have been for such a young girl.
“Why does cold make swelling go down?” Shannon asked.
