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Post by heidifilan on Feb 23, 2009 16:56:23 GMT -5
Here is the third chapter of my fanfic. Sorry about the massive delay, it was never meant to be this late. Every event/action in this story is still entirely fictional. Feedback of any kind is welcome.
Enjoy!
__________________________________________ WESTLIFE FANFIC (c) By: Heidi (c)
CHAPTER 3 A serious case of pneumonia and a throat infection, both at once?! Did he really say that? How did I contract this illness in the first place anyway? What have I done that put me in this situation? No. I must have been dreaming all along. Either that, or I must have completely misunderstood the things he told me, Gemma thought to herself. Lying in her hospital-bed, she tried to grasp what was going on. Her brown eyes were showing a great deal of concern. Her head was resting against two soft, white pillows that had flower motives in different colours on them. The white quilt she was tucked up in, looked the exact same as the pillows, with regards to colours and motives. Her right arm was wired up to a sphygmanometer and an instrument that controlled her pulse, while nothing was yet wired up to her other arm. The message from Dr Filan had come as a big surprise. Up until this moment, she’d been completely convinced that she was suffering from the flu, combined with severe stress-reactions. Looking at everyone present in the treatment room, however, she realised that this was neither a dream, nor a misunderstanding. Her symptoms, and the looks on everyone’s faces said it all. It was a nightmare. A true nightmare. The doctor was in the right, whereas she herself was in the wrong. Going against any medical advice, she decided to remove the oxygen mask without warning. She simply felt she had no choice. Within seconds, her blood pressure and her pulse boosted, while her breathing problems kept causing trouble. Her chest tightened. Shane and nurse Georgina reacted instantly. They put the oxygen mask back on the patient’s face, before stabilizing her blood pressure and pulse. Her fever, on the other hand, was still a little too high. “Heidi,” Shane said friendly, but decisively, looking at his colleague’s Norwegian friend. “I need you to wait outside, if you don’t mind.” The 34-year-old got up from the chair. “No, of course I don’t mind. I totally understand.” “Thank you for understanding,” the doctor replied. “There’s a waiting room down the corridor. Turn to the left, then walk further down until you see a sign that tells you where to find it. Don’t you worry, we will keep taking good care of Gemma.” “I have no doubt you will,” Heidi said, knowing that the child-carer was indeed in great care. Having wished her English friend the best of luck, Heidi made for the door, ready to leave. “I’ll come talk to you shortly,” Charlotte called after her. Having nodded in response, Heidi closed the door. Wow. What a day this has been. It’s only early in the afternoon, yet this has already been quite an eventful day. Poor Gem. Happy and relieved that the English woman was safe in the hands of Dr Filan, Sligo’s new inhabitant headed straight to the waiting room. Obviously, her friend’s condition was subject for deep concerns, yet she knew it was important to stay calm. At this moment, she herself could do nothing but wait. That was the reality. Further down the corridor, Heidi suddenly discovered a nurse coming her way. She recognized her straight away. “Caroline!!!” she exclaimed calmly. Normally, the tone of her voice would have been raised, but because this was a hospital, she desisted from shouting. “I’m so glad to see you!” The American-born nurse, whose long dark hair was tied up in a pony-tail, reached out her arms to embrace the Norwegian. “Hi, Heidi!” she said happily. “I am happy to see you, too! When did you arrive in Sligo?” Heidi looked at her watch. 3:10pm. “My plane touched down at 1:30pm. I had a stressful journey due to several problems. As you can see, I got here in the end. I’m thrilled and delighted to have moved here at last!” Nurse Caroline, whose nickname was Caro, suddenly went quiet, and looked as though she was thinking about something. “But what are you doing here at SGH, anyway?” The smile on Heidi’s face vanished. “I’m here because of Gemma,” she said seriously. “I had arrived at my new house, and Chaz was about to give me a guided tour when the door bell rang and Gem turned up. We immediately noticed that something was terribly wrong, then took action. Chaz called for help, having decided it would be best to let others deal with the case, for reasons I know you know. A little later, a colleague of hers arrived. As soon as he’d given Gem an initial examination and asked her a few questions about her condition, he said she had to be rushed to hospital.” “Oh no,” Caroline said. “Poor woman. Where is she now, and which doctor is taking care of her? You see, I’ve been assigned to an emergency case for the past hour and left the trauma room now. That’s why I didn’t see any of you coming. When I go off duty in 20 minutes, I will tell you something which is highly likely to come as a shock to you.” “Gemma is currently in Treatment Room 2, being treated by none other than Shane Filan himself. He’s been assigned to her case from the very start, actually. So, come on. Give me some clues about what you’re going to tell me. I’m keen to find