Page 39 of The Heat of Us

My breath rushed out of me as he addressed the rest of the group.

I could do this. Focus on finding my feet here and maybe I would slowly feel a little less mismatched with my designation.

It was going to be ok.

It was not ok because Mr. Nguyen had an emergency call three hours later.

There were two nurses in the room already when Dr. Anderson and I arrived. I recognised the older nurse as Patty, whose infectious, braying laughter at the nurses station could be heard an entire ward away and always brought in the best baked goods. A quick glance at the younger man’s tag told me he was a student.

“What happened to the patient?” Mitch asked, striding up to the bedside and casting his eyes over Mr. Nguyen.

“He started to choke on something while talking with his wife,” Patty replied briskly. “His sats plummeted and he started to become cyanosed around the lips.”

I didn’t usually pay much attention to the nursing students (bit of a skittish bunch), but something passed between us as he caught my eye.

Holy shit.

I know.

I have no idea what I’m doing.

You think I do?

“Ben.”

My head swung back to Mitch. I needed to get my head in the game and fast.

“Take the lead. This is your case.”

The other nurse spoke up for the first time. “We put oxygen on him which seems to have helped,” he offered.

It was like a tiny spark, lighting up the required knowledge centre in my brain. “How low did he drop down to, and what are his current readings?”

“Low to mid 80, running ten litres via the mask. Now sitting 97.”

“Any need to suction?” I continued. “Was he eating or drinking at the time?”

“Not sure. His wife pressed the emergency buzzer when she realised he wasn’t catching his breath,” he replied instantly.

There was a quick flicker of energy between us. The two of us felt co-ordinated, falling in-step with each other easily.

We can do this.

“Swap him with nasal prongs and check to see if he needs a suction. If not, increase his observations and keep him on oxygen,” I said decisively.

“And?” Mitch prompted.

What was I missing? I mentally catalogued everything I knew about Mr. Nguyen and–

“Make him nil by mouth, get a speech review and I’ll order him a chest X-ray. If he was eating or drinking, he could have aspirated.” I turned back to the male nurse. “Does he still have a line in?”

He nodded. “Kept it in as his veins aren’t the greatest.”

“Good. I’ll also order some antibiotics, just in case.”

Once Mr. Nguyen was stable, Mitch gave me a nod before leaving. It was about as much of a well done I was ever going to get from that boulder-faced man.

Patty was much more effusive though. “Look at you babies, all grown up with your first code and everything,” she cooed like we were foals taking our first wobbly steps.

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