"F*ck!" I pale visibly when I read the results. This is a catastrophy! I curse loudly unable to control myself but in consideration of the results I think it is absolutely understandable! Without hesitation I grab my phone and dial Louis number. "C'mon, c'mon, hurry up!," I murmur while pacing up and down. Finally he answers cheerfully "Niall! Do you have the results?"
"I do. Sadie has ESBL."
"F*ck!"
Louis Pov
"Are you sure, Niall?," I ask begging for a false alarm or at least a very bad joke.
Instead I hear a sigh. "100 percent sure, mate. I'm sorry." I curse under my breath then I say "We need to tell Liam about it. And we need to test every single person who was with Sadie in the last 24 hours! Nobody is allowed to leave the clinic until we are sure that they aren't infected!"
"I go and get the rapid tests. Are you going to put the clinic under quarantine?"
"Yeah. And I call the Public Health Departement... that's going to be fun."
"Good luck, Lou." I can hear the sympathy in Nialls voice obviously reliefed that he doesn't have to call.
"Thanks, but now hurry up! We can't afford to lose time!" With that I end the call and hurry to the main entrance of our clinic.
"Liz! Ella!," I call our two receptionists "Close the doors and make sure that none of our patients is outside! Don't let anyone out or in! We have a case of ESBL! And help Niall to do the rapid tests!" Both nod heading of in different directions. Now to the hardest part: Liam...
I hurry to Liams office carefully opening the door. Taking a deep breath I shake Liam awake.
"Hmm... Lou? What's wrong?," he murmurs his voice husky. "Mate, I'm affraid that I have bad news...," I begin not really knowing how to explain Liam that his sister has ESBL... Suddenly wide awake Liam sits up his dark brown eyes full of worry. "What is it, Lou?"
"You know that we do what we can and that..."
"Just say it, Louis!," Liam interrupts me already exspecting the worst.
I sigh then I say "Liam... your sister has ESBL."
Silence. Liam just stares at me his eyes wide in shock. "Liam?," I ask carefully but he doesn't react. "Liam, hey you know that we do everything we can to help her. And there is the possibility that Sadie is going to be okay!"
"ESBL...," he whispers but then he shakes his head and the worried expression on his face turns into an strong-willed one. "Lou, what type of ESBL are we dealing with?"
"The one which is resistant against antibiotics with Penicillin, every type of Cephalosporine and Monobactame..."
"Which is in every antibiotics against pneumonia...," Liam concludes.
"Yeah..."
"What's with reserve antibiotics like Tigecyclin and Colistin? They could work if we give her the right dose."
"It's worth a try. And... ," I hesitate but then continue "there is nothing else we could do besides it..." Liam nods and sighs then he stands up and says "I go and explain it to Sadie..." He shows me a small smile then he leaves... and I head off to call the Public Health Departement. Oh joy...
Liams Pov
ESBL. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase or better known as bacteria which are resistant to most of the antibiotics we use so that these antibiotics are without any effect. Only a few antibiotics, called reserve antibiotics, show an effect but those are not as effective as the normal ones and also not as specific. Which means that we can't do much and the body of the patient have to fight on its own. And if it's something serious that the body can't handle it leads to death inevitably... how am I going to explain my sister that she could die? A tear escapes my eye when desperation hit me. I can't loose my sister, I just can't! Forcefully I wipe my tears away while I change into a protective suit and a face mask. Putting on my gloves I knock at my sisters door and enter her room. "Sadie? Are you awake?" My voice sounds a bit muffled because of the mask. "Liam?," I hear Sadies weak voice. "Yeah, little one, it's me. How are you feeling?," I ask her while I sit down next to her taking her hand in my own. "Not good, Li. Why are you wearing this?," she asks fear evident in her voice. "Don't worry, little one, it's just you are very contagious." I say which is in fact the truth just not the full version of it. "Oh okay." She looks at me with her glossy eyes searching for comfort. I comb my fingers through her hair whispering sweet things until she falls asleep again. I can't tell her. I can't say that she could die. She is already affraid enough. And fear can affect the immune system in a negative way...
So I just sit next to her hushing her whenever a fever dream makes her wimper...
I don't know how long I've been sitting here when suddenly my cell phone ring. "Yes?"
"Mate! I have good and bad news... which one do you like to hear first?," Niall says quite fast.
"The good one, please," I answer.
"Well, I found some Tigecyclin in our storage, enough to help your sister hopefully." I smile when I hear that relief washing over me. "And the bad news? ," I ask, thinking that there can't be anything too bad now that my sister seem to be safe.
"Louis passed out."
Five minutes later I am in Naills laboratory kneeling down next to a still unconscious Louis. "What happend? ," I ask shocked.
"He came to me with more rapid tests to check when he suddenly collapsed. I guess he is exhausted and dehydrated. He had a twelve hour shift plus this catastrophy now and the stress which comes with it... it was just too much."
I nod understandingly then Niall and I lift Louis up and carry him in a room where he can rest. "Li, get the Tigecyclin and go to your sister. I look after Louis," Niall says. I smile thankfully then I rush to my sister to give her the antibiotics.
Nialls Pov
While Louis is unconscious I manage to check all the rapid tests. Just when I finish I hear a groan behind me. With a smile I turn around approaching Louis. "Welcome back, Lou. How are you feeling? ," I smile while he is struggling to sit up. Eventuelly he manages it confusion clear in his eyes. "Good I think... just a small headache but nothing too bad," he answers truthfully then he adds "What happend?"
"You kissed Sadie and Liam freaked out and hit you and you fell against the night table and fainted 'cause you hit your head," I answer seriously but start laughing only seconds later. Poor Louis looks at me confused until I say between my laughter "Just kidding. You were dehydrated and exhausted and that's why you passed out. I guess it's time for Harry to end his holidays and come back to work. And I bet his vacation wasn't as exciting as our work here. I mean first the confused Lady that hit Liam with her handbag because he touched her in an 'inappropriate' way, then the ownerless dog which ran through our clinic and now we put the complete clinic under quarantine... oh, by the way we are all clear. Nobody else has ESBL and Liam is about to give Sadie the reserve antibiotics. Tomorrow mornig we'll know wether they work or not. Back to normal I guess, " I update Louis who sighs in relief "Finally!"
I laugh at his comment but I agree. Finally...
Author's note;
None of us has a medical degree in any possible way so we apologise if there are any mistakes.
