Chapter 36 - Anastasia

"Good morning!" I wear my best smile as I enter Daphne's room. But then I notice her sleeping, "Oh, still sleeping?" I whisper

"No" Daphne answers, keeping her eyes closed closed

"She had a bad night" her mother informs me

"I'm ok, I can still beat you at Twister. You promised we'd play" she reminds me.

Mrs. Anderson shakes her head discreetly. Daphne has had bad nights before, so it's nothing new to worry us too much about yet, but she still looks tired.

"You know what? I have to be in surgery in a bit, so how about you take one more nap to rest and I'll come by later to play?" I suggest

"Ok" she answers and goes back to sleep.

"She listens to you more than she listens to me" Mrs. Anderson chuckles

I smile. "I'd like to order a few more tests if that's ok with you, to make sure the rough night wasn't something more serious" I explain

"Yes, of course" she answers.

I nod and leave the room. I give the order for a repeat chemistry panel and an abdominal series. I'm praying it's not something bigger than the usual discomfort, because I'm not sure her body is stable enough for another surgery at this time.

My pager goes off with 911 as I finish my order. So, I put Daphne's file back and head down to the emergency room. On my way, I hear from a colleague that there was an accident involving a school bus. So this is another all-hands-on-deck situation. Fortunately, this hospital has enough doctors that one doctor doesn't have to treat multiple serious traumas at once.

"Where do you need me, coach?" I ask as I find Dr. Kenzie, who is in charge down here

"Ambulance 3, incoming 6-year-old from the scene of the accident, multiple traumas. The paramedics will give you more details" he says

"Alright" I reply as he moves on to give instructions the next doctor.

I put on a gown, a face mask and gloves as I wait for the paramedics to burst through the sliding glass doors.

"5-year-old female, involved in a school bus vs. semi-truck collision; T-bone impact. She was sitting a couple rows away from the impact site. Restraints unknown. Suspected abdominal trauma, bilateral femur fractures, possible head injury. En route vitals: HR 168, BP 74/38, RR 36, sats 90% on 15L O2. GCS 8, non-verbal but conscious. Pupils equal, reactive. She's in hypovolemic shock" Jenny tells me as the gurney rolls into Trauma Bay 3.

"On my count. 1, 2, 3!" we slide her onto the hospital bed. Nurses swarm, attaching monitors, establishing IVs, cutting off clothes.

The girl groans in pain and moves her fingers. "It's ok, honey. You're going to be ok" I reassure her. "Do we have an ID?" I ask Jenny

"Name's Haley Specter according to her backpack" she replies.

I freeze for a moment. 'Fuck'. I get a good look at her. There's dried blood around her nose and forehead. But I can definitely see the girl from the photos Harvey had shown me the other day.

I swallow the knot in my throat and continue to work. "Parents?" I ask

"Notified by dispatch and on their way" she answers.

I look outside the room and spot the my favourite resident. "Dr. Kumar! You're with me" I call out.

He runs in the room and gets ready without any questions.

"Get a stat CBC, CMP, type and cross for four units. Portable chest and pelvis X-rays. Page OR and anesthesia. Let's go, people!" I order everyone in the room.

Kumar grabs the ultrasound machine immediately, "There is free fluid in Morrison's pouch and pelvis, suggesting hemoperitoneum" he shows me the monitor.

We proceed to take a quick X-ray with the portal machine. It's not the most precise but it's better than nothing on emergencies like these.

I get a quick look as the image gets uploaded. "Tell me what you see" I say to Dr. Kumar, using this opportunity to test him

"Her abdomen is distended, and vitals are tanking despite fluids" he points at the correct parts. "That means she's bleeding out from somewhere in the abdominal area" he concludes

"Correct. So, we need to get in the OR ASAP. And page Orthopedics too" I reply

"I got it" he runs off to harass some other doctor into postponing their surgery and giving us their sterilized OR. This is why I like this boy.

The pain meds help Haley relax and go to sleep for now. The nurses start preparing her for surgery and the anesthesiologist is on his way. I leave the room and take my gloves, gown and mask off.

"Morgan, parents are here" Dr. Kenzie tells me

"I'm headed into the OR" I try to avoid it in order not to put myself in any more pressure than I already am

"Your patient is being prepared, you have a few minutes" he insists

"Ok" I sigh.

I walk over to the waiting area, and spot them immediately through Marcus. Harvey was right about the Specter genes. They are sitting together, holding hands and looking extremely stressed -understandably.

"Mr. and Mrs. Specter?" I call softly as I approach them, "I'm Dr. Morgan. I am treating Haley"

"How is she?" the mom asks immediately, and I'm glad we brushed over my name in this situation

"As result of the crash, your daughter has suffered a few fractures on her limbs, and is bleeding internally. She's lost a significant amount of blood and is not responding to fluid resuscitation. Imaging suggests there's damage to her spleen or liver, possibly both. Luckily, there are no signs of head injury. But we need to get her to surgery immediately to control the bleeding and stabilize her" I explain.

"Oh my God..."

"I understand this is a sensitive time and I would love to be more gentle about this, but I don't have much time to sugarcoat it" I insist.

"She will be ok afterwards, right?" Marcus asks

"Although I cannot guarantee anything, I am going to tell you that she's currently hanging in there. And we are going to do everything we can to pull her through this" I reassure them

"Thank you" she replies.

"Of course. But before I can pick up the scalpel, I need you to sign some concent forms" I inform them

"I'll take care of it" Marcus offers

"Great. The nurses station will get you sorted out. And I will be sending you updates whenever possible"

"Thank you".