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“The paramedics are on the way,” Rafe said reassuringly. She glanced up at him, noting he'd gotten both Lacy and Eric in handcuffs. They were sitting side by side in the back of the squad. She couldn't worry about Lacy anymore, not now. Her attention was riveted on Alec, who was losing blood at a brisk pace.
Please Lord, save Alec's life, she silently begged as she waited impatiently for the paramedic unit to arrive. Alec needed blood and fluids as soon as humanly possible.
And if they were to save his leg, he'd need surgery as well.
But there was nothing she could do without help. Without supplies. She never felt more helpless in her entire life.
Her faith crumbled as she silently begged.Don’t die, Alec. Shannon needs you. I need you. Don't die. Please, don't die...
* * *
When the paramedicunit finally arrived, Jillian continued to hold pressure as the two paramedics started large bore IV’s in both of Alec's arms. She directed them, even though they knew what to do.
“Please secure an airway. Hang the fluids wide open. Get him on the heart monitor.”
As she continued to hold pressure, the paramedics followed her commands, then removed Alec’s vest. She could see the skin was badly bruised, but nothing had penetrated his chest. Then they asked her to let up on the bullet wound in his leg so they could examine the arterial bleed.
Throughout the interminable waiting, Jillian let up on the pressure every few minutes to help encourage some profusion of Alec's leg. Saving his life was the first priority, but if there was also a way to save his leg, she intended to do it.
The older paramedic wanted to use a mechanical pressure device, but Jillian shook her head. “Manual pressure is better. And it's easier with manual pressure to remember to let up long enough to perfuse his limb.”
When the guy looked as if he might argue again, she pinned him with a narrow look. “No. I'm the doctor I'm giving you an order for manual pressure. I'll hold it myself all the way to Trinity Medical Center if I have to.”
“Okay.” The paramedics exchanged a surprised look, but let the issue go. They took her up on her offer so she held pressure on Alec’s leg wound throughout the ambulance ride. It wasn’t easy to balance on the gurney, but she managed. Staring down at his still features was difficult. She tried to reassure herself that he was still alive, but it wasn't easy.
“Call ahead, tell them to have a vascular surgeon available when we get there,” she instructed the paramedic. “Let them know Dr. Jillian Davis is on scene arriving with a critically injured patient with an arterial bleed.”
The paramedic nodded and made the call.
What else could she do? Nothing. Thankfully, his heart was stable, the reassuring beat on the portable monitor helped calm her nerves. Giving fluids wide open, holding pressure and transporting Alec to the hospital as quickly as possible was all they could do to save him.
She remembered that night—had it only been three weeks ago?—when Alec had done the same thing, holding manual pressure over their Evergreen Doe’s bleeding chest wound. She remembered being surprised at how Alec had taken the boy's death so hard. He seemed to take his job very seriously, almost to the extreme of doing whatever necessary to save a life. Maybe it was his medic training.
Tonight, grabbing Eric's gun had been risky. He'd saved the boy's life, but at the possible expense of his own.
The screaming sirens echoed in her head as the ambulance rushed to Trinity Medical Center. It didn't take long, and as soon as the ambulance stopped, the second paramedic jumped out, opened the back door and prepared to move Alec inside.
Still straddled on the gurney, Jillian continued to hold pressure as the paramedics slid Alec out of the ambulance and into the emergency department. Wayne would be surprised to see her, but she didn't care. No matter how she felt about Wayne on a personal level, he was a good doctor.
“Is the vascular surgeon available?” Jillian asked.
“Right here.” She glanced over to see Dr. Travis Smith. He eyed her curiously. “What do you have?”
“Femoral artery bleed from a gunshot wound. He's lost several units of blood.”
Wayne snapped out orders for O negative blood to be given through the rapid infuser. When Travis asked her to let up on the wound, she did.
“We’ll take him directly to the OR.” Travis quickly agreed with her assessment. “Draw a full panel of labs and let's get ready to move.”
William Patterson was already filling numerous tubes of blood. Jillian placed her hands back over the wound to apply pressure. Marianne added blood products to the rapid infuser. Watching the blood being infused into Alex veins was somewhat reassuring.
It was almost another ten minutes, which seemed like ten hours before they wheeled Alec up to the OR suite. When they arrived, Jillian let up on the pressure, awkwardly jumped down from the gurney and stepped back to let the surgical team take over.
She wanted to stay. If she put up enough of a ruckus, they'd probably let her. But she turned away, knowing it was best to let the experts do their job. She wasn’t a surgeon, but Travis Smith was excellent. If anyone could save Alec’s leg and his life, Travis could.
After washing Alex's blood from her hands, Jillian headed back down to the waiting room in the emergency department. When she walked in, she was surprised to find Alec’s parents, Shannon, Andrea and Amber, along with Amber's husband Nick. How they had gotten there so quickly, she wasn't sure. Apparently, Rafe had let them know about the shooting and they must have literally dropped everything to get here.
When Shannon saw Jillian, she broke free of Amber's embrace and rushed over, sobbing. Jillian caught the little girl close and hugged her hard.
