Page 71 of Dr. Alaska
Louise silenced her phone that rang at the same time. Digging in her EMS coat pocket, she fished out the keys to the rig and silently raised her eyebrows at Tuli as they exited. In the passenger seat, Mav punched in the address while Louise pulled out of the parking lot and flipped on the flashing lightbar on top of the rig.
The location seemed familiar. Male, age sixty-eight, respiratory distress.
The address clicked. “Ah crap, it’s Bruce.”
“Not again.” Louise maneuvered out of town for several miles, then down the secondary gravel road. The snow still held up as a decent road base this first week in February, but in another month, they’d be fighting gray silty mud and massive potholes as an entire season of snow melted into one big sloppy mess.
In a flash, they arrived at Bruce and Aggie’s place. Aggie met them at the door and ushered them into the cozy cabin where Bruce sat in his recliner. He looked… stable. Comfortable. The house smelled of fresh baked goods.
“How’s it going?” Mav asked him.
“Little short of breath, little chest pain.” He scowled at Aggie. “The usual.”
Louise got a set of vitals while Mav listened to his heart and lungs. “Sounds okay.”
Bruce glared at the inflating blood pressure cuff. “And chest pain,” he reminded them, patting his chest.
Louise shrugged along with Mav and hooked up the oxygen tank. Given the health scare that Bruce had gone through last month, if the man felt he needed to be in the ED, no one would argue.
“Let’s get the gurney,” Mav said.
“Naw, I can walk.” Bruce tried to get out of the chair.
He made a swiping motion with his hand. “Rules are rules.”
“That’s not what I wanted. I just need to get to the hospital so that—” He clamped his mouth shut.
“So that what?” Mav said.
Aggie tapped Bruce on the shoulder. “So that he can make sure everything is going to be okay.”
“Hmmph.”
She pinned him with a terrifying glower. “Go with them.” Aggie patted her gray curls. “I will be along shortly. Might bring cookies for everyone. You all work so hard at the hospital.”
“Ooh, chocolate chip?” Louise asked as she reentered the house and locked the brakes on the stretcher.
“Would you like one now?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” She removed her exam gloves, applied hand sanitizer, then took a cookie off the plate Aggie brought over and chewed in happiness.
Mav didn’t want to be rude. After cleaning his hands, he selected one as well. The chocolate was melted, so he ate it quickly.
From the recliner seat, Bruce waved his hands. “Hello? I could be having a heart attack, people. Let’s go.”
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay, Bruce?” Mav said. “At what point in your life have you ever willingly sought medical care?”
“Uh, today’s different.” He pressed on his sternum.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get you down the road.” Mav pulled on a fresh pair of gloves and motioned for Louise to position Bruce so they could move him safely. “Say, where’s Calvin? You literally have an ER doctor staying with you.”
Aggie frowned. “He ran over to Fairbanks this weekend for supplies.”
They quickly secured Bruce to the gurney, with monitors and oxygen all attached, and wheeled him out to the ambulance. Within minutes, they arrived at the ED ambulance entrance and rolled him down the hall.
“Which room?” Mav asked.
Amberlyn pointed at trauma bay two.
