The Solar Wind
Page 19
“I’m okay, really.”
“You haven’t had a fever, chills, headaches, or anything unusual?” Justin inquired, still observing her.
“I’m fine. I’ve been really busy at work lately and I haven’t had any extra time off so I’m a little tired. It happens. I promise I’ll take it easy this week and get lots of rest.” She did not want them to worry about her.
“Are you sure Ava? I can stay with you this week if you like,” Wesley offered.
“I know you need to do your job. Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen to me while you are gone.” She tried to sound convincing. Their concern for her health suddenly began upset her. She knew she had seen a patient a few days ago that possibly had the unusual virus that has been fatal in all of its possible number of cases. Could she be sure she was okay?
“Drink lots of water and get plenty of rest Ava,” Justin advised.
“I promise.” She smiled at him. Ava did not have as close of a relationship with Justin as she did with some of the other crew members. She liked him, however, there was something that made her slightly uneasy about him during their trip home after the stop on the abandoned space station. She couldn’t quite figure it out. He had always been kind to her. She wondered why she felt the way she did. She never mentioned it to Wesley.
With that Ava bid farewell to her friends in the busy square as the people rushed by around them, getting to where they needed to be. Then Ava too, became one of them, walking back to her quarters alone. Ava laid down on her bed and rested for an hour. Still feeling tired she took her temperature, out of curiosity. Normal. I’m fine, she thought, still somewhat apprehensive over Justin’s concern for her health. Ava thought back to her patient last week. She had seen the thirty five year old man, a permanent resident on Orionis, on Monday. He had a mildly elevated temperature, feeling fatigued, and he looked pale sitting on the exam table. Other than that, everything else appeared normal. His vital signs were stable, except for the mildly elevated temp. He had no indication of a bacterial infection. She prescribed him the antiviral medication that had become the new protocol for anyone suspected of having a virus, out of precaution from the fatalities that had occurred. There was not much else to do for him at this point except supportive care such as rest and fluids and to notify her if his condition worsened. Ava remembered he had sneezed several times during the visit. This memory concerned her now.
Ava heard from the patient again on Thursday. He reported that his symptoms had worsened and Ava asked him to return to the clinic. He now had a temperature of one hundred and two degrees, seemed very pale and weak, had an increased pulse rate and had a slight decrease in his blood pressure. He stated that he could not sleep during the night because he would alternate between shaking chills and uncomfortable sweating. A red itchy rash had appeared on his body over the past two days. Aside from the sneezing, he was now coughing frequently. He did not know where he could have caught such an illness, he knew of no one at work or at home that had been ill. His only exposure was visiting the grocery store a few days before his symptoms appeared. At this visit, Ava knew this patient’s condition was deteriorating. She consulted Dr. Grant and Dr. Tom, who had the patient admitted for possible sepsis. After the patient was admitted to the hospital unit, Ava had no further updates on his condition. She wondered whether or not he was okay, she hoped his condition had improved over the weekend.
Ava returned to work on Monday morning as usual, still feeling tired. She saw Dr. Grant in the hall mid morning and asked him if he had an update on the patient from Thursday.
“Good morning Ava. Yes, I do have an update for you. Unfortunately the patient’s condition continued to worsen. His blood pressure dropped and we tried to push fluids on him to bring it up. Meanwhile his temperature continued to elevate despite all of the medications. The blood cultures were negative. Tom believes it was that virus that has been going around. He is trying to isolate it and look for antibodies but hasn’t had any luck. This is something we have never seen before. To make a long story short, we placed the patient on a different antiviral medication and the patient went into an un-explained renal failure yesterday. He is still in intensive care on dialysis and it is uncertain whether or not he’s going to make it.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Tom’s ready to call for respiratory precautions across the station for anyone who has a cough or sneeze. We may even have to start screening anyone who comes in from the hangar if this trend continues.”
“Does the OMC have that kind of authority?”
“Absolutely.”
Ava continued to talk with Dr. Grant for a few minutes regarding the new recommendations for what to do with any new patient who presents for an elevated temperature and a cough or sneeze. The rest of the day went by quickly. Ava felt exhausted by the end of it and wanted to go home and sleep. She napped for two hours, ate dinner, showered, and went back to bed. She began to worry as she drifted off to sleep, it was not like her to be so tired all of the time.
Ava woke in a mild sweat a few times during the night. She took her temperature when she arrived at work. The thermometer read ninety nine degrees. Ava tried not to be paranoid over herself, but this worried her. Maybe Justin was right, maybe she was sick. How would he know that just by looking at her? Tuesday morning came quickly. By the mid afternoon she started to feel dizzy and asked the secretaries to cancel the rest of her afternoon. She went to find Dr. Grant to report her symptoms. Luckily, he was in his office.
“Ava, I heard you aren’t feeling well.” He said as she walked in.
“No, I’m not Dr. Grant. Actually I’m kind of concerned. I’ve been feeling tired since Friday and this morning I began running a mild temperature. I’ve also been feeling a little dizzy. I’m worried that I might have that new virus my patient had last week.”
