“No. Some guy came barreling in, mowed him down with his truck, and started shooting up the place. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Aside from that general information, can you…”
~ Tiffany ~
Tiffany normally sprinted through her morning routine. Only the morning routine was actually an evening one because she worked midnights. A cup of java and a light meal of fruit and yogurt energized her enough for a short run. Something about putting her feet to the pavement seemed extraordinarily exhilarating tonight.
Stepping out of her apartment and right over the ugly word spray-painted on her welcome mat, she headed for the apartment complex’s indoor gym instead. A workout was just as beneficial as a nice run in the park, right? Then again, she always did have a penchant for seeing things the way she wanted them to be rather than how they were.
This was going to be her year. Everything that had been hard was now coming easy for her. Kicking carbs and sugar to the curb had been easy as falling off a log. There was no longer any need for a sugar high because running for fifteen minutes every evening gave her a natural high that honestly couldn’t be beat. She smiled as she realized everything was finally falling into place. She was now Tiff 2.0 and she loved it!
Returning home, the light on her old-fashioned answering machine was blinking ominously. Pointedly ignoring it, she hummed to herself as she got ready for work.
Pulling her hair up into a messy, cute style, she touched it up with a flat iron, tugging down a few careless strands around her neck to soften the look somewhat. Cultivating the right professional image was not quite at the top of her list of priorities by any stretch of the imagination, but it was important nonetheless. Next, she pulled two huge duffel bags from under her bed and began to load them up with her favorite possessions.
Her extensive library of romance, self-help, and medical books were all consolidated onto her e-reader. Her mother had sat her down at her sweet sixteen party and explained the way of the world to her and lovingly held her hand as she unloaded her entire collection of over a thousand books at a local charity book drive. Clutching her new e-reader, she’d cried all the way home. It was all for the best. A woman in her situation couldn’t be dragging a metric ton of paperbacks around everywhere she went.
Next, she selected only the clothing that actually fit and looked decent on her. Tiffany had always been fastidious about her clothing and accessories. Tossing in her jewelry case, sewing kit, and first-aid kit, she rummaged around for a few household items she particularly liked. Neatly packing her laptop and the external hard drive containing thousands of family pictures and the legal paperwork supporting her restraining order, she zipped the bags up and sat them at the door.
The last few years had been an endurance of sorts. She’d been more than eager to put all the running scared and sleepless nights behind her. She’d grown and evolved as a person, so there would be no more morose thoughts, self-defeating behaviors, or dwelling on the past. From now on, no matter what kind of tough choices that needed making, she’d keep her life moving forward in the right direction.
Moving to a new city had been a brilliant idea. After graduating from nursing school, this was her chance to have her dream career and a fresh start. After all, how many women got a do-over, much less three, and soon to be four in a row? Tiffany was beginning to loosen up and see that sometimes problems were just opportunities in disguise. She refused to waste her life constantly looking over her shoulder and worrying about tomorrow.
Sneaking a quick peek in the mirror on the way out, she hardly recognized herself. All in all, she hadn’t done too badly. Her long, dark hair and blue eyes were definitely her best assets. Scratch that, it was her snarky personality and ability to persevere.Live one day at a time.Taking her mother up on her outstanding advice was becoming easier by the day.
Excited about her shift at the local ER, she threw the two bags containing all her worldly possessions in the back of her SUV and headed to work without further consideration of her circumstances. At this point, she was on automatic pilot.
The city’s busiest emergency department offered a thrill a minute for people with the personality to appreciate it. Challenging herself to deal with whatever man and Mother Nature threw at her was proof positive that she was strong and capable. In some irrational way, it validated her ability to make tough decisions and find success in an environment very few medical professionals could tolerate.
Tiffany had fallen in love the minute she walked into the building. She often wondered if it was the action and adventure that drew the “new and improved” her to the work. Or maybe it was the work that drew out and validated the new qualities she saw in herself. Either way, she felt privileged to find a position helping others in their time of need. Helping others filled a hole for her.
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, she immediately craned her neck to catch a glimpse of what was waiting in the loading zone. Excitement rolled through her gut as she observed five ambulances waiting to unload. The light was also flashing to indicate that they were on diversion. Smiling, she knew that meant they had a full house. Her shift would fly, rather than crawl by. This was good since it was her last before moving on.
On account of a recent expansion, the emergency department had grown to double its normal size. Yet the place was somehow still heaving. Reading the whiteout board, she noted her assignment before going straight to her section.
Feeling the excitement thrumming through her body, she headed back to take report from her illustrious predecessor with a spring in her step. Her ability to compartmentalize the various segments of her life truly astounded her at times.
Skidding to a stop in front of a tiny podium, she noticed the woman sitting there appeared tense, frustrated, and exhausted.
Because they were on familiar terms, she knew Stephanie would enjoy the attempt to lighten the mood.
“Busy day at the office, Steph?”
Looking up at her, Stephanie offered a faint smile before blowing out an exasperated breath. “You cannot even imagine, girl. We’ve had a multi-car collision on Jefferson Avenue, a house fire that spread to a warehouse, and some sushi restaurant gave a bunch of people food poisoning. In short, we’ve been up to our elbows in burn victims and vomit all day.”
“Sounds rough.”
“Oh, and we got another gentleman from the geriatric high-rise across the street withurinary catheter complications.” Stephanie made little quotation marks in the air when she spoke the last three words.
Anger boiled in Tiffany’s blood. “You had better not tell me he had a non-deflated cath stuck in his urethra.”
“I’d love to be able to tell you that, but I can’t.”
Closing her eyes and counting to ten, she shook her head. “How difficult is it to deflate a catheter before you pull it out?”
“Not hard at all. I get so frustrated seeing geriatric patients in pain over generalized incompetence. Then again, his dementia is pretty severe, so there is a chance he pulled it partially out himself.”
“Either way, it evidences poor quality of care. We both know they get paid top dollar to see that things like this don’t happen.”