215A/N: Happy 2017, all. This started as an idea for Sickfic, but it just got bigger the more I thought about it, so, it gets its own story. This is a different longer Callie idea than the one I mentioned previously. It just came to me and I knew it needed to be written ASAP.
This is inspired by a similar Season 6 storyline in ER. If you've seen that season, you'll recognize the parallels.
I'm not a medical professional; any inaccuracies are my own.
I do not own The Fosters.
Chapter 1
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
"Stef, 41 just radioed in. Sounds like a peds case for you. Nine month old baby," Nurse Jen informed her, poking her head in the doctor's lounge.
Dr. Stefanie Adams Foster quickly set down her magazine and followed Jen out the door, slipping on a sterile gown and gloves. "ETA?"
Suddenly, an ambulance rolled up, sirens and all.
"I guess that's us."
Pablo, a paramedic, parked and helped Amelia, his partner, bring out UCSD Medical Center's latest patient: a baby girl. Amelia gave Stef and Jen the bullet.
"What have we got?"
"Baby Jane Doe. Approximately nine month old female. Found abandoned in an apartment on East 54th and Chestnut. Neighbors said the baby cried for hours a couple days ago and grew concerned about the lack of noise. We scooped and ran."
Stef knew that was not the safest neighborhood in San Diego. The paramedics rattled off more vitals as they wheeled the baby inside the emergency department and to a trauma room and gently transferred her to the bed.
"Respiratory distress. Sounds like crackles bilaterally. Obvious neglect. Do you need anything else?"
"We've got it from here."
Their patient was sort of fussing, but not crying, like she physically couldn't. Stef could see she was pale and felt her face.
"Skin's hot. Let's get a rectal temp. No sweat or tears means she's dehydrated. Alright, I want a full septic work-up. Lytes, CBC, Chem-7, and blood cultures. Let's get a heel stick and dip a urine, if possible. We'll hold off on the spinal tap for the moment. We need access. I need a femoral line kit. Let's try not to stick her any more than we need to."
Jen removed the baby's soiled diaper. "Looks like she was on the way to a nasty rash."
"We'll take care of that."
A scrub nurse handed Stef what she needed to insert a special IV. Getting this baby rehydrated was of the utmost importance.
Stef tried to be gentle as she placed the needle inside her patient's right leg.
"Alright, I'm in. She looks to be about nine kilos. Let's start with twenty cc's of normal saline while we get a weight."
"Temp's 102.2."
"Tylenol PR," Stef ordered.
"Glucose is thirty-eight."
"That's too low. Let's add five percent dextrose."
The little girl looked to Stef in obvious discomfort, her brown eyes bright and glassy with fever.
"I know, little one. It's gonna be okay," she told her in a soothing tone.
She grabbed her stethoscope and listened to the baby's heart and lungs. "Heart sounds okay." She nodded as she heard crackles, as well. "I hear a consolidation on the left." She turned her attention briefly to the medical students who were observing off to the side, deciding to take a moment to teach, as was her job. "Year Twos: I hear crackles in this baby's lungs. Coleman, do you agree?"
A young man with sandy brown hair walked up and listened. "I-I think so."
"You think, or you know? Be confident, every patient needs you to be sure."
"Yes, crackles bilaterally," he replied, sturdy, before rejoining the others.
"We also have fever and dehydration. What are we thinking?"
"Infection. Maybe pneumonia," said one, a tall, young man with brown hair.
"That's a safe bet. What else?"
"Meningitis," answered the blonde next to him.
Stef nodded. "Hence the VIP treatment. C'mon, give me more."
"Influenza, bronchiolitis, RSV," rattled off the fourth, a petite brunette.
"Good. Let's add a chest film to those labs. We'll know more when they're back."
"I'll go grab the portable x-ray," Jen said and left the room.
"We'll get that done and start her on cefuroxime."
After Baby Jane Doe was stabilized, her labs concluded that she was indeed fighting bacterial pneumonia. Stef hoped getting a jump on the antibiotics would help her recover more quickly.
"Peds is almost ready for her upstairs," Jen informed her.
"Great. They'll take care of her, get her settled in."
Two pediatric nurses wheeled in a crib bed for the baby.
Stef picked her up and set her in it. "Bye-bye. You're gonna be all better really soon."
"Alright. On to the next," she sighed after her tiny patient was moved, going to the admit desk to get a new chart.
A/N: I know this was short, but there's more to come. So...what do you guys think? What do you think will happen next?
