A car accident, a secret and a doctor

Alicia Madison leaned against the wall in the hallway right outside the emergency room hub,and took two large breaths behind her blue surgical mask. Sweat was popping up around her forehead.

Behind her goggles, a few tears were in her green eyes. She blinked a few times, and when she finally could catch her breath, she took her gloves off, and threw them in the trash can beside her, and lifted her goggles to where they lay on top of her head.

Her dark brown, long hair was covered with a surgery ‘skull cap,’ and her dark blue scrubs were covered with a yellow surgery gown, which she tore off, and threw in the hazard waste can in front of her.

Alicia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and she took some deep breaths.

“Dr. Madison, Dr. Madison …” Alicia turned toward the sound, turning up her hearing aid. A male orderly was walking toward her.

“Yeah?” She asked, standing up straight, pulling her hospital identification lanyard out from her shirt collar. Alicia thought to herself, ‘What is his name? Tyler … Tucker … James …’

“Dr. Lewis asked me to come tell you that Mr. Charles is waking up. He thought you might want to be there …” The orderly stopped in front of her.

“OK, thank you, James. I will be there in just a minute.” She said taking the goggles off, and slipping the surgical cap off. Alicia threw the goggle in the PPE bucket, and her surgical cap, she held in her hand. It is her personal one - made out of Scooby Doo material.

“Yes mam. I will tell him.” James headed to the south, and Alicia headed north to the elevators. Her mind was reeling. She felt like she had been kicked in her gut, and couldn’t catch her breath.

Alicia lucked out, and got an empty elevator. She moved to the back, and leaned against the rail. As the elevator moved up, she tried to focus her thoughts.

While she was in the trauma center, Alicia had gotten slammed with a reality - a secret revealed that she never expected.

And for one of the hospital’s top pediatric surgeons and general trauma surgeons, that is saying a lot.

Alicia had been called into the emergency room for two patients coming in due to a tragic automobile accident on the highway. As she was finishing up, an ambulance was bringing in a victim from a second accident.

“Alicia, it is your brother,” one of the nurses said as Alicia walked out of the first room. “You go ahead, and check on him, I will take Mr. Charles on up,” Her coworker, Dr. Lewis, said.

Alicia asked, “Do we know anything?” She was suiting up with help from one of the nurses. The dispatcher at her desk said, “It was a two car collision, one fatality, one with a broken leg and the other not sure about. They said it was your brother and a woman.”

“His wife?” Alicia asked, “Ellie?”

The dispatcher looked at the clipboard, “No, a Ginger Phillips.”

Alicia stopped. Ginger Phillips? “How old is she?”

“58. Lives on Pointe Park Lane,” The dispatcher said.

Alicia shook her head, and walked with the nurses and interns to meet the ambulance. Ginger Phillips was her brother’s girlfriend from college. Maybe it was a coincidence.

The sirens were heard, and the radio got busy. Pretty soon, the paramedics came rolling in with the patients on the gurneys.

Dr. Taylor, Alicia’s counterpart, said, “I have got your brother, you see about the woman.”

She nodded. Pretty soon, everyone was shouting orders and talking, and whirling the patients into the rooms. Andy was half in and half out. He heard his sister, “Alicia, Alicia.”

Alicia was working on Ginger, and she hollered across the trauma center, “I am here Andy. Jim’s got you. You are going to be OK. Hang in there, bub.”

The nurse pulled the curtains to separate the room.

Alicia could see that Ginger had sustained severe internal injuries. It appeared her lung had been crushed by the impact. She was in and out and talking out of her head. “Where’s Andy? Andy? No. We just got back together. Why? Why?”

“Mrs. Phillips, we’re going to help you, come on, settle down,” one of the nurses tried to calm her down.

Ginger turned, and she caught Alicia’s eye. “Little Alicia, is that you? Alicia. Where is your brother?”

“Ginger, you have got to let us work on you come on. Andy is in the other room.” Alicia said, and then she saw it. Ginger started to seize.

It was a long haul, but they were able to sedate Ginger, and get her injuries stable, and Alicia had to work on her lung in the trauma room - transferring her would have been too hard.

Once they had her stable, Alicia, threw her gloves off, and walked into the other trauma room where they were working on her brother. “Taylor?”

