The nurse Aerimell had spoken to had sought Kel out; not for approval on what he had advised her to do, no she would never question his expertise, but his demeanor had worried her. Had that been fear in the kind doctors eyes, she asked silently. What reason did he have to fear? Was there something here? And so she found herself knocking at Kel’s door within the span of ten minutes. Upon arriving at the door however, she hesitated. Was it something to bring to the Champions attention?
She raised a hand to knock and stifled a sharp cry when the door suddenly opened without a noise being made. Kel, on the other hand, wasn’t as ready to see someone right there. She jerked, jumping almost out of her skin as a quiet curse in goblin fell from her lips. After the blink of an eye, she smoothed herself back out, realizing that the nurse more than likely wanted something. She hadn’t come with a chart, which was odd though.
“Light above, I wasn’t expecting that. Yes?” She asked the woman who’d scared the Light out of her. She was just getting ready to go home after a long night of work in the OR following an attack on the city. While clean, it was clear she had been there since at least the night before. “Can I help you?”
“I- that is- er, I hope..” the nurse stammered, not quite sure how to spit it out. Raising a brow, Kel simply waited. This was interesting. Normally none of the nurses and other staff held back. What was the issue here?
“You can tell me,” she prodded gently. “Whatever it is, we can fix it.”
The nurse took a breath. “Doctor Sundershade was behaving mightily strangely today.”
“How?”
“Well, when he provided follow-up care for our patient, he seemed afraid of something. Not simply nervous or anxious, but true fear,” she explained. “It was the strangest thing. Our patient care had been routine until then. There was nothing to fear.”
No, Kel reasoned silently. There wasn’t anything apparent to fear, but everyone had wounds they never spoke about. She answered gently. “Be on your way now. I will look in on him and see what the matter is.” The nurse, grateful to be dismissed, shot back down another hallway. “How odd,” Kel muttered to herself. “True fear? That’s not particularly like him. Anxiety, yes.”
Exiting her office, she locked the door behind her and made her way down the hallway to where Aerimell had his offices located.
The door was closed and appeared to be locked. Also strange. She raised her knuckles and rapped sharply against the door twice, calling his name. As she called his name, a strange eerie feeling stole over her. Dismissing it, she gave her head a sharp shake.
No, she reasoned. Everything was fine™.
Her communications device suddenly squawked at her hip. << "Knight-Champion Brightmaul," >> Andrastyn's voice rang out, << "This is Sergeant Sundershade. I have been unable to reach the Lieutenant. Have you received word?" >>
<<“I am standing in front of his door knocking,”>> Kel replied, speaking into the device. She could see Cedric Sutherland watching her from down the hallway but paid him no mind. The Private was still earning his stripes. <<“Has he left for the day, or is he working in your clinic?”>>
<< "Negative, ma'am. The last word I received from the Lieutenant was that he was still assisting following the riots; he should still be in the Cathedral, though not in my clinic. I am on my way." >>
She knew that he had worsened; it was part of the reason she and the Marshal had collaboratively ended his field career. His condition had deteriorated to the point where neither one of them had felt it was safe for him to continue returning to active operations and assigned him to garrison medical duties.
But if he was supposed to be here.
<< “I’ll be right there,” >> Andi had said. Her voice however, left her senses screaming in concern. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Her eyes went up the door. Down the door. She called his name one last time and absolutely smacked the door with her palm, clearly meaning business.
Had he been any kind of conscious, it would have had him at the door in seconds. But the demand went unanswered, and so she made up her mind. Taking about ten steps back to the opposite side of the hallway, she took a breath and then pushed off the wall, ramming the door with her shoulder as hard as she could, hitting it with a slam. Privacy and hospital property be damned, she’d pay for it later. It popped forward, slapping forward to slam backwards all the way open, the knob embedding in the wall. She crashed to the floor on her belly, tumbling into the room in a flurry.
Her eyes came up as she came to rest, landing on Aerimell’s still form. At the very top of her voice, in her strictest ‘don’t ask questions’ voice she snapped an order.
“SOMEBODY GET ME A GODS DAMNED GURNEY!”
Doing a fluid push-up off the floor, she scooted across the floor to his side. Twin masses lay in an obscene puddle nearby, a stark portrait of the seriousness of the situation. Whipping out her stethoscope, she all but ripped his coat and shirt open and slapped the face against his bare chest. She could barely hear anything, simply the fluttering of life. If anything, it made her work faster, harder, to bring him back from the edge of life and death.
