Battlefield China

Chapter 14

Jillian Limpkey was exhausted as she silently slipped into a chair at one of the tables against the wall of the cafeteria. All she wanted to do was drink her cup of java and eat a banana. It had been a long and trying twelve-hour shift and she felt emotionally drained. Another wave of wounded soldiers from overseas had arrived at the start of her shift, and it had been hectic ever since. Trying to get the four hundred new arrivals in-processed and settled into their new surroundings and their families notified of where their loved ones were located was a daunting task. Yet it had to be done. The military hospitals were filled beyond their limits, the VA had to step in and help augment them as best they could. Even the VA system was starting to be overwhelmed, though. Some veterans were having to be given “Choice Cards” to see outside providers because of how maxed out the system was.

As Jillian sipped on her coffee and finally managed to eat a bite of food, she saw one of the doctors pay for his coffee. The two locked eyes for a moment. The physician smiled warmly at her and slowly walked in her direction. He stopped just in front of her chair.

“May I join you?” he asked.

She liked Dr. Stephen Payne. He was in his early forties, single, and attractive. He had a great bedside manner, too. His specialty was spinal injuries, which sadly made him in high demand with this war. Of course, the James Haley facility also had a spinal cord injury center and a new high-rise bed tower, giving the hospital a lot more bed space and specialty facilities to handle this type of care.

“Sure, Dr. Payne,” Jillian replied with a warm and inviting smile.

Jillian was one of the many nurses that worked with Dr. Payne. She’d been a nurse for six years now, four of them at the VA. She loved working for the VA; although she’d never had a personal desire to serve in the military, her job still gave her the opportunity to serve those who’d made that selfless decision. The last two years, however, had been incredibly difficult. Seeing all these young men and women return home from the front lines so injured had taken a toll on her. In her mind, so many of them were kids — not even old enough to buy alcohol, but they were old enough to be drafted and have an arm or a leg blown off for the sake of their country.

Sensing Jillian was having a tough day, Dr. Payne reached his hand across the table and gently squeezed hers. “It’ll be OK, Jillian. You did a good job today. I see you out there, reaching out to the families, getting people into their rooms. It’s obvious you give your patients a lot of care and attention.”

Jillian almost burst out in tears at that moment. While trying to maintain her composure, she managed to choke out, “I just don’t know if I can keep doing it. These guys are so torn up. I checked in one airman — in addition to becoming paralyzed below L2, she lost her left arm in the blast that sent her here. Can you imagine the struggle of living life with only one functional limb? And a few patients recently only made it to us after they’d graduated from the burn unit. I can just picture how many cruel people would shun someone in a wheelchair with scars on their face and hands.” She buried her face into her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Dr. Payne got up and moved his chair to be next to her. He wrapped his arm around her. She buried her face into his shoulder, and he just let her release all the pent-up emotions she’d been burying.

After a moment, she seemed to be catching her breath, and Dr. Payne said, “It’ll be OK, Jillian. That’s why they have us. We’ll do the best we can to patch them up and let them know that while life may be more difficult for them, it can still be rewarding, and filled with love and appreciation.”

Through tear-filled eyes, she looked up at him. “I hope you’re right. I really do.”

The two of them sat there in the cafeteria for a little while longer before Jillian headed home to try and get some sleep before she would start it all over again the following day.

“Everyone, raise your glasses!” shouted Sheriff David Grant as he lifted his beer mug high. “It’s been almost a year since Deputy Eric Clark and Cindy Morrison were killed by those Russian bastards. Tomorrow, my own son ships out to Asia with the Army to go fight the Chinese.” He paused as he looked at his son, placing his hand on his shoulder. “Tomorrow, you leave to go get some payback for what all these people have done to our country, our state, and our community here in Ohio. I couldn’t be prouder of you than I am right now, Son.” He started to get a little emotional, and as he choked back tears, he pulled his son in tight and gave him a bear hug.

The rest of people in the restaurant erupted in cheers and applause. They all clinked their beer glasses together.

“Congratulations!” several of them shouted.

Several of them came by to give him a pat on the back and wish the young man well on his upcoming journey. Sheriff Grant’s son had the backing of the entire town, and he knew it.

The community of Lima, Ohio, had really come together after the vicious attack on the General Dynamics Land Factory the year before. The tragedy had struck a chord with everyone there, and no one had been left unaffected; over five hundred people had been killed, and it had taken more than two days to put out the fires from the refinery. Despite all that had happened, everyone had rallied together to support each other in their time of need. They’d even managed to get the plant operational again, and it was successfully churning out main battle tanks off the assembly line just three weeks after the fateful day.