"Mmmmmm" Zoe moaned trying to warn her boyfriend. He ignored her and for his pains found himself suddenly on the wrong end of a stream of urine.
"That's it!" He roared and threw a box of latex gloves across the room. "I'm done! I've tried to be patient, I've cleaned up your shit, I've worked long hours and now I'm done! You should be dead! We should kill people like you!" He stormed out of her room. Zoe sighed to herself. This wasn't the first time he'd said these things and he'd stopped apologizing for them.
8 Years ago when they'd first met she'd thought Rick was the man of her dreams. Tall and handsome who apparently hadn't cared about the genetic wasting disease she had. Back then she'd been in a manual wheelchair, she could control her bodily functions and talk. As her disease progressed she'd lost the ability to do those tasks and Rick had been there to care for her, to work 6 days a week at two different jobs to pay for the expenses involved. But as the years had gone by she'd watched him slowly get embittered. She had known it would happen her aunt and cousin who also were afflicted had told her it would, but her aunt had said he'd be mad at the illness. But he always acted like it was her personal fault. And it wasn't even like she had a choice anymore. She couldn't talk to phone her parents, her computer, with it's eyegaze technology, was on her wheelchair which she couldn't reach and which Rick mostly left turned off, she was completely helpless. She heard the front door slam as Rick stormed out. He would take a walk around the block and then come back. So she lay there waiting.
She was still waiting as the sun went down.
30 HOURS LATER:
For Jason it was a normal shift. Meaning he'd been up for the past 19 hours straight running calls for American Emergency Medic Response. His long term goal, Paramedic on a Fire Department Ambulance in the nearby large city wasn't coming to fruition to quickly and he was currently in a holding pattern. They were sitting "At Post" a centralized location near a freeway on ramp so they could head in any direction to respond to their calls quickly. Really they should have been back at their station for some dinner and sleep hours ago but they were here in a parking lot under an overpass watching a drug deal. It wasn't really AEMR's fault, after all they hadn't expected a 4 vehicle accident on the highway just on their side of the county line with all 4 patients wanting to go to the hospital. So yes unfortunately today was unusually busy which meant sleep would have to wait.
The Computer Aided Dispatch Terminal started chirping. A rapid urgent chirp informing them of an emergency response. The note under the call specified that they were heading on a welfare check with the Town of Little Oak Fire and Police Departments. His partner pulled a pair of nitrate gloves from the box on the dash and threw the empty cardboard container against the back wall of the cab. "Fuck this" she spat at the computer.
Jason ignored her. She was in the midst of a burnout phase and he needed to focus on driving.
They rolled down the street. A pair police cars were parked discreetly in the driveway of the house. In front of the house was the massive ladder truck lights blinking. Jason rolled his eyes at the curious neighbors poking their heads out of doors. Discretion was clearly not one of Little Oak Fire Department's Strong suits. He pulled past the fire truck so they could take the stretcher up the driveway and up the wheelchair ramp in front of the house. He got out of the ambulance. His partner opened the side compartment and pulled out the Paramedic Bag. The Fire Department had all the other equipment they might possibly need. The majority of the time on these calls they were unfounded. But you always needed to be ready. Jason walked over to the lead firefighter who was talking with an old woman.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Neighbor called, said the homeowner"
"Tenant" said the neighbor
"Tenant" Said the Firefighter, "left and hasn't seen a disabled woman who..."
The neighbor interrupted again. "He peeled out like a bat out of hell and I haven't seen him since, and there's that poor dear crippled girl who lives there and I haven't seen her for DAYS."
One of the police officers wandered around and said "All the lights are off but I thought I saw someone asleep on a bed..."
"Did you see a wheelchair?" the neighbor demanded.
"Why?" The Officer asked
"Oh my God." Said Jason's partner "Answer her so we can close this call and go to bed."
"Here here." Murmured the firefighter.
"Yes." The officer snarled. "Yes I did, happy?"
The neighbor spun on Jason. "You see! She doesn't go anywhere without the wheelchair! I know she's in there. Also the van's in the garage!"
The Officer opened his mouth to protest but one of the firefighters came jogging around the house. He stopped long enough to say "Bob and I managed to get the back window screen off and force up the window with a Halligan and there's a real strong..." He looked at the neighbor "Smell of bodily functions so I think we should force entry. I'm going to get the ax now."
The Halligan, a long steel combination crowbar and driving wedge, was wedged into the door between the knob and the deadbolt, and then the curved hook end was hit with the butt of an ax. The door snapped open on the 3rd hit and they all piled inside.
Jason's patient was very attractive. At least to him. He fought back an erection and stepped up next to the table. He gently shook her shoulder with a gloved hand. "Miss can you hear me?"
She moaned, dried spittle on her face cracking. Dried feces was caked on her lower extremities and the old urine smell was overpowering. She blinked a couple times at him.
"Whats your name." Another moan. 'Goddamnit' Jason thought 'She's vegetative. Why can't a girl be like this and mentally alert?' One of the firefighters came back. "Found this on the fridge."
It was a "LIFE FILE." It was a folder with a list of medical history, medications, and allergies. The medical history was short and too the point. Handwritten were the words "Gregory-Parker Syndrome. Muscle wasting disease." There were a couple other generic medical historys as well like asthma.
Jason's partner swore and disappeared to get the cot. Jason directed one of the firefighters to help her and then asked if anyone wanted to help him clean her up. The other firefighter gave him a funny look but helped him log roll the patient.
Zoe bit back the cries of pain as the two men's rough hands inside their gloves rolled her. The Paramedic used wipes that were sitting on the table to wipe her off. She gasped as the dried mess on her bottom came away leaving raw red skin behind. The Firefighter meanwhile dragged the soiled sheet off the table and dumped it on the floor. She heard a bang in the direction of the door and muffed cursing then the grumpy female EMT appeared. She felt another sheet, this one rough and thick, against her back then they gently lowered her onto it. She heard the male paramedic telling his partner to put a chux bed pad down on the stretcher then they pulled her over. Another blanket covered her and she was taken outside to the ambulance.
Outside Jason started two IVs, one in each arm to replenish her fluids. Because she couldn't talk to them he didn't know how long she'd been there without liquids. Jason's partner slammed her way out of the unit and he rapidly ran a 12 lead, vernacular for analyzing the electrical patterns of the heart, then got the rest of his vitals. They set off for Saint Giles' Hospital without lights or sirens. Jason made sure he talked to her and told her what he was doing then called in his report to the hospital.
"Med 4 to Saint Giles Emergency, we are coming to you with a patient in her mid 20s. The patient has a history of Gregory-Parker Syndrome and has significant nuero/muscular disabilities. Her chief complaint is dehydration and possible skin infections. Per Little Oak PD and witnesses on scene she was abandoned by her caretaker approximately 2 days ago. I have bilateral 20 gauge IVs running with normal saline. Vitals are as follows; BP: 87/53, Pulse: 114, Respirations: 16. SPO2: 97% on Room air. 12 lead shows sinus tach. Our ETA is about 10 minutes any questions?"
"Room assignment upon arrival." And the nurse signed off. Jason signed off as well and looked back at the patient.
Zoe appreciated the Paramedic spening the trip reassuring her. While most people treated her like she was mentally disabled he acted like she was a normal adult patient. They were at the hospital before she knew it. There were a couple nurses and a bored looking doctor and she watched him as he gave the report to them, then wished her good luck, and disappeared.
Jason finished his report and walked out to the garage to remount the computer. He'd been deep in thought the whole time. His partner was snoring in the other bunk as he racked out. But sleep refused to come, all he could think about was Zoe.
