Night Shift

Chapter 35

Thursday, December 9, 1:10 a.m.

For a brief second, Laurie nodded off and caught herself with a start to keep her torso from tipping forward and falling off the desk chair. Although there was plenty of activity in many of the SICU’s cubicles, Jack’s had been calm for more than an hour. His assigned nurse had been off helping her colleagues who needed an extra hand, returning to check on Jack every ten to fifteen minutes.

Laurie stood up for a moment and stretched and took a few deep breaths. Patti Hoagland, the charge nurse, had seen the brief episode and stepped over. It seemed that nothing escaped her notice.

“Dr. Montgomery,” Patti said. “Clearly you are rightfully exhausted. I have a suggestion. You could lie down in one of the empty cubicles, if you’d like. Your husband is remarkably stable, and we’ll be keeping an eye on him as usual. We can certainly let you know if there is any change whatsoever. What do you say?”

“Thank you, but if it is okay, I’ll just move around a little bit and maybe have a bit more coffee.”

“Of course. Please, help yourself.”

Laurie grabbed the mug she had been given earlier and took advantage of Patti’s offer. She went into the room that jutted off from the central desk area. It was where all the drugs, fluids, and other paraphernalia were stored, along with a coffee machine. For the most part, she had followed to the letter Patti’s dictum that she remain seated at her assigned spot within the central desk, and it felt good just to get up and move around. After pouring herself yet another cup of black coffee, she made a beeline back to her seat. She didn’t want to take advantage of Patti’s good graces. In front of Laurie was a monitor that had been set up for her that displayed Jack’s vital signs and ECG. The mesmerizing regularity of the cursors continuously sweeping across the screen had been partially responsible for her drifting off.

All in all, the evening had gone smoothly so far. Jack’s surgery had taken a bit less than the two hours originally estimated, and the surgeon, Dr. Henry Thomas, had come into the surgical lounge, where Laurie was waiting. It was his feeling that the procedure had gone well, and he explained that he used three screws to repair the femoral neck fracture since there was no displacement, the circulation had not been compromised, and the quality of the bone was, in his words, rock solid. With the compound fibula fracture, he’d thoroughly cleaned and debrided the area and reconstituted the fibula with a steel plate and screws and closed the wound without a drain. It was his professional opinion that Jack would do well and ultimately have no limitations or sequalae from either fracture.

Following the surgery, Jack had spent just a little more than an hour in the PACU, and Colleen had been a big help. She’d managed to get Laurie permission to make a brief visit. Jack had appeared quite normal. Even his color was good. As Laurie was leaving the PACU, she was truly thankful that things had gone well and just wished he would wake up.

When he had been transferred from the PACU to the SICU, Colleen had again come through, getting the charge nurse to agree that Laurie could continue her vigil in the SICU provided she remain seated within the confines of the central desk and not get in the way, stipulations that Laurie had agreed to without question. Colleen made it a point when Laurie first arrived to introduce her to the charge nurse, Patti Hoagland, the clerk Irene, and Jack’s assigned nurse, Aliyah Jacobs, as well as to the surgical residents who were covering for the night.

After Laurie had been in the SICU for ten or so minutes, watching from a distance as Jack was being connected to all the appropriate monitors, Irene came over to her and said that there was a Detective Soldano to see her out in the hallway. Feeling a little embarrassed she was taking advantage of the charge nurse’s good graces by having a visitor, Laurie quickly pushed out through the double swinging doors. Lou was there with two uniformed officers whom he introduced. As anxious as she felt, she didn’t even commit their names to memory and told Lou she had to get right back inside. Lou said he understood but suggested that she try to find out who it was Jack had been on his way to meet at the MMH. Nervous and upset, Laurie responded that she wasn’t there to play detective. All she wanted to do was keep watch over Jack until he woke up and then arrange to have him transferred. Lou nodded, and encouraged her to feel free to call him at any time during the night if anything untoward happened. Laurie had promised she would and then retreated through the swinging doors to regain her designated observation location.