“This is concerning Ava, it’s good that you cancelled your clinic. Have you taken your temperature since this morning? Yes, just a few minutes ago, it’s still at ninety nine. Low grade, but enough to make you feel terrible. I asked the nurse to take my other vitals, they are still normal.”
“No other symptoms?”
“I was a little sweaty last night, but that’s it.”
“Okay. I’m going to prescribe you the anti-virals we gave your patient last week. I’m not sure you have that new virus, but I’d like to watch you. Cancel your clinic for the rest of the week and get plenty of rest. Start taking the anti-virals tonight and call me if anything changes. Better yet, come in and see Tom tomorrow, just so we can keep a close eye on you.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“I hope you feel better. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thank you, I will.”
Ava made her appointment with Dr. Tom for tomorrow afternoon and asked the secretaries to cancel her clinic for the rest of the week. She picked up the medications from the pharmacy and slowly made her way home. Ava tried not to let her condition worry her. She thought of Wesley. He would be so worried if he came back on Friday night and she was not there. She also did not want to expose him to the virus either, at least not any more than he had been. She left a message in the queue for him to receive when the Andromeda was back within reception range of Orionis. She wrote that she was not feeling well and was being started on antivirals, but that she was okay. She hoped she would be.
Tuesday night into Wednesday was rough for Ava. She could not make herself comfortable. Her temperature had not changed, however she started having achiness in her joints and a headache. After a night of intermittent sleep, she woke up late, showered, took her medication, and made it to her appointment with Dr. Tom.
“Heard you were feeling ill Ava. How do you feel today?” Dr. Tom inquired as he entered the exam room with his nurse, both of them wearing masks.
“I think I’m getting worse.”
“Your temperature and heart rate are elevated. Blood pressure is still normal. Respirations normal. Are you having any other symptoms?”
“I see.” Dr. Tom examined Ava carefully. “You look worn out and pale. Ava, I don’t think we should take any chances with you given your exposure to the new virus last week. I think we should admit you as I understand you do not have anyone at home to keep an eye on you.”
“Admit me to the hospital unit?”
“Yes, I think that would be prudent.”
“You think it’s that serious?”
“I do think it’s that serious. I’d like to run some tests on you.”
“Dr. Tom, do you know what happened to the patient I saw last week that became ill and was admitted? I know that you were on the case.”
“Yes Ava. Unfortunately we could not stabilize him and he expired yesterday.”
“Oh no.” Ava looked at the floor, still feeling dizzy.
“I’ll have Amy,” Dr. Tom gestured to his nurse, “get started on your admission orders to the hospital unit. He put a hand on her shoulder. You can stay here until they get your room ready. The nurses can wheel you down there and I’ll come and check on you once my clinic is over in about an hour.”
“Thank you Dr. Tom. Can I use the computer in here to send a message while I am waiting?”
“Certainly.”
“Thank you.”
Ava didn’t know what to think to do other than send Wesley another message in the queue. One thing was certain, she was sick, and getting worse. She did not want to expose Wesley and the crew more than she already had. She worried about them, hoping that they had not become ill from spending time with her this past weekend. She wrote to Wesley about her condition and that she was being admitted and to stay away and that she would leave a message when she started to feel better. If she would feel better, she wondered. She also sent Elaine a brief message, notifying her of her condition. She tried to sound positive despite the fact that her patient’s death frightened her.
A few hours later Ava was resting in her small private hospital unit room. Dr. Tom had ordered several blood tests, a urine test, chest imaging, and placed her on respiratory droplet precautions. This meant that everyone entering the room must wear gloves and a mask. A nurse had started an intravenous drip to provide fluid support as Ava had lost her appetite. As the night approached, her temperature slowly increased and she began to feel worse and worse. How ironic, Ava thought with her face unconsciously set in a bitter frown. I might die from possibly the same virus that killed Nathan. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered her late husband. Ava still regretted not being able to say good bye to him before he died. She knew it wasn’t her fault. She suddenly began to worry about Wesley. What if she died suddenly and she could not say good bye to him? No, I must think positively, I’m going to make it through this, she silently told herself. No matter how hard she tried to push these dark thoughts from her mind, they kept creeping back, little by little, until she finally fell asleep.
Ava remained stable on Thursday morning. It took her a long time to take her sponge bath in her weakened condition. Dr. Tom came in with Ava’s nurse in the late afternoon.
“How are you feeling today Ava?”
“I’m a little worse, I think.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, you look very pale.” He lifted the electronic tablet and reviewed her vital signs, noting the elevation in temperature, now 100.6 degrees.
“What did my tests show?”
“Your complete blood count indicates that you have a viral infection, as we suspected. Your urine test indicated that there is a trace amount of protein present.”
“Protein in my urine? I’ve never had that before.”
“Ava, I’m going to be honest with you. This virus is very serious. The patient’s we have treated so far have gone into renal failure and we’ve had difficulty stabilizing them. The protein in your urine concerns me. It means that you could be heading in that direction. Now we are going to do everything that we can for you. I remain hopeful that because you are young and strong and that we started treating you early, we can try to prevent you from getting much worse, but as you know, we have no cure for this virus right now.”
