I flag down Dr. Brown and grab a bag of ice from the freezer. “Possible broken radius.”
“I’ll be there in just a minute,” Dr. Brown says as he whips open the curtain of the bay across the triage area.
“Alrighty Scarlett, I have some ice here to help with the swelling.”
“What’s your name?” the “bonehead” guy asks.
“Austin Trace. I’m an RN here.” The guy continues to fidget around, and I can’t figure out what his deal is. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, yeah,” he says, his voice tempering into a high-pitched squeal. “I just don’t do well in hospitals. Blood does me in, so thankfully we’re only dealing with a sprain or a broken bone.” He laughs nervously and drops his head between his shoulders to take in some deep breaths. Oh boy.
“Thankfully?” Scarlett snaps at him. “Why are you even here if this is bothering you so much?”
“That’s just the pain talking, boo-boo,” the guy says. Then, lifting his head back up, he faces me. “I’m Brendan, by the way,” he says, holding his hand out for me to shake. “Scarlett just gets a little moody when things don’t go right, or if she’s hungry, or in pain—”
“Brenny, shut it,” Scarlett snaps. “Well,hedoesn’t know when to stop talking.” Scarlett looks over at her friend/boyfriend/husband—whatever he is—and nods her head.
“Where y’all from?” I ask.
“Boston,” Brendan answers. “We moved down here for Scarlett’s job transfer.” Whatever type of relationship these two are in, they don’t seem like the best fit in the world, but to each their own, I guess.
“Ah, where you workin’ at?” I continue. It’s best to keep patients calm with life questions they’re comfortable talking about, and this should be a safe question that I assume she won’t mind answering.
“Bayview Plantation B&B.”
I snicker, but not purposely, and not at her. “Don’t tell me you’re working for Ellis Freedman?”
“Yeah, that’s him. Why?” She swivels her body around to get more comfortable, making the pain in her arm more evident as the color in her cheeks disappears.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“Can I have some Advil or something?” She’s taken her attitude down a notch, probably knowing it’s better to be nice when you need help from someone. At least she’s smart enough to know that down here.
“I have to wait for the doc to check you out first, and then, depending on what he wants to do next, we’ll talk about getting you something to relieve the pain.”
She closes her eyes and swallows hard. I don’t know why it took me so long to notice the potential reason for her fall, but I’m now just noticing the shoes she’s wearing. They’ve got to be at least four-inch heels. No wonder she fell. I debate about asking her what she was thinking, but it’s probably best not to keep poking at her right now.
As Dr. Brown enters the bay, I tend to her file and jot down the initial information I’ve obtained. Scarlett doesn’t say a whole lot to Dr. Brown, but I hear her whimper a couple of times as he’s pressing on different locations. “Yeah, can you put in an order in for a full set of X-rays on her forearm.”
“Sure thing,” I tell him.
“Do you think it’s broken?” Scarlett asks.
“It’s hard to say without seeing X-rays, but I do think something is damaged in there. Once we receive the X-rays back, Austin will get you something for the pain and swelling.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Brendan says.
“This week could not get any worse,” Scarlett says. “I already want to go home, and I haven’t even been here a full day.”
“Want me to call your parents?” Brendan asks her.
“God, no. Are you insane?” she responds.
“Evidently,” he mutters.
“What kind of work do you do at the hotel?” I ask Scarlett, still trying to distract her from the pain.
She scoots around again, trying to keep upright on the bed, so I hit the switch to lower the back of the bed a few inches to keep her from having to struggle.
