“What can I do?” she said.
I told her to find me a vein in Mia’s left foot. The skin on her arms was too damaged. I worked on the right foot.
The doctor came back over. His face was red. He was talking loud now, making sure everyone could hear.
“This man is performing unauthorized medical procedures on a minor. Security, I want him removed.”
The security guard didn’t move. He was a heavyset older guy. Black, gray hair, kind eyes. He was looking at Mia. Then at me. Then at the doctor.
“Doctor Hammond,” he said. “That’s a child.”
“I gave you an order.”
“That’s a child,” the security guard said again. He put his hands behind his back and stood real still.
The doctor turned even redder.
That’s when the second nurse came over. Older lady. Heavyset. The kind of woman who ran a hospital floor for forty years and didn’t take any noise from anybody.
“Move,” she said to Doctor Hammond.
“Excuse me?”
“I said move.” She had a pediatric oxygen mask in her hand. “I’m not letting this child die in my lobby because of your policy. You can fire me Monday.”
She knelt down next to Mia and got the mask on her. She started reading vitals off a portable monitor.
“BP is sixty over forty. Pulse one-fifty. She’s tachy and she’s crashing.”
I got the IV in. Rachel got hers in two seconds later. We hung the saline.
The older nurse, her name tag said Patricia, looked at me.
“What else?” she said.
“Morphine,” I said. “She’s in shock. Pain management is critical. And we need a burn team. We need to know how deep these burns go before we move her.”
Patricia stood up. She walked over to Doctor Hammond, who was just standing there now like a man watching his own house burn down.
“Get me Dr. Reyes from peds,” she said. “And get me the burn team from Mercy on the phone. Now.”
He didn’t move. So she walked past him and did it herself.
