Page 26 of Fourteen of a Kind

“His name is Brent Connolly, age 32. He was surfing when a shark caught his board and dragged him under. He has injuries to the torso, left hand, arm, and leg,” one of the paramedics spoke.

“Karla, my Uncle Conner is here today. Page him stat,” I shouted. “Start a line and hang two units of blood. Oh my God.” I was startled when I pulled the blanket back and saw his injuries.

“Jesus Christ,” Graham said.

“Brent, stay with us. We’re going to take good care of you,” I said.

My team scrambled to stabilize the patient while trying to keep the bleeding under control.

“We need to get him to the O.R. stat!” I said. “You want to sit in?” I looked at Graham.

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Let’s go, people. We need to get him up to the O.R.”

“Ella, your uncle said he’ll meet you in the O.R.”

“Thanks, Karla.”

Graham and I entered the scrub room and scrubbed in.

“I’ve never treated a shark attack victim before.” I glanced at him as we scrubbed our hands.

“Me either.”

“The scary thing is those bites looked like they came from a great white.”

“How can you tell?” he asked.

“By the radius of the bite marks. I’m certain it was a juvenile great white.”

“Are you a shark expert?” He smirked.

“I know a thing or two.”

We entered the operating room, where two nurses gowned and gloved us.

“I hear we have a shark attack victim,” my Uncle Conner walked into the room.

“Patient is out,” Marty, the anesthesiologist, said.

“My lord.” My Uncle Conner examined his arm, hand, and leg. “He’s going to need multiple surgeries. We better get Nathan in here. Nancy, call the medical center and see when Dr. Nathan Kind can get here.”

“On it, Dr. Kind.”

“Who’s this?” my Uncle Conner asked, gesturing to Graham.

“Dr. Graham Malone, Dr. Kind. Today is my first day here.”

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Malone. What’s your specialty?”

“He’s the new peds surgical fellowship resident,” I said as I worked on the patient’s torso.

“I like you already,” my Uncle Conner said.

The door to the O.R. opened, and Grayson walked in.

“How’s it going in here?” he asked, walking over.

---