I know that car accidents are common, but it still pains me every time someone is brought in because of it. Especially when they’re kids.
I looked over the girl’s medical file.
Kaitlyn L. Jones, born 2010 February 17, so she is fourteen. She has ADHD. . . .
Nothing useful. A witness had said that a car was speeding at her, and she didn’t move. She must have frozen up. But did the car hit her on purpose?
I looked at Kaitlyn. She had an oxygen mask over her face, a tube attached, one giving her blood, and several wraps on her. She had broken two of her right ribs, her right forearm, and her right leg. Her right wrist was fractured. She was one of the lucky ones. She didn’t seem to suffer any brain injuries, which is good.
All the injuries would be able to heal overtime, but she would need help with many daily tasks. It was upsetting to think of what her reaction would be when she found out she had broken most of her right side.
Two adults, both brown-haired and green-eyed just like her, were sitting in the waiting chairs just like yesterday. They were Kaitlyn’s parents. With them, there was a girl who was Kaitlyn’s best friend. She had blonde hair and brown eyes.
It took them all a couple of days of reassuring that she would make a full recovery for them to stop crying and worrying. When they had first visited, the mother had gasped at her state, and her friend had started to sob.
It got easier the more they visited and saw her healing. Especially once she had been wrapped up and some of the cuts and bruises healed.
“You can come in now.” I said to them. They all hurried into the room as they did every time, wanting to use as much of the visiting time as possible.
Kaitlyn’s parents stood on the side of the bed, closer to her feet. Her friend sat in a chair on the left side of Kaitlyn.
“Her vitals are fine. She should gain her consciousness soon. We'll have to keep her in a little longer to make sure she’s okay and will make a full recovery, and there are no memory or brain damages that we didn’t pick up.”
The parents listened to me as the girl held Kaitlyn’s unharmed hand. I saw that her heart rate picked up at the sudden touch. The girl watched her heart rate pick up and then go back to normal.
“Thank you for all your help, Dr. Lily.” The father said. I nodded and let them be with her.
I was in front of Kaitlyn’s room door, writing down the last of my notes before leaving when her father quickly opened the door.
“Her eyes opened!”
She was awake.
I looked at her heart rate before getting one of her nurses to come with me.
After asking her family to leave for a moment, I wrote down her vitals and responses as the nurse talked to her. “Hi, honey. I’m Dana; I’m one of your nurses. This is Dr. Lily. You are in the hospital because you were hit by a car while on your bike. You are stable and improving, so don’t worry. Today is April 14th, 2024, and we are going to try to get you up and better as soon as possible, okay?”
Nurse Dana was checking her airways and blood pressure. “Everything hurts.” Kaitlyn said, her voice strained. “You did suffer a few injuries. But don’t worry, you are safe, and everything is okay. Your parents and your friend are waiting outside for when you are ready to see them, okay? Dr. Lily and I are just going to ask a few questions and make sure your brain and body are fine.”
Nurse Dana was one of my favorite nurses.
“Do you have a memory of being hit by the car?” Nurse Dana stood next to Kaitlyn, and I stood at the foot of her bed.
“My...my throat...” Her left arm moved up to her throat.
“I’ll go get you some water; Dr. Lily will talk to you while I’m gone, okay?” Nurse Dana left, and I moved to her spot.
“Okay, do you know your name?” I asked, looking for signs of amnesia. “Kaitlyn.” Her voice was a little hoarse, but Nurse Dana came in with a full glass of water just then.
After carefully lifting her bed into a seated position, Kaitlyn was able to swallow every drop of water in the glass.
“Was I in a coma?” Kaitlyn asked after setting the glass down. “Yes. For seven days.” I responded, and Nurse Dana went to get more water. “I missed school?” I looked at her and said "Yes.”
She settled back in her bed. “Good. I did not want to take that stupid test anyway. You think they could make me? I know Amanda brought me my homework, which is nice and all, but if I’m waking up from a seven-day coma, the only thing worse than finding out where I’m hurt is finding out I have loads of homework I have to catch up on.” I smiled as she seemed to be quickly recovering.
Kaitlyn continued to talk, “And near the end of the year too. Boy will my grade suffer. Could they drop my grade since I was in a coma? If they do, then that’s messed up; how was I supposed to do it?” Then she looked at me and asked, “Can I see my parents and Amanda?”
“In just a minute, okay? We want to make sure you are stable enough to see people, and so far, you are. Would you like to tell me what you injured?” Kaitlyn nodded, and I told her.
“Well, there goes the entire functioning part of my body.” Kaitlyn joked, but I heard her voice crack a little, and she drank the other glass of water.
“I’ll let your family in now.” Nurse Dana said and opened the door for them to come in. I stepped out for a moment and thought about how glad I was that Kaitlyn was already recovering fast and she would be okay.
It still made me think about how horrible of a person you would have to be to hit a child. They should not even have been going that fast. And they just... disappeared.37Please respect copyright.PENANAsfwQNlCfxS
---(AUTHORS NOTE)--37Please respect copyright.PENANADlXMMbdLsN
Hello! Chapter two!37Please respect copyright.PENANAS2STfihqXo
I know, it is still a little short, but I think the next chapter is longer, and that should be out soon!37Please respect copyright.PENANAz4EVc1hQDu
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy the next because boy, did I have to do a lot of research on wheelchairs, car accidents, and hospitals. Hopefully it all checks out and let me know if it doesn't!37Please respect copyright.PENANAkFOZpt3JOu
Leave a like if you are enjoying this so far and I hope I see you in the next chapter!37Please respect copyright.PENANABH5oQ5qcEg
That is all, have a wonderful day/night/endless abyss!37Please respect copyright.PENANAHpAOa19rUX
---(AUTHORS NOTE)---37Please respect copyright.PENANAz2wEDhce1J