“Prep a crash cart,” she clipped as both Cedric and Kesalari whipped into the room. “Winterbreeze, get into a surgical ward, and get it prepped as soon as possible. We will be right behind you. You’re my extra hands while we open him up.” She nodded at Kesalari, hoping there would be no further questions. “Sutherland, get in here with that gurney. We’re going to get him stabilized, then up and rolling. Standby for CPR. He’s still here, and Light be damned if I let him go,” she clipped. She followed this with a clipped order at a nearby orderly. “IV kit, and two bags of D5W.” She all but threw her stethoscope to the side and continued working, prepping veins for an IV butterfly.
While she worked, she kept her attention on Aerimell; she trusted the other two to follow the orders they were given to the letter. In the meantime, she prepped the back of his hand for IV fluids. Her left hand stabilized the vein than ran over the back of his hand and up into his forearm, before she sank the needle home. Within thirty seconds, he was connected to the sustainment fluids. She shoved the IV bag at an orderly, barking, “Don’t drop this. Hold it until he’s on the gurney.”
As Cedric wheeled the gurney in, she grabbed a backboard that had been conveniently tucked into the bottom of the gurney. They had to get him up and moving as soon as it was clear to do so. “Sutherland, help me get him up,” she called, sliding the board partially underneath Aerimell’s prone form. “We’re going to lift on three, ready? One. Two. And three.”
Between the two of them, Aerimell’s body was almost weightless; he was delicate, horrifyingly so, and almost emaciated under his coat. That was concerning. “And now we lift,” she nodded at Cedric. “We’re going to go straight up, and then onto the gurney on three. One. Two. And three.” They settled him onto the gurney in quick silence, each working to make sure that IV’s were fastened to the gurney poles properly. Kel kept a free hand on his pulse, feeling the feather-light beat of a fluttery and weak pulse. He was still fading. It was a race against time. “Go, go, go,” she nodded, beginning the push on the gurney. The nurse she who had been holding the IV bag prior to Aerimell settling into the gurney shot ahead of them, straight to OR2, where Kesalari and Honstire awaited. She punched the gurney bay door lock open just as Kel and Cedric pushed in.
There was an immediate flurry of activity within the OR -- Thankfully Winterbreeze had shot back down the hallway to make the necessary preparations with Honstire at her side to ready the suite for surgery. Their anesthesiologist came flying into the room, freshly scrubbed in, followed by a handful of OR hands. Kel stepped back from the gurney and immediately pivoted her attention for the barest time she could afford.
“Hons,” she called. Ripping one of her rank epaulets off her shoulder, she tossed it at him. “Sergeant Sundershade is of no sound mind to mind the hospital or patients. You’re in charge on the front lines of the ward until I step foot out of this OR. Winterbreeze is with me, Sutherland and Sparklecog are your right and left hands. If anything goes absolutely wildly out of line, you send one of them beelining to this OR comms room and patch in for advice. Understand? I trust you to use your best judgement.” She waited for his acknowledgement of the order before turning and darting to a sink. Continuing she ordered, “Send a message to the Marshal as soon as you can. Absolutely and ONLY for the Marshal’s eyes only. Not the Commander, not Champion Sparrowmind, Marshal Edain. Advise him that there’s been a critical incident involving Lieutenant Sundershade, that I and Corporal Winterbreeze are in surgery with him, and that there will be routine updates on his condition as we work. Do you understand this?”
She looked at Kesalari and nodded, “Scrub in, Winterbreeze. You’re with me today.” To Hons, she continued, “You will also find immediate support for Sergeant Sundershade. Summon the Elunite chaplain from the Keep to come and sit with her. And if she requires support for their daughter Mari, you are to provide it immediately.”
All that was said in the span of two minutes. Her adrenaline was pumping hard, and the surgical suite lights came on with a soft hum. They could be delayed no longer. Gloved and gowned up, she tugged up her mask and gave them both one last nod. “Go.”
To Kesalari, she simply said, “Whether you’re ready or not, it’s time to get to work.
The anesthesiologist, Doctor Benjamin Northway, was a resident spicy Gilnean. While incredibly knowledgeable about his profession and incredibly dedicated to the care of others, he was also possessed of an incredibly cheeky disposition that only made the OR a funnier place to be. But today was not a day where humour would be found in their OR.
“Ready Benji?” Kel asked. “I know you and I have had a very long night, and I appreciate you scrubbing back in with me.” “Aye love, wouldn’ miss it f’the world,”
He nodded, his focus on Aerimell. While Kel had briefed the Corporals and Privates, he had begun settling Aerimell into a prepped surgical statis. “No’ f’r this LT. He’s a roigh’ fine lad.”
“Alright. Lets get to work then. Bette,” She called to a nurse she knew quite well. “Begin the surgical clock.”