out!” At that very moment, she could see Caro’s eyes twinkling. “Actually,” the nurse said, suddenly grinning, “It appears I don’t need to tell you about it any more, because you already know about it. What I was going to tell you, is that Shane is a doctor in this hospital. You must have been quite surprised, upon learning about his new career.” “Oh yeah, definitely,” Heidi confirmed, grinning slightly. “Remember how I used to joke about it for so many years?” “I certainly remember,” Caroline responded. “You toyed with the idea for the sake of fun, but once you turned serious again, you said you didn’t think it would ever happen.” “I know,” Heidi acknowledged. “You should have seen the look on my face when he appeared in my living room. There I was, face to face with Shane Filan, the former Westlife-star now turned doctor. I went speechless for quite some time.” “And then what happened?” Caro asked. “Well,” Heidi replied, “Assuming that he was a neighbour of mine, I said out loud that he was probably there to welcome me. Looking at Chaz, however, I asked about her colleague and his whereabouts. The living room fell silent, the reality hit me and I finally managed to put two and two together.” Caroline was still smiling. “Jeez, how I would have loved to witness that scene unfold,” she confessed, before looking at her watch. She had some paperwork to do before going off duty. “Come on, let me guide you to the waiting room, before I start doing some...” She cut herself off, upon seeing two people entering the Accidents & Emergency Department. A woman in despair was carrying a boy in her arms. “Help me! Please, somebody help me!” she cried out. “Look, I’m so sorry, Heyds, but as you can see, I’m going to have to go. See you later,” Caroline said. As the nurse rushed off, Heidi went into the waiting room, in which the walls were white. She sat down on a green sofa, and picked up a magazine to read. Meanwhile, in Treatment Room 2, Shane had finished telling Gemma about her current condition. He proceeded to do an in-depth throat-examination, before taking a throat sample to determine the seriousness of the infection. Having completed his medical examination for the time being, Shane looked at his patient. “A hypodermic needle will be put in one of your hands, and we’re also going to take a blood sample. Subsequently, the blood sample and the throat sample will be analyzed.” Once again, Gemma felt a great deal of fear. A blood sample? Argh, how I hate needles! I can’t stand them. The word blood sample itself gives me shivers down my spine! “Due to your infection and pneumonia,” Shane continued, still having eye contact with Gemma, “you will be transferred to the Infection ward at the Medical Department.” “Hmmmmm?” she said. Even though she couldn’t speak properly through the mask, Shane knew very well what she was trying to say. “Yes, it’s the same ward in which Chaz and I work. It also means that I will still be assigned to your case,” he confirmed reassuringly. When you arrive on the ward, you will be hooked up to an IV. I’m going to make notes in your medical record now, but I’ll see you in a while. OK?” Gemma nodded, then watched as her favourite male doctor left. She was really happy to be in his care, and she knew things would be okay eventually. Before she knew it, nurse Georgina had appeared at her beside. The child-carer knew what this meant, and shot a frightening look at her Norwegian-doctor friend, as if to call for help. “I should mention that she has a phobia with regards to syringes,” Charlotte said. Grateful that Chaz had passed this message on to the nurse, Gemma smiled for a few seconds. It was a relief to know that someone had informed about it, seeing as she was obviously unable to do it herself, given the situation. Georgina understood the situation, signalling that she would go easy on the patient. “Let’s get it over with, shall we?” she asked, addressing the child-carer who, in turn, agreed. The hypodermic needle was inserted on the patient’s right hand, before being attached with taped bandage. Gemma watched as the nurse tightened something around her arm, then proceeded to look for veins. “It’ll be all over before you know it,” Georgina told the frightened child-carer. "Do not look at the needle at all, just try to think of something else.” Easier said than done, really, but Gemma decided she would give it a go anyway. She started thinking about everything she loved doing, and even made several attempts at humming a Westlife-song. That all stopped, however, when she realised she had better concentrate on her breathing instead. “Ouch!” she said through her oxygen mask as the needle was put in her arm. And then it was all over. It wasn’t until a little later, that it dawned on her what she’d done – or, more correctly, not done. She’d been expecting to scream out loud from the pain of the needle, yet she hadn’t been screaming at all. Instead, she’d just pulled herself together. “Wow! You did great, sweetie,” Charlotte said, singing the praises of her friend. “You have every reason to be proud of yourself! I know I am definitely proud of you! Well done!” The nurse had to agree. “Yes, you did great,” she complimented, while removing the medical equipment from the patient’s arms. The oxygen mask was instantly wired up to a portable monitor, as it couldn’t come off just yet. “I’m headed to the lab now, but you’ll stay here waiting