Stand Of Redemption(67)

“Too bad.” Ria smiled, that same experience had happened to her several times.

They had become even better friends since she had returned. As they spent more time together, they realized they had the same taste in men. He would drool over Nicholas if he saw him.

They pulled the stretcher out and returned to the girl where they carefully put her on it and took her back to the ambulance. Several of her friends walked along side of her, tears in their eyes.

“Is she going to be okay?” one of them asked.

“I think so, but we’ll know more once the doctor looks her over,” Ria replied. They had been trained not to give false hope in case the condition took a turn for the worse. Ria hoped she was truly going to be fine.

“What’s her name?” Ria asked.

“Carrie Landers,” the girl replied.

“Okay. I assume you’ve already contacted her parents. Let me have their number. I’ll have someone call them and tell them we’re taking her to University Hospital. No need for them to waste time driving here first,” Ria told the girl.

The girl nodded and quickly gave the number before moving away.

Ria sat in the back with Carrie as Joe drove to the hospital. Carrie’s eyes were open, but she wasn’t saying anything. Ria hoped she was just in shock and she would pull out of soon. She did a quick exam and called in to the ER to let them know they were coming in with a patient.

“Carrie, my name is Ria. Your friends told me you slipped on the boat and hit your head before falling into the lake. We performed CPR and applied a shock, which we’re happy to say brought you back to us.” Ria looked down to see if the girl understood her, but she didn’t respond.

“Carrie, can you hear me?” Ria asked a little louder.

Carrie continued to stare upwards, not acknowledging Ria in the slightest.

Ria leaned forward to speak quietly to Joe. She didn’t want Carrie to hear the panic in her voice. “Joe, she’s not responsive. Step on it if you can.”

“Got it,” Joe replied as he picked up the pace as safely as he could.

Ria took a light and looked more closely into Carrie’s eyes, but Carrie still didn’t showing any signs of improvement. Her eyes looked glazed over as she stared at the ceiling of the ambulance.

Ria started breathing harder. This was not good. The lack of oxygen to her brain, the impact when she’d hit the boat, or both could have been causing the symptoms. She quickly called back into the ER to let them know Carrie’s current status and requested a doctor be available as soon as they arrive.

“Carrie, if you can hear me, blink twice,” Ria said, praying for a response.

She stared at her eyes, but Carrie never blinked in acknowledgement.

“Joe, she can’t hear me,” Ria said urgently.

“Almost there,” he called back.

Ria checked Carrie’s vitals. Everything else was normal, but Ria could never get any indication that Carrie was aware of her surroundings. After what seemed like forever, she felt the ambulance coming to a stop.

She saw Joe jump out of the driver’s seat, and then Ria quickly opened the doors. She saw a medical team waiting as she had requested. They assisted in pulling the stretcher out and rushed Carrie into the emergency room. Ria quickly followed behind, letting them know what had happened.

As Ria finished listing the conditions, one of the nurses nodded her head. Ria stood there as they rolled her into the room and the door shut in her face.

She wanted to go in so badly and help, but she knew she couldn’t. She didn’t belong in the room with the rest of the medical team.

She turned to walk back to the ambulance and saw Joe up front, talking to some of the nurses. She felt heartbroken for the girl, but Joe had doing this for several years—he had probably seen it all.

She had been fortunate. Most of her runs in the past had been fairly routine. This one was the first time it had struck a chord with her.

Joe turned when he saw her approaching. “Hey, are you okay?”

Ria could only shake her head no. She was trying not to cry. She wanted Carrie to be okay. She was a beautiful, young girl. It wasn’t fair. Just like it wasn’t fair for Matthew to die so young.

“I just need a few minutes. I’ve got my radio. If we get a call, I’ll be back immediately,” Ria said as she walked down the hall to the private break room.

She lay on the bed and tried to calm herself down. They had done everything they could to save her, and she knew the medical team was doing everything they could now.

She stayed in the room for a while longer, trying to gather control of her emotions, until she felt guilty for staying away too long.

When she came out, she went looking for Joe. The nurses told her he was waiting for her in the cafeteria. She made her way to the basement level and found Joe eating a hamburger and fries.