Page 19 of Just Breathe

“How are you holding up?” Someone startled me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to see the ER doctor smiling at me. I think his name was William, but I just called him Doc all day. He was a sweet guy, mid-thirties I’d guess, and great with all of his patients.

“Exhausted. I don’t think I’ve ever had a shift go by so fast.” I organized the station I was at, trying to clean up the endless mess everywhere.

He chuckled. “I know. It’s been a rough couple of months being short staffed. I even wish we had an extra doctor, so it wasn’t so bad during our busier hours.”

“I don’t know how you’ve survived like this. This is brutal.” I got up, stretching my back, feeling a crack along my spine.

“It definitely has been brutal. I hear we only have you for a short period.” He took his stethoscope off and massaged his neck.

“Well, that is to be determined. I might be here for a little while longer.” I really hoped he didn’t ask personal questions. After a long day, I don’t think I was emotionally ready to answer those hard questions.

“Jane?” I turned around to see Michelle walking towards me and I hope she wanted to speak to me.

“Hi Michelle. How’s it going?” I asked.

“Exhausted, I’m sure you are too.” She definitely looked tired. “I just need two more things from you, and we can also talk about schedules.”

“Of course.” I looked back at William, or whatever his name was. “It was great to meet and work with you.” I smiled, relieved that we didn’t have time to ask personal questions.

“Thanks for the help, Jane. It was great working with you, too.” He smiled, looking just as exhausted. “Good night, Michelle.”

“Good night, Daniel.” He waved as he turned away, and I felt a little guilty for being so off with his name.

“Alright, let’s get this done so you can go home and rest. I didn’t think I would find you here so late.” She turned around, walking down the hall.

“I hate to leave things unfinished.” I followed her down the hall.

“That’s great. With it being so busy here, unfortunately we’ve become relaxed in a lot of areas. Keeping up with patient files is the one that suffers the most and restocking supplies.” She continued walking.

“I’m sure y’all are all exhausted. I’m honestly surprised you’re still here.” My feet were hurting with all the walking and standing I did all day. My body wasn’t used to this anymore. When I did work, I was taking easier departments.

“Well, I went home for a few hours to rest up. I had no one to cover tonight’s shift, so here I am.” She walked into her office, sat down in her chair, and I followed suit.

“I can stay for a few hours if you need me to restock some supplies and clean a few of the rooms,” I offered, despite the crushing fatigue. Michelle looked up at me, relieved but wary.

“Jane, you’ve been here almost fifteen hours. I’m sure you’re very exhausted.” She looked like she was barely holding it together and I felt so bad for her.

“I don’t mind, and you definitely need some help. I’ll only stay a few more hours, at least to clean and restock. That was the most tiring thing of the day, having to go back and forth from the supply closet. I’d also hate to think of what could happen if we didn’t have something readily available to us.” I knew I was going to regret this tomorrow, but I couldn’t leave her.

She looked at me with gratitude. “You can stay for two hours and then you have to go home. I can’t let you stay too long knowing you still have to drive an hour and half back to your rental. I would feel absolutely feel horrible if something happened to you because you fell asleep.”

“Deal.” I felt a little giddy at finally organizing some stuff because it drove me mad when things weren’t where they were supposed to be.

“Ok, before we head out, I need two more signatures. I’ve also secured a stipend for your travel to and back from work.” She took out some paperwork and I read over it before signing.

“Thank you.” I was really hoping she was going to offer that, since I was driving so far, but I knew not to push things. “I appreciate your generous offers.”

“Well, so far, you’re worth it.” She took the paperwork back, making sure everything was correct. “Here are your security cards for the hospital and your ID. You’ll also need to display this in your car in the employee parking lot, so they don’t tow your car away thinking you are a visitor or patient.”

“Thank you, this was also a pain today, having to borrow clearance cards.” I took the cards with my ID and attached it to the lanyard I brought with me.

“Do you have enough scrubs?” she asked as she filed my paperwork away and stood up. “I might have a few I can lend you or I can check our stock.”

“I have three sets with me. Unless you a have a certain color you expect me to wear, I should be good.” I stood up with her, put the parking pass in my pocket and followed her out of the office.

“No, you can wear whatever scrubs you want. I have much better things to do than worry about some stupid scrubs.” We walked back to the ER together. “If you can work Monday and Thursday night next week, that would be great. I might need you next Sunday as well, but I’ll let you know hopefully by Thursday.”

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