“He has got a fractured ankle, and his left leg is broken in two places. We pinned it for now. Three ribs are broken, and he has a slight concussion, how is yours? Dr. Taylor said from the gurney where he was leaning over casting up Andy’s ankle. His leg was braced.

Alicia had new gloves, new gown and new goggles. She walked over, and looked over Dr. Taylor’s shoulder. “What size pin?”

“I have got a temporary one in there right now … once his blood pressure is a little stable, we will book him. How is his friend?” Dr. Taylor asked.

Alicia said, “She has a collapsed lungs, four broken ribs, has a concussion and a cracked wrist. Had to open her up in there.” She walked over to where she could look at her brother’s head.

“He will be out a little while. He kept asking about Ginger … and didn’t want anyone to know they were here together.” Dr. Taylor finished the cast, and looked at Alicia, who sighed.

“She said something in there that they had just gotten back together .... “ Alicia stared at Dr. Taylor.

The nurses were moving about, cleaning and then the orderlies came to take Andy up to a room. “Where is he going?”

“Room 616, Dr. Madison.” One of the orderlies said.

Dr. Taylor and Alicia were alone in the room. “Alicia, I didn’t want to say this in front of anyone, but your brother begged me not to tell Ellie he was with Ginger … said he wanted to tell her himself.”

Alicia sighed. “He is cheating on Ellie.”

Dr. Taylor had been friends with the Madison family for a long time. He and Alicia had gone to med school together. He put his hand on Alicia’s shoulder. “I will call Ellie. One of the nurses is calling Ginger’s family .. her husband.”

Alicia shook her head. She walked out of the room, her heart was beating fast and her head was swimming. She needed to catch her breath.

The bell of the elevator rang, and the door opened to the third floor. Alicia walked out, swinging her skull cup, and just thinking a lot of thoughts. Andy was cheating on Ellie. She just couldn’t believe it.

Her brother had been her hero all of her life … which is normal for a little sister and a big brother. He had been very clean cut, athletic and just fun to be around. When he got older, he played basketball in college, coached the team at the state university and had several championships under his belt. He married Ellie, and they had two kids, and were active in the community and church.

The whole idea of Andy cheating on Ellie blew Alicia’s mind. She walked into the doctor’s lounge, and put on her coat, got her stethoscope and phone. She headed out the door.

As luck would have it, as she headed toward the elevator, her dad was standing there with a clipboard in his hand. “Dad.” She called.

“There you are. I just heard. Were you in there with your brother? I am on my way up. Your mom is on her way with Ellie and the kids.” Jeffery asked as she neared him.

“Um, yeah.” She said. The doors opened to the elevator and they stepped on. “You going on up?” He was about to push the button.

“There was a woman in the accident too. She was more serious. Got to go check on her in ICU on five first.” Alicia said.

“A woman? With your brother or in the other car? I thought the one in the other car died.” Jeffery asked, learning against the side wall.

Alicia put her head down, and stared at her feet.

“Alicia Frances, why are you staring at your shoes?” Jeffery asked.

“The woman was with him, Dad.” Alicia said, looking up.

“Was it his secretary? Or that PR lady?” Jeffery asked.

“Daddy, it was Ginger.” She squinted her eyes.

Jeffery stopped. He looked at Alicia. “Tell me.” Alicia recanted the story to her dad. He sighed. “I knew something was going on with him … I just didn’t know what.”

“What are we going to do, Dad?” Alicia asked.

“About what?” Jeffery asked, looking at the lights in the elevator ceiling.

“The secret, Daddy?” Alicia rubbed the back of her neck.

“It is their secret to tell, Alicia,” Jeffery said as the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. “I think i am going to go with you.” He stepped off the elevator, and Alicia followed him. “I have to check on my first patient. Dr. Lewis is with him.”

“Your head trauma?” Jeffery asked as they walked toward the critical care units. Alicia nodded, looking at her iPad.

“He is in three and she is in six.” Alicia said.

“Let me see.” Jeffery took her iPad from her, and studied the charts of the first patient.

Before they got to the door to the critical care unit, Alicia’s phone rang. She looked down at it. It was the nurses in the critical care unit. “This is Dr. Madison. Yes, I am fixing to walk in the door. What?” Alicia hung the phone up, and put it in her pocket, and started jogging.

“Alicia?” Jeffery asked.

“Ginger is coding.” She turned her head to her dad.

“Go. Go. I have got Mr. Charles, go.” Jeffery motioned her, holding her iPad.

