What happened in Vegas: Didn't Stay In Vegas! (23 page)

There was no way I could go back to work,
when all I would be thinking about was Nick. So I went home to try
to get some sleep before it was my turn.

~36~

It was my turn to watch over Nick. I had time to
freshen up so I was ready for a long night shift. I was in what
they call a Geri-chair that pulled out so you could sleep in it. It
wasn
’
t the most comfortable, but that
’
s all the
Unit had.

I glanced over
at Nick and I saw his eyes open. I got really excited and jumped
from the chair almost tripping as I did it. I went running into the
nurse
’
s station only being slowed down to slide the
temperamental glass door separating us from the nursing
station,
“
He
’
s
awake!
”
I shouted. The nurses came running in and smiled.
Everyone was happy. His most responsible nurse, the one with the
long blond hair named Bridgette said,
“
I
’
ll go call
the doctor and tell him the good news!
”
My eyes fluttered
open and the realization that it was all a dream hit me slowly and
painfully.

I rose from my
bed in the loft and took a quick shower. I
couldn
’
t get to the hospital fast enough. I threw a bagel in
the toaster and painted it with butter and then headed straight for
the hospital eating on my way. I didn
’
t care about food; I
just needed my best friend back. I wanted to know if there was any
news. My dream got my hopes up because I was hoping it was a
premonition.

Aria was sleeping next to Nick on the bed.
The unit of blood was gone and he had 2/3 and 1/3 with 20 potassium
hanging in its place. They gave these kinds of fluids to people who
were not eating much and had low potassium.

He remained on
the ventilator and heart monitor. It didn
’
t appear that
much had changed, but sometimes that was a good thing.

Looking at Nick
and Aria made me feel so lonely as I reflected back to
Bradley
’
s very recent departure from my personal life. If
anything like this happened to me, I would have no one. The sad
thing was I put myself in this position.

Focusing on
Nick was preventing me from feeling sorry for myself. I tapped on
Aria
’
s shoulder,
“
Go home sweetheart,
get some rest. I
’
ll see you in the
morning.
”

“Thanks Chanel,
for everything. If anything happens or if you need me to bring
anything in at all, just call or text me. I don
’
t care if
I
’
m sleeping or not.
”

“Sure
Aria,
”
I reassured. She left after kissing him on the
forehead.

Seeing them together made me happy for Nick
to have someone that loves him the way she does. It made me sick to
my stomach thinking I almost ruined it for them. It was obvious
that everyone would be better off without me. Nick would be able to
concentrate all of his affections on Aria, Bradley could heal from
the pain I caused, and Aria would never find out what Nick and I
shared together.

I took my spot on the Geri-chair. Shelly
told me that when Nick was stable enough they were going to implant
the AICD in him. He was just about there. I brought my phone but
kept it turned off. I only put it on when I left for a bathroom
break to check my messages, there were usually none.

When I got back to the Unit I perched myself
into my Geri-chair and I resumed my intensive studies for my final
exam which was coming up in a couple of days just before the
Fundraiser.

Just after
midnight Nick
’
s heart monitor
started alarming. I glanced up quickly to see he was in sustained
ventricular tachycardia. I panicked. I ran out of
Nick
’
s room to the nursing station and screamed,
“
Someone call a code!
”
A nurse at the
nurses
’
station dialed 5555 and said into the
receiver,
“
Code blue, room 9, ICU.
”
A second later
it was announced over the entire hospital P.A. system.

Bradley came bursting into the Intensive
Care Unit, followed by the respiratory therapist who came to every
code. The nurses had grabbed the crash cart and his chart from the
rack for the doctor and went running into his room.

I saw the other
nurse roll Nick
’
s lifeless body over
as Bridgette placed the board from the crash cart under his back.
They took his gown off and she jumped on the bed straddling his
hips and began compressions while the other nurse worked around her
to get the three electrodes from the heart monitor crash cart onto
Nick
’
s bare chest. Once they were hooked up, two
defibrillator pads were also placed on his chest. Nick was still in
Ventricular Tachycardia. Bradley calmly ordered the nurse,
“
Shock him with 100 joules.
”
Bridgette set the
machine to 100 joules and looked at everyone,
“
All
clear.
”
Bradley nodded and she continued with the first
shock.

Nick remained
in the same rhythm. Bradley ordered,
“
Continue
compressions.
”
After sixty-seconds Bradley
ordered,
“
Shock him with 200 joules.
”
Bridgette
repeated the same steps; she set the machine to 200 joules and
looked at everyone to make sure they weren
’
t touching
him,
“
All clear.
”
Bradley nodded again
and she continued with the second shock. He popped back into Sinus
Rhythm which is a normal rhythm most people are in,
Bridgette
’
s face lit up with a smile and I cried with
relief.

Bradley ordered
Bridgette to administer 5 mg of Metoprolol push while I rushed into
the nursing station to call Aria back to the hospital. It was hard
to speak to her on the phone when I hadn
’
t regained my
composure yet. I wanted to thank Bradley but I felt uncomfortable
and he looked busy charting. I had an impression that he
didn
’
t want me to come up to him so I kept my
distance.