Laurie didn’t sip this latest cup of coffee, but rather gulped it down in keeping with its sole purpose as a delivery vehicle for caffeine. Her hope was the stimulant would not only keep her awake but also keep her reasonably alert. She’d been startled and embarrassed by nearly falling out of her chair. After putting the empty mug down, she went back to watching the monitor, trusting that she wouldn’t find the cursors quite so hypnotizing despite their reassuring but monotonous regularity.

For the most part, the evening had been a welcome bore. There were only two minor interruptions that had made Laurie sit up and take notice. The first occurred when a man dressed in scrubs and wearing a surgical cap and surgical mask suddenly came into the SICU and without checking in at the central desk walked directly into Jack’s cubicle. Luckily Colleen had been there next to her at the time, typing into a monitor, so Laurie had been able to ask her who this newcomer might be. Colleen had been happy to investigate and returned to tell Laurie that he was the orthopedic resident on call who was merely checking Jack’s hip incision as well as the circulation in Jack’s foot below the temporary plaster cast.

The only other interruption to her numbing routine was when another male came into the unit who was dressed similar to her with a long white coat over scrubs and who Laurie initially thought was a doctor. He’d poked his head into several of the cubicles before approaching the central desk to chat briefly with Patti. Then, to Laurie’s surprise, he went directly to Jack’s cubicle and disappeared inside. Again, thanks to Colleen, Laurie was able to learn the man was the night nursing supervisor, who was responsible, among other things, for juggling all the intensive care beds. In response to her question of what he might be doing in Jack’s cubicle, Colleen, with a shrug, had guessed he was checking if Jack could be transferred out. But whatever he had been doing, it had taken only a minute or two, and when he had emerged, he’d headed toward the unit’s exit. As he had passed the central desk, he’d nodded at Laurie as if he knew her.

“How about something to eat?” Colleen suggested as she returned from one of the cubicles, interrupting Laurie’s musing. “I’d be happy to pop down to the cafeteria and bring you something back. What do you say?”

“Thank you for your offer,” Laurie said. “You’re too kind. You have been such a help, but I’m really not hungry.”

“Fine and dandy,” Colleen said. “But if you change your mind just yell.”

“Will do,” Laurie said as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She’d turned the ringer off even though she wasn’t expecting any calls, especially since she had turned over the reins of the OCME to George. Thinking it was probably her mother, unable to sleep and wondering about Jack, she looked at the screen to check. It wasn’t her mother but rather Lou Soldano. Being careful to speak in low tones, she answered.

“How’s Jack doing?” Lou asked. He sounded chipper, like it was the middle of the day and not the middle of the night.

“He’s stable and in that sense doing fine. The problem is that he still hasn’t awakened although I’ve been told he’s moving more, which I guess is a good sign.”

“How come you are whispering?” Lou asked. “I can barely hear you.”

“It’s a busy place with a lot of sick patients, and I’m trying to stay out of the way and not interfere.”

“Oops, sorry. But I wanted to hear how he was doing and also let you know I’m again in the neighborhood. In fact, I’m right around the corner. The nineteenth precinct has had another homicide, so I’m here to make sure it is handled correctly. If you need anything, even just some moral support, give me a buzz. I can be there in minutes.”

“Thank you, Lou. That’s good of you and thanks for calling.”

“No problem. Oh, one other thing. The two officers who I introduced you to went off shift, but there’s two new ones as replacements. I understand they are a little long in the tooth, but I’ve been assured they are competent, good guys.”

“Perfect,” Laurie said, despite feeling they were not really needed.

“Remember to call if you need me.”

“I will,” she insisted. “And thanks.”

After Laurie had disconnected, she guiltily looked over at Patti, but Patti was engaged in a heated discussion with one of the nurses. Either she hadn’t heard that Laurie had taken a call, or she didn’t mind. Feeling lucky either way, Laurie pocketed her phone and turned her attention back to the monitor in front of her. As had been the case for hours, everything was normal. She was also pleased at feeling distinctly much more awake after the coffee.