for the porter. Dr Filan will present you with the lab results in a while. Get well soon, and good luck!” Less than five minutes later, a male porter turned up. “Hello, Miss O’Connor,” he said. “Ready to go to the ward?” “Mmmm,” Gemma murmured. “Ok then, let’s go,” the porter replied, placing a red file on the quilt. “You coming too?” he asked, looking at the Norwegian doctor. “Yes. I’m a friend of hers. Before we go, though, I have to notify a common friend of ours about where we’re headed. OK? I’ll be back in a minute.” She went to the waiting area in which Heidi was reading a magazine. When the brunette became aware that someone had appeared, she put the magazine away. “How’s Gemma?” she asked, still worried. “She’s being transferred to the Infection ward now, and I’m going to come with her. I’m not on duty today, but I have to stay with her for a while, as Shane and I need to discuss some things. Tell you what, why don’t you go have something to eat in the cafe, and I’ll meet you there as soon as can? Let’s say, half an hour from now?” Charlotte replied. “Yeah, I think I’ll do that,” Heidi agreed. “Tell Gem I said hi, and that I’m thinking of her, hoping to see her soon.” Charlotte nodded quickly, then said “see you” and disappeared. “Are we ready to go?” the porter asked as Charlotte had come back. Both women nodded, and off they went. Arriving on the ward, they were greeted by a nurse. She picked up the red file, then turned to face the patient and talk to her. “Hello, Miss O’Connor,” she said, her voice soft and friendly. “My name is Kate, and I am a nurse on this ward. “I’m going to bring you to your room now.” As they got there, Gemma couldn’t help but smile. The walls in the patient room were light-green, her favourite colour. What a coincidence! “There you go, miss,” the nurse said, still very helpful and friendly, disconnecting the portable oxygen mask and replacing it with one that was stationary. That done, she hooked her up to an IV. “If you need anything,” she continued, “press the buzzer.” Gemma looked at her with a smile, then tried talking again. “Ge...” “She’s asking you to call her Gemma. That’s how she likes it,” Charlotte told the nurse. “OK,” Kate replied, “Gemma it is, then. The doctor will arrive shortly.” The child-carer’s face lit up with delight as Shane walked into the room. Holding a medical record in his hand, he looked friendly at her. “How are you feeling right now?” His patient carefully lifted a hand, making 'Could-be-better'-signs with it. “I understand,” Shane said. “I’ve got your test results here. Your throat infection is causing a slight blockage of your airways, and is also making it painful for your to swallow. As previously mentioned, your pneumonia is serious, but with treatment and medication, it will be fine. You’ll be hospitalized for a few days. It’s hard to tell exactly for how long, as it depends on your condition over the next few days and how well and quickly you respond to the medication. It’s safe to say, though, that you will definitely be here for at least four days.” Upon seeing how scared Gemma was, he paused. Wow. That was quite a lot of information to take in, Gemma thought. Thank God he is on my case, and thank God Chaz is here too. She put one hand on the mask, as if to ask for how long she would have to keep it on. Shane read her mind instantly. “Whenever you feel that you can breathe properly, you can remove the mask for a few minutes. But for now, however, it must remain on until your breathing gets better. Along with the treatment and the medication, you will need plenty of rest. You’re not allowed any visitors today or tomorrow, aside from authorized health personnel. Chaz is a friend of yours, but she is also a doctor on this ward, which is why she will be granted access to your room. Any questions before I go?” Gemma shook her head carefully. “Alright. I’ll pop in later.” “Sweetie,” Charlotte said as her colleague had gone. “You'll need some clothes and some other personal belongings. I can go to your house and pack a bag for you. How does that sound?" Touched and grateful by her friend's support and help, Gemma nodded, then reached for her wallet on the table beside the bed. She picked up her house keys from the back of her wallet and gave them to Charlotte. "Thank you. I will meet Heidi shortly, and then I am going to pack your bag. I'll get back as soon as possible. Meanwhile, try to get some rest, sweetie," Charlotte replied, stroking Gemma's hair carefully. She hurried to the cafe, and found Heidi having a cup of coffee. "Gem needs some stuff and I'm going to take care of that now. Wanna come with me?" "Yeah, sure," Heidi responded, leaving the table. As the two Norwegians were headed towards the car, Charlotte's mobile suddenly rang. "Hello?" she said, then waited for the person on the other line to speak. Suddenly, her face went pale. "What? Try to calm down. When did this happen, and where are you now? OK. No, I'm on my way from the hospital, actually. Just stay where you are, and I'll call you back in a few minutes." Heidi looked at her friend. "What's going on? Who was on the phone?" "It was Dennis," she said seriously. "The management seminar that Kristin attended, has been cancelled due to some unexpected problem, and Kristin went home some hours ago. But there's been an accident."
-To be continued-
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