Here And Now (American Valor 2) by Cheryl Etchison Read Free Book Online

was currently taking a well-deserved nap in the exam room next door and had left specific instructions to only disrupt him if something critical, exciting, or unusual came in. Dehydrated little old ladies, unfortunately, didn’t fall into any of those categories. It was likely Chad would only come in once all the labs were run and Mrs. Hembree was ready to be admitted upstairs.
    Angela dropped back into her chair with a huff as he turned his focus to the patient.
    “Mrs. Hembree,” he said, taking her hand in both of his. “Since you’ve been running a fever for a couple of days, we’re going to start with an IV. Once we get some fluids in you, we’ll draw some blood and figure out what’s going on here. Okay?”
    The little old woman looked up at him with sad, blue eyes. “I hurt all over.”
    “I know, sweetheart. We’ll take good care of you. I promise.”
    Rachel arrived with an armful of blankets from the warmer and helped change Mrs. Hembree into a hospital gown. After piling the blankets on top of her, Lucky wrapped an extra blanket around her arm to help bring her veins to the surface, all while the granddaughter watched him with an eagle eye.
    As he waited for the blankets to work their magic, he did a second check of her blood pressure, pulse ox, and temperature, then reviewed the medications listed on her intake chart. Several minutes later, he unwrapped her arm and lowered it below heart level, looking for a vein. Rachel stood behind him, careful not to block his light as she leaned over his shoulder to watch.
    “If you’re the nurse, why aren’t you doing this?” the granddaughter asked Rachel as he began palpating the veins in the antecubital space. “I don’t want my nana being used as a training dummy.”
    Lucky bit down on the inside of his lip to keep from saying something that’d get him fired.
    Rachel must have sensed he was pissed and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I promise you, your grandmother is in excellent hands,” she said with a syrupy sweet tone. “She’s definitely got the best man for the job.”
    What this woman didn’t know was that Rachel wasn’t standing there to supervise, but to learn. When the triage nurse offered Rachel Mrs. Hembree’s chart, she readily admitted she had a horrible time with dehydrated geriatrics. It just so happened that Doc Ferguson overheard and suggested she watch Lucky to see how he did it. After all, he’d spent a lot of time deployed to the sandbox where treating dehydrated patients was a common occurrence.
    Unsatisfied with Rachel’s answer, the granddaughter huffed. And kept huffing. So much so, Lucky wouldn’t have been surprised if she passed out as a result. Then, with one last, dramatic huff, the woman rose from her chair and stormed out of the curtained area.
    Lucky glanced back at Rachel and chuckled when she widened her eyes and whispered, “Uh-oh.” They both knew what was coming next. And Lord help the person who woke Doc Ferguson from his nap for a dehydrated geriatric.
    “Since she’s gone, tell me exactly what you’re doing. Step by step.” Rachel leaned closer, the scent of her shampoo tickling his nose.
    He’d dealt with all kinds of distractions over the years, but never one quite like her.
    Lucky took his time, showed her how he used the 22-gauge needle and went at the vein from the side to keep it from rolling on him. “Because she’s dehydrated, you have to take your time,” he explained. “Otherwise, you’ll blow the vein.”
    She watched closely as he waited for the flashback, pushed a little fluid, and secured it with tape.
    “Voilà,” he said. “Success.”
    Rachel offered him a polite little golf clap. “Nicely done.”
    Within thirty minutes, Mrs. Hembree had perked up quite a bit, although she was still running a fever. Thankfully, the granddaughter had only returned briefly during that time, then quickly excused herself to make a phone call.
    Lucky closed off the IV and waited a few