CODE RED
CHAPTER 1
JESSA
“Status?” I ask the paramedic before the stretcher wheels even stop.
“Thirty-four-year-old male. Third-degree burns across left shoulder and upper chest. Inhalation injuries possible, he was pulled from a garage fire. Intubated en route. No known allergies.”
I nod, gloves already on, eyes scanning the patient. His chest rises with the ventilator. His skin’s blistered and sloughing, f**k, that’s bad.
“BP?” I ask, pressing two fingers to the side of his neck while one of the residents starts attaching the monitor leads.
“Dropped to eighty systolic during transport,” the other paramedic says.
“Fluids?”
“Two bags lactated Ringer’s wide open.”
“Good. Let’s get another line in. And call respiratory—we’ll need bronchoscopy to assess airway damage.”
And then I h
