Lindsey nodded, though she didn’t look hopeful.
“Keep looking,” Elizabeth said, “I’m going to check in on the patients.”
Lindsey blew out a breath and started picking up the slides again as Elizabeth walked out of the lab. She had no idea what she hoped to find when she talked to the patients, but maybe something would turn up. She wasn’t sure how to handle this, she had never had a case stump her this badly before. She pressed the button for the second floor and was met with another chaotic scene as the doors opened.
“Amy’s coding,” a young nurse said to her as she shoved the heavy crash cart in the direction of the patient’s room. Elizabeth took off at a jog alongside the cart and rushed into the room. The emergency room doctor was running the code, and there was nothing Elizabeth could do but watch as yet another patient slipped away despite all the frantic attempts to save her. Elizabeth could see tears in the eyes of the doctor as she pronounced Amy’s death.
The wall was cold behind her as Elizabeth leaned her head back against it and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind.
“Are you Doctor Grant?” an unfamiliar voice called out to her.
Elizabeth gave herself a quick second to compose before answering. “Yes, how can I help you?”
“I’m Heather and Lacey’s mother,” the woman said. Her face was drawn, but Elizabeth couldimmediately recognize the familial resemblance.
“I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this,” Elizabeth said.
The woman nodded. “Is there anything that can be done at this point? They’ve sedated Heather, said it was for the pain, but I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of any of the doctors. Are my girls going to be okay?” Tears started to form in the woman’s eyes.
For what may have been the first time in Elizabeth’s career, she had no idea how to answer the woman. She took a moment before speaking. “We are doing all that we can, and I promise you that I will personally update you as soon as we have some answers for you,” she said.
“Okay,” the woman said, but the look on her face was utter defeat. Elizabeth’s heart wrenched for the woman; she couldn’t even imagine what the woman was going through.
Elizabeth squeezed her shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture, but the woman didn’t even seem to register it. Despite her reservations, Elizabeth walked away, stepping into each patient’s room and doingher own assessment, but by the time she was finished, she was no closer to an answer than when she started. Everything was the same. It was progressing the same, responding the same; it was almost as though the medical team was completely useless against this virus. Frustration built in Elizabeth at how helpless she felt.
She headed back to the elevator to go to the lab, and when the doors opened, her breath caught at Ava standing on the other side of them. “Hi,” she managed to blurt, but Ava laughed.
“Hi to you, too,” she said as Elizabeth stepped onto the elevator. “Have we been able to make any progress?” Ava asked, though Elizabeth was sure she already knew the answer.
Elizabeth shook her head as the doors opened again. They stepped into the lab; Lindsey looked as though she had not slept in days. They each updated the other on what they knew, which wasn’t much.
“I have to say something at the press conference,” Ava said, frustration clear on her expression. “It starts in ten minutes.”
“Go, get ready for it, I will stay here with Lindsey and see if we can brainstorm… something,” Elizabeth said.
Ava nodded and went back to the elevator.
“It must be so hard on her,” Lindsey said, more to herself than Elizabeth.
“What’s that?”
“Well,” Lindsey said, her cheeks turning pink. “She’s sort of a ‘big fish’ around here, so when anything like this happens, she’s automatically tapped for the PR.”
“I don’t understand,” Elizabeth said.
“Well, it’s never been anything this serious, but if there’s an accident, or when the hospital discovers something, it’s always Doctor Jackson who has to face the public about it, good or bad. To be honest, she’s really good at it.”
“That’s interesting,” Elizabeth murmured.
“I just don’t know if I could do it, all those people watching. I’d probably be too nervous to speak,” Lindsey shook her head.
“Listen,” Elizabeth said, changing the subject. “Get with the med students, the interns and residents, look for any trials, any new combinations that are being tested, anything at all that we haven’t tried—I don’t care how obscure. I think we’ve reached desperate.”
Lindsey nodded slowly.
“And get some rest, Lindsey,” Elizabeth said, her face softening. “I appreciate how hard you’ve worked on this, but you have to take care of yourself, too.”
Lindsey nodded again.
