flatline [m.s]

clxxxii.

- - -
the painful irony for doctors is that we often have to make you sicker in order to heal you. if a bone is healed unevenly, we have to re-break it. if a scar is too thick, we have to scrape it off and create a new wound.
- - -

"okay. um, alright, everyone! listen up, please!" bailey shouts in order to get everyone's attention as they chat amongst themselves, whilst she, lia, jackson, richard, and ben gather on the main staircase. "uh, first, i want to thank you all for keeping your heads during the events of last nights. thanks to you, there were very minimal injuries, and the firefighters were able to contain the blaze quickly. there was some damage, however, that will need to be repaired. uh, the neuro i.c.u, the cath lab, and the pulmonary clinic..."

"stephanie's gone," jo informs alex in a lowered voice as she approaches him in the crowd. "she was airlifted to a burn centre in texas."

"so until further notice, o.r's three through six are nonfunctional," bailey warns them all as owen and amelia arrive at the top of the staircase, stopping next to richard.

"hunt, your sister's here?" richard turns to him.

"yeah, she's just being taken to ct," owen nods. "uh, i am gonna need to take some leave."

"understood," richard assures, and lia turns around, looking past richard to see amelia walking away. "i'll update bailey. uh, your sister will be our first priority as soon as we're done here."

"okay. thank," owen smiles.

"to recap, we are to avoid o.r's three through six and the entire neuro wing, as they are unstable," bailey reminds everyone, as there is a loud clatter at the back of the nurses station.

everyone's heads turn to see that a part of the ceiling had caved in and collapsed. there is an array of indistinct screaming and shouting as everyone jumps back.

"and also avoid the fourth-floor nurses station until further notice," bailey adds.

■ ■ ■

"is this megan hunt?" lia asks, entering the radiology room that bailey and richard are examining a set of scans in.

"yeah," bailey nods. "nastiest abdominal wound i've ever seen."

"massive hernia, giant fistula," richard adds. "the abdominal layers have scarred and fused to each other. her small bowel and colon are just-"

"one big blob," bailey sighs. "and there's not enough healthy skin to properly close the wound."

"i think we just optimise her nutrition, vac the wound, and wait," richard recommends. "i mean, it'll close eventually."

"she wants us to reverse the colostomy," bailey points out.

"i can't see a way to make that happen," richard shakes his head.

"well, i can," lia takes her eyes off the scans to look at her father. "and you taught it to me."

■ ■ ■

"so, i would like to reapproximate the abdominal wall a little bit at a time," lia explains to megan and her family, whilst demonstrating on the monitor beside her. "put in tissue expanders to stretch the skin and then pull the abdomen back together slowly. and then we'll go back in, take down the fistula, reverse the colostomy, and i'll close with a component separation surgery."