“Carline Jameson.”
Sam cocked his head. “Carli from radiology? The one who helped out in registration during the blizzard?”
“Yeah, we were coming back from an event earlier and had taken separate cars. I…um…” The thought of her being hurt stabbed at him. Panic rose again. What if she’d been the fatality and he’d been helping others? What if he could have saved her?
His fear must have shown on his face, because Sam clapped his hand on Blake’s shoulder. “The fatality was a forty-year-old woman. I pronounced her myself. We’ll find where Carli is. Jan, let us know when you have that information.” That last he addressed to the nurse, then he turned and reentered the fray.
Blake threw a “thanks” over his shoulder, then followed Sam. Professionalism and being able to shut down his emotions was drilled into them from early on in med school. He couldn’t slip now.
He skipped right into pediatric mode, with silly jokes and special attention for the children who’d been brought in. Some of their parents had also been injured, which made it even harder to deal with. All the time, Carli was on his mind. Where was the nurse with the information? Stupid question. The place was a zoo with the highway accident, plus the fact it was Saturday night and a full moon.
As he passed one of the rooms, he saw the woman whose father he had helped.
“How is he?”
She gave a tiny smile. “He’s in surgery. They think the artery was only nicked but said you saved his life by applying pressure when you did. Thank you so much.”
“Happy to help. I’ll pop in tomorrow to make sure everything went okay.”
As he was washing his hands after another patient, a young nurse popped her head in. “Dr. Wentworth, someone said you might know some sign language. We have a Deaf patient, and the interpreter can’t be here for almost an hour. The online interpreting service isn’t currently working.”
“Be right there.” Could it be Carli?
After drying his hands, he followed her to an exam room. The disappointment slammed into him when it was a teenage boy and not Carli. The paperwork said his name was Phil.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Blake,” he signed. “Are your parents here?”
Phil’s hands took off, and Blake had to stop him. “Slow down. I’m still learning ASL.”
Nodding, the boy signed slower.I was with my brother. He’s getting x-rays.
“Okay. How about you? Where do you hurt?”
When Phil pointed to his side, Blake had him recline on the bed and probed the area. Tender and bruised, but he didn’t think it was much more than that.
“Did someone call your parents?”
Yes, they’re coming soon.
“I want a nurse to take some blood and check…” Oh, how did he say white blood count? He ended up fingerspelling it. Slowly.
Phil smirked.Why do you know sign language?
It was Blake’s turn to grin. “My girlfriend is deaf.”
New girlfriend, right?
“How did you know?”
You sign very slow.Phil moved one finger up his other arm, taking a long time to reach the end.
“I’m trying to get better.”
Thanks. For signing with me.
Blake nodded, then arranged for the nurse to take the blood, making sure Phil didn’t have any questions. He headed to wash his hands, then pulled out his phone and tried Carli again. He’d texted her a few times earlier but hadn’t gotten an answer. His anxiety grew and grew, and the hole in his chest expanded.
“Dr. Wentworth?” Jan poked her head in the washroom. “I found your friend. She was in radiology.”