An hour later, Alicia was signing some forms at the desk. Her dad was talking to the family of Ginger. Ginger had died.

Jeffery walked over to Alicia. “How are you doing?”

Alicia nodded, “I am OK. Thanks for doing that.” She pointed, closing the chart, putting the pen in her pocket and handing the chart to the nurse at the desk.

“Well, that is part of my job.” He said.

They chatted a little bit, and got on the elevator. There was a crowd of people, and they didn’t say a lot, chatted with a few people on the elevator, then got off on the sixth floor.

Betty Ann Madison was turning the corner from the nurse’s station, carrying some cups of ice. She saw her husband, and daughter. “Jeffery, Alicia.”

“Hey Mom.” Alicia walked up to her mom, and kissed her on the cheek. “Where have you two been?” Betty Ann asked. Jeffery kissed her other cheek.

“Handling a situation in the CCU,” Alicia said, going over to the nurse’s station to look at Andy’s chart.

“How is Andy?” Jeffery asked as he and Betty Ann walked to the room. “Jim came by and talked with us, and Owen did too. They are going to do surgery in the morning,” Betty Ann said.

Alicia had her iPad out, “Dad, they have got OR 5 at 7 am to do the pinning.” She handed it to him. “Good. Has he been talking?”

“Not really, kind of groggy. THe kids have been chatting. Ellie is talking. So he really has not had a chance. Do we know what happened?” Betty Ann asked as they neared the room.

Alicia looked at Jeffery. “It was a two car accident, one fatality and two injuries.” She said reaching the door before they did.

Betty Ann looked at Jeffery who was not talking. “Jeffery?”

“She was there. I was not. Haven’t had time to look at the charts … Andy will tell us.” Jeffery said. Alicia opened the door, and they all walked in.

He was awake. “Aunt Alicia!” Thomas ran over to her. He was eight years old. Jordan, the 10 year old, followed them. They hugged. “Hey, dudes. What is happening?” She tousled their heads, and squeezed them. Ellie smiled “They love you.” She was sitting in a chair next to Andy’s bed.

Andy caught Alicia’s eye. She looked at her nephews. “Let me go, squirts. Got to do my job and check out the patient.”

“I am here,” Andy said weakly.

“Son, how are you feeling?” Jeffery asked, handing Alicia the iPad back, walking over. Betty Ann handed Ellie a cup of ice. She is pregnant, and had been chewing on ice, and then Betty Ann poured some water into the cup and put a straw in it for Andy.

“I hurt a little, Dad.” Andy said, looking at his father over Alicia’s shoulder as she listened to his heart with her stethoscope.

Jeffery walked over, “Boys, why don’t you take your grandma and mom down to the cafeteria, and get you some ice cream, tell them to put in on my account. Your mom looks like she needs something to eat.”

“I can’t leave him,” Ellie said.

Andy touched her hand, “Honey, he is using his doctor tone. It won’t take long. Go ahead.”

Betty Ann said, “Come on, boys. Come on, Ellie. Don’t want to get in their way when they get in this mode.”

Ellie looked at Andy, who nodded. She got up, and leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I will be back.”

Ellie touched Alicia’s hand, “You watch over your big brother.” Alicia nodded.

They left, and Jim pulled the chair up close to the bed, and Alicia leaned against the wall after making sure the door closed.

Andy looked from his sister to his dad. “He knows.” Andy looked back at Alicia. She couldn’t look at him in his eyes. “Alicia, would you look at me?”

Alicia looked at her brother. “Yeah, he knows. The whole rotunda knows your secret, Andy.”

Andy closed his eyes. “Dad, I don’t know what to say. I am sorry.”

“Son, we will talk about that later. Right now, we have got something to tell you,” Jeffery said, putting his hand on his son’s hand.

Andy opened his eyes, and looked at him, “She didn’t make it, did she?”

Jeffery said, “No. She coded out. Her lung collapsed and it caused her to have a cardiac arrest. Alicia and the team tried to save her.”

Alicia watched her brother. Tears began rolling down his face.”Oh, no, no, no.”

“Dad …” Andy said. “Dad, I have to. If she had not picked me up … We were …” Jeffery motioned for Alicia to leave.

Alicia walked out of the room. She was glad her dad told her to leave. It was a mystery and she really didn't want to know what had happened.

Some secrets and mysteries should be left secret and mysterious.

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