Ava stared at the floor. Her head ached and she wished Wesley was with her. He always had a plan, always knew what to say or do. “I understand.”
“I’m going to run a few more tests today. Believe me, we are working around the clock to isolate this virus and develop an effective antiviral. Meanwhile, I’m going to change some of your fluids around and start some steroids. That may help to keep some of the inflammation in the kidneys down. All we need you to do is rest and report any changes in your condition to your nurse.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Ava?”
“Yes,” Ava said absently. The news of her condition had sort of numbed her.
“Is there anything else I can do for you? Do you need anything?”
“No thank you. I’ll just rest, like you said.”
“Where is your boyfriend? Would you like me to speak with him?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Besides, he’s a captain of the starship Andromeda and he’s not within range right now. He’s due back on Friday night.” Hopefully I can make it that long, she thought to herself.
“I see. If you need anything Ava, please don’t hesitate to have me paged.”
“Thank you Dr. Tom. You’ve been very kind.”
“You are welcome. I’ll stop by later this evening to check on you.”
“Okay.”
After the doctor left, and the next wave of blood and urine tests were obtained, Ava fell asleep again, with the help of some of the pain relievers the doctor prescribed. Ava hated fevers, they have such a way of making you feel terrible. Dr. Grant stopped by a little after four o’clock, dressed in respiratory isolation gear.
“How’s our Ava doing?” He inquired cheerfully.
Ava knew he was trying to be positive. She felt awful and probably looked it judging from the way his medically trained eyes were studying her. “I’m hanging in there I guess.” She managed a weak smile at him.
“Has there been much change since this morning?”
“I don’t think so. Still aching everywhere.”
“Just think, when you make it through this, we can create a research study to identify and isolate the antibodies your body develops to rid you of this virus.” She could not tell from his tone whether or not he was being serious.
“Sounds like fun.” She laughed feebly.
They spoke for a few more minutes before he left for the day. He did not want to wear her out. His visit meant a lot to her. She was pleased that he actually did care about her as a person, not just as a co-worker. She never doubted that he was a good man. She envied Dr. Tom for having such a kind, patient father. She herself, had never really known her parents.
Ava began to feel much worse overnight. Her fever increased slightly and she could not become comfortable no matter what position she tried to rest in, nor whatever the nursing staff could do to help her. She felt as though she were burning inside out and wondered how much longer this could go on. The nursing staff paged Dr. Tom during the early morning hours to notify him of the change in Ava’s condition. He left a few more orders to help make her more comfortable. She had developed a mild rash by the time he rounded on her in the morning.
The latest test results had become available and Ava’s condition continued to worsen. The urine analysis revealed that the protein levels had increased and now there was evidence of blood in the urine. Ava’s kidneys were not in good shape. Dr. Tom placed her on respiratory isolation to protect the hospital staff. Droplet precautions were initiated across the entire station as the doctors were concerned about a possible epidemic given the recent rise in the number of cases. Despite their best efforts to prevent the symptoms of a full blown case of the
virus, they now knew that Ava’s condition was progressing in the same fashion as the previous patients they had tried to save. She appeared to be heading towards renal failure. They knew her condition was potentially grave and Dr. Tom made the decision to move her to the Critical Care Unit. The nephrologist assigned to Ava’s case made the decision to start hemodialysis on Friday afternoon. Between the shaking chills and burning up, Ava could not do much other than lie there and try to rest. She could not stop thinking of Wesley and her friends, she did not want to leave them without saying good bye, but how much longer could she hold on?
The Andromeda left Kyanos several hours early and was ahead of schedule to arrive back on Orionis. Wesley felt uneasy leaving Ava on Sunday after Justin’s comments about her health. He was anxious to check on her. As they neared Orionis, Wesley checked for messages from Ava as he routinely did. As soon as he could access and read the messages Ava had left for him regarding her condition, he could barely contain himself. Andre took over handling the docking of the ship because Wesley could not concentrate on Orionis’ strict procedures at this time. As soon as the ship touched down and the ramp was lowered he, Naomi, and Andre literally ran to the security checkpoint, leaving the others to secure the ship before they too would join them. Fortunately the officers on duty were used to seeing the three of them and expedited their clearance, providing them with masks to wear to comply with the newly initiated droplet precautions. They broke into a vigorous run to the OMC hospital unit as soon as they left security. The normal people walking around the station stopped to stare as the light-footed trio hurried past them in a blur. Naomi and Andre could not keep up with Wesley as he ran as fast as he could, the three of them were careful not to smash into anyone in their haste. The last thing they needed was another security delay. Wesley wished he could teleport there, which would take mere seconds, but he could not risk being seen.
Wesley ran up to the front desk of the OMC hospital unit and paused only to ask where Ava was. Once he found out he was off again, this time walking in a hurry as the receptionist informed him that running in the OMC was strictly forbidden. Not wanting to attract the attention of security he abided by their rules. He arrived at Ava’s room scarcely out of breath. He ignored the respiratory isolation sign on the door and was about to walk in before the nurse stopped him.