Chapter 9
His Healer
Sharon was shaking. This was testing her resolve, showing her the hard part about being a healer. There was more blood than she’d ever seen before. Her first patient had more wounds while the second male had the worst. Not that it was a contest, they both needed all the help they could get.
The smell of blood had filled her nose as soon as she’d gotten near the first guy. That iron scent came with most blood, but Mazlans blood was a darker red than most. Full humans had the brightest color. The smell of dust also invaded her nostrils from the dirt the bomb had kicked up into the air that now coated everything.
She was shaking because she was terrified she would not be able to save them, either of them. The care a patient received right after getting injured could make all the difference. The first aid kit had helped but it had been woefully inadequate when presented with such serious wounds. At least she had stopped the bleeding on her first patient before loading on the ship. The other one she’d stopped as quickly as possible.
Only a drop would surface when she wasn’t looking. She’d followed the mandates of first aid training in stopping the bleeding first. On one male, she’d also managed to clean his wounds, but with the second male she’d just been happy to stop the bleeding. An experienced healer would do a better job and they were nearly at medical once the bleeding stopped.
Maybe she should have known how emotionally charged her chosen career could get, but seeing was believing. She felt nauseous as fear rolled over her. What if one or both of them died? Could she live with herself wondering if she could have done something, anything, to prevent it? They were landing so she’d have answers soon. Sharon went in with the first patient.
Hannah, a nurse, was on duty. Most of the time, she could handle the small emergencies that cropped up. This was no small emergency. “Tell me what happened.”
“There’s another patient but this one looks the worst. He was in a gun battle. His wound to the gut seems to be the only one, but it’s deep. The bleeding just stopped a few minutes ago. He’s had massive blood loss.”
“You’ll have to take care of the other guy. I have to operate,” Hannah observed.
Of course, she did. An injury so deep would have to stitch closed. They wheeled him into a room while she waited for the next guy to be brought in. It felt weird to be in charge of his care. They laid him on the bed.
“We need to undress him so we can clean him.”
The two males began to gently remove his clothing. There were bruises and scrapes that hadn’t bled she’d been unaware of. The male needed a sponge bath since he looked to be in pain. She knew Mazlans usually healed fast, but that was not happening here. It made her wonder if there was something in the wounds that needed flushed out.
Once he was bathed with the help of the two warriors who moved him and turned him so she could wash him everywhere, she examined the worst wound. If something was in it, it wasn’t visible with the naked eye. Since he was laying on top of a vinyl bedcover, she decided to flush out his wounds starting with this one. Using a towel, she mopped up the excess water that ran off his body.
As soon as she was done washing all the wounds out, she looked at them seeing the first one already had signs of healing. “Could one of you let the nurse know that this patient had something foreign in his wounds that prevented healing?” One of the warriors nodded before heading to the operating room.
The healing taking place now was amazing. It was as if he was healing right before her eyes. Those wounds hadn’t been serious in themselves so much as the potential for infection. Now the likelihood of that was disappearing fast. Even though she wasn’t fully trained, well actually, not trained as a nurse at all. She knew this wasn’t normal. It should have taken weeks to heal the wounds fully.
It made her wonder exactly what Mazlans were. Sure she knew they healed fast, but this was beyond fast. This was the kind of things scientists studied. Maybe if she eventually became a doctor, she would go into research. The problem was, she had a feeling the Mazlans wouldn’t cooperate. It was well known they were a secretive race. Perhaps there were good reasons for that.
It was about an hour later when the nurse came out. “I think he’ll be fine. Good thing you caught on about the wounds holding foreign material. I can’t imagine what it was, but it did inhibit healing. I’m glad you were here, but if you want, the warriors can take you home. This guy looks nearly ready to go plus he’s awake now.”
Sharon looked to see that his eyes were indeed open. “Thank you,” he said.
She smiled. “It was my honor.” Saying my pleasure just wouldn’t have worked. There had been no fun in this at all, but there had been a sense of satisfaction in helping others. What today’s happenings had done, was confirm her choices while cementing her dedication to being a healer. It felt good to know without any doubts that she’d chosen the right path.
It also felt good to know she was competent as well as unflappable when needed. She had worried that blood might make her sick, but she’d muddled through it. That she would be a healer was certain, the only question was when.