Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 118733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
“Palmer’s battling some migraines,” one woman near Kent said. “She’s seen her doctor, but the medicine isn’t working. I was behind her when she sort of leaned into the wall and fell.”
“Did she hit her head?” Kent asked.
“I didn’t see,” the coworker said.
“Do you know what medicine she’s taking?” She shook her head and said she’d be right back.
“Palmer, we’re going to put you on the backboard.”
Damian and Kent worked as a team to get the board under Palmer. Once they had her situated, Palmer put her hands over her stomach.
“Do you feel sick?” Kent asked.
Palmer tried to nod, but her head barely moved.
“I can take care of that for you,” Kent told her.
“Here’s what was in her drawer, and this is her purse,” Palmer’s coworker said when she returned, holding a pill bottle.
“Thank you.” Damian took the bag and set it at the end of the stretcher.
“Okay, Palmer. Are you ready?” Kent asked, trying to lighten the mood. He’d known something was wrong yesterday when he saw her, but he wasn’t a doctor, and there wasn’t much he could have done unless she’d collapsed in front of him or asked for him. Kent was certain she’d had a stroke when she’d helped him, and she may have had another one.
Once they’d loaded her into the ambulance, Kent sat on the bench and started an IV. “I’m going to give you something for your nausea, which will definitely help on the ride over to the hospital. Is there anyone you need the nurses to call?”
He looked at her for an answer and received none.
“How about you blink once for no and twice for yes. Okay?”
She blinked twice.
“Okay, good. Is there someone you need us to call?”
She blinked once.
Kent didn’t like that answer. No one should be at the hospital alone. Damian started driving, and Kent notified dispatch that they had cleared the scene. He then radioed the hospital to let them know about their transport and her symptoms. The entire time, Palmer never took her eyes off him.
He looked down at her and wished he had insisted on doing something yesterday for her. A tear slipped from her eye, and he wiped it away.
“Don’t cry,” he told her. “Everything will be okay. They’ll run some tests, and then you’ll be on your way with a three-page printout of doctor gibberish.” He laughed and hoped she understood his joke.
Kent watched her vitals. Palmer’s oxygen levels and blood pressure were good. Heart rate was faster than normal, but given the circumstances, he wasn’t too worried. Damian radioed the hospital to inform them they had arrived. He reversed in and went around the back to open the doors for Kent. Together, they brought the stretcher out as smoothly as possible, trying not to jostle their patient. Once the stretcher was at full height, they wheeled Palmer into the emergency room and to the critical care room directed by the staff.
They waited until the attending nurse came in and gave her a full rundown of the situation. Before they left, Kent went to Palmer. “We’re leaving you in expert hands,” he said to her. “Whatever you need, the nurses will get it for you. Your purse is on the chair next to the bed. Are you sure there isn’t someone we can call for you?”
“No,” she said hoarsely as she blinked once.
“Okay, well, I hope you feel better. I’ll stop in and see you when I make my next car payment.”
Palmer smiled and blinked twice.
“All right. Feel better.”
Kent left the room and found Damian finishing his paperwork at the nurses’ station. Back in the rig, Kent said, “Yesterday, when I saw her, I swear she had a stroke. She told me she was fine and that nothing was wrong. I pressed her, but she was insistent. I should’ve called it in.” He shook his head and looked out the window.
“She’s really young to have a stroke.”
“Yeah,” Kent sighed. He didn’t understand why she affected him so. Normally, he did his job and moved on. “She doesn’t want anyone to know she’s here.”
“Maybe she doesn’t have any family.”
Kent looked at Damian. “Who doesn’t have family?”
Damian shrugged and pulled out of the parking lot.
FOUR
Nurses bustled around Palmer. They talked to her, over her, and asked her questions that they didn’t wait for her to answer. Their movements made her dizzy, and she was thankful for the antinausea meds Kent had given her. When he arrived at her side and started his assessment, she was embarrassed. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her like this—weak and unable to find her voice. It was there; she was just afraid to use it.
While Kent and his partner helped her, the memory of when he’d first come in for his loan flashed through her mind. He was charismatic and charming and had been very eager to buy his first new-off-the-lot car, but he wasn’t looking forward to paying for parking. That was one expense she didn’t have and something she didn’t need. Besides, she rarely left the city, and could take the train if she needed to go somewhere. She loved the freedom walking gave her, and it allowed her to visit with the merchants near her home and office.