The soft chime of the surgical clock starting set everything in motion. As she stepped up to her preferred spot, she sent a small silent prayer into the nether.
Holy Light, please this be successful. Become one with my hands, and let them be an instrument of healing. Guide them and grant them the strength to ease Aerimell’s suffering. Through pain, suffering, sickness, and sadness, you have guided my steps, and I pray that you do not abandon me to the darkness yet. I ask only for guidance, and the strength of heart and spirit to see this through.
Aerimell’s form was even stiller, and due to the nature of the surgery they needed to perform, he had been intubated and placed on a ventilator to assist with his breathing. She had never seen him so lifeless, and the fact was incredibly jarring. The first cut in surgery was always the easiest to make -- one didn't have to pick and choose where to cut. One simply cut. Her scalpel sliced through skin and sinew, and with Kesalari’s help, they soon had Aerimell’s lungs open bared to the surgical lights above. (edited)
“Deflating his left lung,” Kel stated for the surgical tape. “As the patient is on a ventilator, his right lung will continue to work until we can reinflate his left. We are going to be examining the lung for possible injury, cancerous or otherwise.”
As they worked to deflate Aerimell’s left lung Kel took a breath, and reached into the body cavity to begin palpating the lung, and the walls around the lung. Her fingers were light as a butterflies as she explored. What she had, she stiffened, pausing all movement. Growths. Hard and unmoving. She knew what these were, and she knew what the solution to them was. Her eyes closed for a thirty second pause on the surgical clock. You stupid, stupid man, she thought to herself. You knew about this. Her voice was higher-pitched when she spoke again.
“The patient presents with multiple growths on his left lung, which have begun to produce growing clots. We shall perform a recovery surgery to preserve as much of the tissue as possible.”
Removing growths would be the easier part. With Kesalari’s help, she began to remove the biggest growths. They were placed into a small metal dish, each one dropping with a hideous plop into the bin. From his left lung, three growths in total were removed. As she examined the last few, her heart fell straight to the floor. Her voice was quiet when she spoke to the recorder.
“While three growths were removed easily from the patients lungs, there are a handful of cancerous growths that I am not able to remove without killing the patient. We will make necessary repairs to the left lung, and upon successful placement of the lung tube and established connection with the ventilator, will proceed onto the right lung procedure.”
As she worked, she guided Kesalari, showing her how to successfully operate on supremely delicate tissues like the lungs and allowed the Corporal to feel for herself what cancerous nodes felt like. It was a lifesaving operation, but Kel could not forget that it was also a teaching moment for someone who did not have the same experience that she did. They soon had the lung tube successfully placed, and connected to the ventilator. With a soft hiss, the machine did it’s work, and Aerimell’s chest rose and fell rhythmically in even (although weak) breaths.
“How is he holding up, Benji,” Kel looked up from Aerimell’s lungs to address the Gilnean.
“Steady as a lark for now, bu’ I’d make quick work.” Benji’s words held a warning. Work fast or lose him. Aerimell could only take so much, and his sickness had shortened their time by quite a bit. “Deflating the right lung. The patient will remain on a ventilator, which will remain fully breathing for him over the period of the next four to seven days while his lungs re-inflate.”
She began again, palpating around his lung and the lung wall for nodes. There were just as many on this side, and just as big. Again, she showed Kesalari how to remove growths, explaining the process and what allowed a node to be removable. Her focus was laser sharp with each cut of diseased tissue, for she could give him no less than 110%. Another two growths joined the trio from his left lung in the metal dish before she spoke to the recording again.
“Two growths have been easily removed from the patient's right lung. In this lung, there remain two rooted cancerous nodes that I am not able to remove at this time without placing the patient’s life in danger. We have done all we can to recover the lungs, and all that remains is to place the right lung tube and ensure connectivity to the ventilator before closing.
Bette spoke up, “You’re at four and a half hours.”
“Y’can’ go much further lass,” Benji offered quietly.
“I know,” Kel answered just as softly. There really was nothing more that they could do to help him. Aerimell was at the end of every lifesaving surgical preventative intervention that she could give to him. He was lucky that his body tolerated the stress that she had just put him under; the chances of death on the table had been high. What was going to be worse than death itself was the sickness that was going to follow this. A lump all but strangled the breath from her throat, and she fought a losing battle to quash it.
“Prepare to close the patient,” Kel addressed the recording. “He will be moved into ICU recovery, with a constant monitor for the first 48 hours of recovery time. Winterbreeze, when you and I are finished, you will follow me for your next lesson.”
The next lesson would probably be the hardest one of all to learn.