Aria arrived on
the Unit within twenty minutes of our call. Her face was all red
and I could tell she had been crying. Bradley approached her when
he saw her,
“
Aria,
Nick
’
s heart went into a lethal rhythm called sustained
Ventricular Tachycardia and the nurses called a code on
him.

“He was given
two shocks and chest compressions before we were able to stabilize
him. I planned to have Shelly take him to the O.R. tomorrow for the
AICD. I don
’
t think he can wait
much longer for the device. The operation will take approximately
two hours. We will watch him very carefully while
he
’
s under anesthetic. Then we will try to extubate him.
When he is stable he will be started on a beta blocker called
Metoprolol that will hopefully prevent him from going into that
heart rhythm again.

“You can go see
him now.
”
Aria reached up and gave Bradley a hug,
“
Thank you so much, Dr. Hart.
”
We went into room 9.
The relief came flooding out of us in a burst of tears as I went to
Nick
’
s bedside trying to process everything that happened.
I felt such a huge bond to Aria for going through this with her and
for the care and concern she showed to Nick during this time. He
was lucky to have her and we were both lucky to have
him.

Several hours
passed before I had to force myself to leave his bedside so that I
could continue preparation for the most important exam in my
life,
“
Aria, I
’
m going to leave you
for a while. I don
’
t want to, but I need
to study for the exam.
”

Her eyes were
filled with tears,
“
Sure Chanel.
I
’
ll see you whenever you have time to come
back.
”
I grabbed the book I was studying from and my purse
and left the Unit. I could feel Bradley
’
s eyes on me
when I was leaving.

For the next
several days my focus was on studying for the final and job
searching. I had two shifts left with Shelly and my rotation was
over. My shifts were a welcome interruption from my routine of
studying by Nick
’
s bedside and
sleeping at the loft.

Nick
didn
’
t code anymore. He stabilized. The day after he coded
they implanted the AICD. They removed his breathing tube without
any incident. It was nice to see him off that ventilator. His heart
monitor stayed on him for an additional twenty-four hours after the
implant was inserted to make sure it was working okay.

Aria and I were
changing shifts when she noticed his eyes flutter open. She punched
me startling me and pointed at Nick,
“
Look,
he
’
s awake!
”
We both rushed to his side and his
eyes fluttered closed again. Aria ran to the nursing station and
called out,
“
Someone call the
doctor, he opened his eyes!
”

She came back
to his bedside and grabbed his hand. I took the other one and we
waited patiently until he opened his eyes again. He tried to speak
but his mouth was dry and his throat was sore,
“
Its okay
Nick, don
’
t speak.
”
He was surrounded by
the two people who loved him most. I was elated that I saw him wake
up. I felt like everything was going to be okay now. I hugged Aria
and said,
“
I think he
’
s going to be okay. I
hate to leave but I have to study. I
’
ll come back tomorrow
after my exam.
”

Aria was
glowing,
“
Good luck Chanel, knock
’
em
dead!
”

Nick would have
a chance to write the exam once he recovered. We could now both
move on with our lives. The rest of the night and part of the
morning I spent studying. Now that I knew Nick was okay, I was able
to regain my concentration, hopefully it wasn
’
t too
late.

~

~

I stopped by
the loft to pick up my mail and then went to the Paddock for a very
solitary dinner after my final exam. Our normal waitress came to
take my order and asked,
“
Is anyone coming to
join you tonight?
”
I shook my head no and ordered
Bradley
’
s favorite dish.

When the waitress brought my souvlaki over,
I started opening my mail. I scored an interview at a teaching
hospital in Grimsby. I had nobody to share the news with, not now
anyway.

A large part of
me wished Bradley would walk through that door and sweep me off my
feet. I longed for him but I knew I didn
’
t stand a chance
of getting him back because I lost his trust. Without that, there
was nothing. I never felt more alone. I had to make changes, get
away from everything. I finished my meal and texted Aria telling
her that I couldn
’
t come by tonight. I
used the excuse that I was tired.

~37~

I didn
’
t see anyone for
three days, but I was busy. The fundraiser was tomorrow and my
interview at the teaching hospital was today. I dressed in my
nicest business casual clothes and drove Snowball to the hospital
in Grimsby. My appointment with Personnel was for 10:00
a.m.

My interview was by a panel of doctors on
the board. They brought me into a boardroom with a medium sized
table. Seated at the table were the Chief of Cardiology, Chief of
Staff, and the CEO, not too intimidating. I needed a Depends
Undergarment for this interview after I found out their positions.
Suddenly I wanted no, I needed this job almost as much as I needed
air to breath.

I focused on
their questions, and slowly gave my best possible answers. Patient
advocating and safety were always at the forefront of my answers.
If there was a question I didn
’
t know the answer to,
I said who I would consult to ascertain an answer.