an’ please don’t forget my breakfast. I’m starvin’!”
That accident must have done something totally weird to her brain, Dr. Martin mumbled to himself as he stepped out of Carmella’s room, still shaking his head. My drill? How the hell could she have known about that? Not only was she unconscious from the accident, but she was under general anesthesia as well!
“Go figure that one out!” he said, audibly this time, to the nurse at the desk, who gave him a puzzled look. “Ms. Brown is awake and hungry,” he added quickly, not realizing he was thinking out loud. “Run some breakfast for her, will you? Thanks. I’ll be in surgery all day, but let me know if anything unusual develops with my patient,” he shouted over his shoulder as he stepped into the elevator. As the door shut, he thought, Anything MORE unusual, that is! How could she have known about my drill?...
chapter 14
Heartthrob, Chest Pain, and Gin’s Disdain
OHSU Telemetry Unit
November 2005
Gin was just walking out of the break room, where morning report had finally concluded. Her shift started at 6:45 a.m. with a report from the night shift, which usually took around half an hour or so. This particular morning, things had gone pretty quickly, as the preceding night had been rather uneventful, so she was glad to have a few extra minutes to organize her plan for the day. As she passed the nurses’ station for unit 2B, a cardiac telemetry unit, her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. Where’s the unit secretary? she thought to herself, but then realized she started at 7:00 a.m. and report this morning had lasted only ten minutes. Oh well, might as well get it myself, she mused as she picked up the phone. “2B, Virginia Morrison, RN, how may I help?”
The voice on the other end of the line didn’t sound nearly as relaxed. “Hey Gin, it’s Tom in the ER. Got a new admit for you. 43-year-old white male with chest discomfort. He came into the ER around 5:00 a.m—wife brought him in. Apparently, he woke up with some fluttering in his chest that wouldn’t subside. His EKG was negative, but he’s now had several of these episodes lately and his doc wanted him admitted and monitored while they did some additional testing. Name is Terry Kingsley—about 50 pounds overweight, smoker, light drinker, but heavy on the diet drinks. Desk job, no exercise, usual profile…don’t these people ever get it? We’ve had crap like this all night long. Overweight, stressful job, poor diet, no exercise—and they wonder why they wake up with chest pain. Hey, sorry I’m ragin’ on ya. Just been a bad night down here. How are things up on tele?”
Gin felt a little guilty with her response. “Piece o’ cake up here, Tom. Sorry you had a bad night. Go ahead and send Mr. Kingsley up. I’m sure he’ll be my patient—I only have two others at the moment. Wouldn’t have a job without you, brother. Go home and get some sleep!”
“Yeah, right. It’s summer, kids are outa school, and Mary’s job starts at nine. Not much rest for this guy!”
“Well, don’t end up like Mr. Kingsley,” Gin cautioned. “Aren’t they old enough for some summer activities?”
“Yeah, Vacation Bible School at the church starts next week. Can’t wait for that! Anyway, he’ll be comin’ up shortly, darlin’. Gotta hit the freeway before the traffic gets any worse!”
“Ok, Tom, thanks,” Gin replied, thinking to herself, Wow, that would really be a bitch—havin’ to work all night and then struggle with traffic just to get to bed. Sure glad I can walk to work!
Since she graduated from OHSU nursing school a couple of years ago now, Gin had decided to hang around Pill Hill, as the medical complex was laughingly referred to there in Portland. She loved the Marquam Hill area, actually, and often went for hikes in the Marquam Nature Preserve, just down the street from her apartment. There were great views from the hill there, looking down at Portland and farther east to the airport and Mt. Hood. Portland was a fun, exciting city—an alternative city, really, where the norm was not the norm, so to speak. Liberal thinkers, punk rockers, cutting-edge science—you could find it all in Portland! She had stayed on in the OHSU hospital system because she loved research, and there were always professors and students of one type or another hanging around the hospital there. And best of all, of course, were all those cute young doctors, one of whom she secretly hoped to snag before too long. She always had her eye out for a good prospect, but so far none had materialized. It seemed like ages since she had a serious relationship—no time in school, and then the stress of a new job. She had settled in now, though, and hopes of storybook hospital romance lingered in the back of her mind.
Not for long, though, as the sound of the elevator doors opening quickly brought her back to her floor and the tasks of the day. “I got Mista Kingsley heah,” the young African American orderly announced as the doors closed. “Which one o’ y’all gonna hep me wid’ ’em—get ’em to ’is room an’ all?”
“Hey, Marcus,” Gin replied, “Mr. Kingsley’ll be my patient. I already got the report from Tom. Just leave the paperwork here at the desk, and I’ll show you to his room—that’ll be 211, I think.”
“Thanks, Ms. Ginny,” Marcus replied. He had only worked there for about four months now, but already Virginia Morrison was his favorite nurse. He always looked forward to visiting her floor just to see her long red hair, cute green eyes, and cheerful smile. “How you doin’ this mornin’?” he asked with a big grin himself.
“Why, much better since I’ve seen you, Marcus!” Gin playfully teased. “You gonna help me get him to his room?”
“Sho am, Ms. Ginny. You jus’ lead on, an’ I’ll be right behind you.” And right behind her was definitely a place Marcus liked to be. For a white girl, she had one fine booty, and he enjoyed watching her hips sway back and forth as she walked down the hall. Got a nice balance on top too, he thought to himself as Gin turned her shoulder back to speak, giving him an enticing view of her profile.
“How’ve you been, Marcus? Haven’t seen much of you around here lately.”
“Well, Ms. Ginny, I been around. ER keeps me goin’ all ova da place, so I doesn’t get up to yo’ flo’ all that much. Always good to see you, tho’!”
“You, too, Marcus,” she grinned. “Ok, let’s get Mr. Kingsley off the gurney and into his bed.” With that, Gin turned to her new patient and announced, “Mr. Kingsley, I’m Virginia Morrison. I’ll be your primary nurse while you’re here on the telemetry floor. That means I’ll be planning and organizing your care while you’re here, and personally caring for you on the day shift when I am on duty.” As Mr. Kingsley slipped off the stretcher and onto his bed, Gin thanked Marcus and continued, “I understand that you have had several bouts of this chest discomfort recently and your physician has admitted you to run some additional tests just to be sure that it isn’t something serious. Is that correct?”
“Yeah, I guess I worried him a bit. Myself, too, for that matter. Several mornings in the past few weeks, I’ve woken up with a strange feeling in my chest. Not pain, really, just not normal. More like a fluttering—like my heart isn’t beating normally. This morning was more so than usual, so my wife brought me in, and here I am. I really can’t afford to lose the time at work. I need to get outa here.”
“Well, I can certainly understand that,” Gin agreed sympathetically. “I wouldn’t be here either if I didn’t work here,” she smiled. “Anyway, I’m just going to attach these leads to your chest so that we can watch the electrical activity of your heart while you’re here. There’s a little pack sort of thing you can wear
