Chapter
22
Dr. Muller glanced at the clock.
“Time of death: 21:05,” he said sadly.
He slowly pulled off his latex gloves and threw them away in
defeat. The nurses shut off the heart
monitor, ending the continuous wail that had been sounding for over half an
hour, while Dr. Muller had repeatedly shocked Nate’s chest. They removed all the tubes and wires from his
body, leaving him looking as if he were just sleeping soundly, not dead.
“I need to go talk to Maggie,” Dr. Muller said sadly, referring to
Dr. Fergeson. He sighed, knowing how
hard that was going to be. Nate had been
Dr. Fergeson’s only child, her pride and joy.
“Dr. Muller, what caused this?” Jess asked, eyeing Nate’s still
body.
“A head injury,” he said.
“Look at the base of his skull.
It’s cracked. He must have hit
his head there, right at the medulla oblongata.
That’s the part of the brain that controls respiration and
heartbeat. Damage to it causes almost
certain death.”
“How horrible,” Jess murmured.
“Poor thing.”
Dr. Muller nodded. “Well,
at least he didn’t suffer. He died
almost immediately, right there on the football field.”
Jess shook her head sadly.
She had a son of her own, a five year old. She knew how horrible it would be to lose
him this way, and her heart ached for Dr. Fergeson, who was about to find out her
only child was dead.
***
A short while later, Dr. Fergeson stood next to the exam table,
where Nate’s body still lay, crying softly.
Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door. Dr. Fergeson quickly brushed away her tears
and called in a wavery voice, “Come in!”
The door opened, and in stepped Gena Jameson, a woman who worked
at the hospital. As a surgeon, as well
as an ER physician, Dr. Fergeson knew her well, for Gena worked for the Florida
State Organ Donation Program.
“Maggie, I’m so sorry,” Gena said sincerely.
“Thanks,” Dr. Fergeson said softly. She paused a moment, then asked, “Have you
come to ask about organ donation?”
Gena nodded. “Yes, that’s
the main reason I’m here,” she said.
“Dr. Muller wasn’t sure if the organs could be used or not, since he’s
been without oxygen for almost an hour.
But surely, if you wanted, you could donate tissues or anything else.”
“I’ll donate whatever I can,” Dr. Fergeson said, glancing at
Nate.
Gena offered her a sad smile.
“Thank you,” she said.
Dr. Fergeson nodded absently, for a thought was forming in her
head. “Gena, do you think there’s any
way that maybe some of his organs could still be donated?” she asked hopefully.
“Well, I’m not sure,” Gena said.
“I supposed they could be, if the recipients weren’t too far away, since
time’s running out.”
Dr. Fergeson nodded. “Well,
I have one patient here, in ICU, that needs a liver,” she said. “Very badly.
If he doesn’t get one soon, it’ll only be a matter of days, at
most. And you see, he has Nate’s blood
type.”
Gena nodded. “So you want to donate
Nate’s liver to him?”
“Yes,” Dr. Fergeson said.
“If it’s possible. You see, only
about an hour ago, before I found out about Nate, I was talking with his
family, his mother mostly. She’s just a
wreck. And now, I… I’ve lost my
son. I don’t want to see another mother
go through that pain.” Tears started to
form in her eyes again, but she choked them back, trying desperately not to
lose her composure.
“Well, Maggie, all I need you to do is sign this form then,” Gena
said, handing Dr. Fergeson a clipboard with the form on it and a pen. Dr. Fergeson glanced at the form and quickly
scrawled her signature across the bottom, her unshed tears blurring the
paper. “Thank you,” Gena said, as Dr.
Fergeson handed the form back to her.
“You just relax for a bit, and I’ll go talk to some surgeons and arrange
for this to be done. What’s your
patient’s name?”
“Nickolas Carter,” Dr. Fergeson said.
“Okay,” Gena replied. “I’ll
get back to you soon then. You can stay
with Nate for now.”
“Thanks,” Dr. Fergeson whispered, and watched as Gena hurried out
of the room.
***
