Tear In Time by Christopher David Petersen Read Free Book Online

front of him felt offensive. Dr. Warner strengthened his resolve and
made his incision, cutting through the various layers of tissue as blood flowed
freely from the opening. Immediately the unmistakable stench of blood and fecal
matter wafted through their protective masks.
     
      He
finished the incision and called, “Clamp.”
     
      Nurse
Edwards placed the clamp in his hand. Dr Warner positioned the clamp, holding
open the incision as he tried to examine the damage through the draining blood.
     
     
“Suction,” Dr. Warner called out.
     
      Dr.
Stadler inserted the probe into the incision and began to suck out the excess
blood.
     
     
“Careful; watch the trauma. Work around the transverse colon. Clean out as much
of that fecal matter as possible,” Dr. Warner cautioned as Dr. Stadler worked.
     
      “Got
it,” Dr. Stadler replied, carefully sucking up the blood and debris from the
abdominal cavity.
     
      With a
better view, Dr. Warner could now see the damaged organs more clearly. It was
apparent the spleen, pancreas and colon, as well as the left kidney had some
form of trauma.
     
      “I
need a 4-0 prolene and an R.B.-1 needle, now. Anyone know the caliber of
bullet?” Dr Warner asked, as Nurse Edwards handed him the needle and suture.
     
     
“Doesn't look small, that's all I know,” replied Dr. Stadler, still suctioning
the colon.
     
      “Looks
like about a .22,” Dr. Warner informed. “Small entry wound, but heavy internal
trauma from the shockwave as it passed through at the high velocity.”
     
     
“Shockwave?” asked Nurse Edwards.
     
      While
Dr. Warner worked to repair the damaged spleen, Dr. Stadler answered Nurse Edward's
question.
     
      “As a
bullet travels, it pushes the air out of the way, creating a field of turbulent
air around the bullet. That air around the bullet, the shockwave, has almost as
much destructive force as the bullet itself: so instead of a quarter of an inch
bullet causing damage, you have to add the inch of shockwave to the problem
too,” Dr. Stadler said.
     
     
“Awful, just awful,” Nurse Edwards replied sadly.
     
     
“Stats!” Dr. Warner called out as he quickly worked.
     
      “BP
seventy-five over fifty, pulse ox eighty,” replied Nurse Edwards
     
      “She's
bleeding everywhere,” Dr. Warner complained. He turned to Dr. Stadler and
instructed him to repair the transverse colon. “Looks like we have a small
puncture in the transverse colon. Can you repair it while I attend to the
spleen?”
     
      “I'm
on it. Eight blade with suction, and a 4-0 and an R.B.-1 standing by,” Dr.
Stadler rattled off in quick succession to Nurse Edwards.
     
      Like a
gentle father teaching his son, Dr. Warner delicately cautioned Dr. Stadler,
“One thing at a time,” he said, then added, “Work frantically in control.”
     
     
“Gotcha,” Dr. Stadler replied, slightly embarrassed by his over zealousness.
     
      As
they both worked frantically to repair the damaged organs, the flow of blood
went on nearly unabated. Nurse Edwards kept a careful eye trained on the
monitors as well as the doctors, anticipating their needs before their
requests.
     
     
“Doctors, BP is dropping again, sixty-five over forty-eight. Pulse ox is very
low: seventy-seven,” Nurse Edwards announced.
     
     
“Dammit, where is she bleeding from?” Dr. Warner asked rhetorically.
     
      “We're
working the areas now, Dr. Warner,” Dr. Stadler replied.
     
      “No,
no, with this much blood loss there has to be a much larger source, like the
vena cava or the aorta,” Dr. Warner speculated.
     
      “We're
nowhere near those areas. The bullet exited out her back, through the kidneys,”
Dr. Stadler replied.
     
      “I
know, but this much blood loss isn't adding up. The bullet missed the renal and
spleenic veins and arteries. This can't be from just the organs,” Dr. Warner
replied.
     
      The
two doctors worked feverishly to repair the damaged and bleeding