raised her hands. âI know I could have done it, but we are working with protocol, right?â
Astrid nodded. âDo you have a name for our patient, and does he speak English?â
âMr. Buchmeister and yes.â Deborah smiled at the man on the table watching their every move.
Astrid smiled at him. âYou are in good hands, Mr. Buchmeister. Weâll get you fixed up right away. By the way, I am Dr. Bjorklund.â With that she stepped to the basin to scrub. âEveryone scrubbed before touching the patient?â They all nodded. Astrid shook her hands and walked over to Vera to lookover her shoulder. âGood. Have you examined it closely for any remaining detritus?â After a nod, she added, âand irrigated it with sterile water?â
âWe had to stop the bleeding first.â She nodded to Dawn Breaking, who was pressing against the artery to stop the flow.
âIs the blood coagulating?â
Vera nodded. Gray Cloud shot Astrid a questioning look.
Deborah explained the term, and the Indian woman nodded.
âAll right, Dawn. Release the pressure slowly.â When the blood started flowing again, Astrid asked. âIs the flow less now than in the beginning?â
They all nodded.
âGood. Vera, will you check to make sure the tray is supplied?â
When she started to say, âBut we . . .â Astrid continued. âAlways double and even triple check. Mistakes are far too easy to make, and when you are under a lot of pressure, even easier. Establish good habits, and that will save a patientâs life at some point.â
âNow irrigate the wound again with carbolic acid, and weâll close it up.â She turned to their patient. âIâm sorry, sir, but this is going to sting pretty bad.â
âYoost get it done. Danke.â Though his accent was heavy, at least he could understand them.
While Astrid closed the wound with small, perfectly spaced stitches, she explained each step to her nurses, then asked Vera, âHave you ever sutured a wound before?â
âNo.â
âThen come here beside me. Do you know how to sew and tie knots?â
âWell, yes. We covered that in training, just never on a patient.â
âRemember what you did.â Astrid demonstrated on one more stitch and then, after cutting the silk, handed her the needle. âNow you do the next one.â
Vera sucked in a deep breath. âIâd never get a chance to do this in Chicago.â
âProbably not.â Astrid watched carefully. âGood, good. Now see, that wasnât so hard. I suggest you take one of our needles, since they are different than those used in fabric, and practice. Letâs see, how many more stitches do you think we need?â
âUh, two maybe?â Vera looked to Deborah, who nodded, and then to Astrid, who did the same. âYou want me to do them?â
Mr. Buchmeister cleared his throat.
Astrid turned to him. âDonât worry. Iâd never let her make a mistake.â
When the stitches were in, she nodded to Deborah. âThis next is what you covered today and yesterday, right?â At her nod, she turned to the two Indian women. âNow, I want you to tell me what to do, step by step.â She smiled when their eyes widened. âDr. Red Hawk will be very proud of you.â
When they were finished, their patient sat up and grabbed his shirt. âNo money to pay you until payday.â
âYou were injured on the job?â At his nod, she smiled. âIâll send the bill to the company. Please donât go rolling in the dirt, and try to keep it clean. Weâll change the dressing in a couple of days and see how it is doing.â
âDanke. Thank you.â Out the door he hustled, as if they might run after him and do something else.
After the shift change, when Corabell replaced Vera, Astrid conducted evening rounds, checking each of their