Denmark's capital city, Copenhagen, was bustling with life as the sun shone down on the city's streets. The Aarhus University Hospital's emergency room was no exception. Sara Olsen, a skilled surgeon, had just finished performing a successful operation on one of her patients. She was dressed in hospital scrubs and her hair was tied back into a neat bun.
After finishing her shift, she made her way back to her apartment to prepare for a meeting with someone special. It was a man she had known since childhood, someone whom she had been eagerly waiting to see again for the past decade. She took a long, relaxing bath to ease the tension that came with her work. As the water enveloped her, she could feel herself slowly unwind and relax.
After drying herself off, she slipped into a pair of comfortable jeans and a simple top. As she stood in front of the mirror, she took a deep breath and reminded herself to stay calm. This was a moment she had been looking forward to for so long, and she didn't want to mess it up.
As she checked her phone, she saw that she had received a message from Poul Nielsen, the man she was going to meet.
"Sara, Jonathan, and I are already here at the coffee shop. We are waiting for you." It was a message sent only a couple of minutes ago.
Sara felt her heart swell with excitement as she made her way out of her apartment and into the busy streets of Copenhagen.
As she waited for the taxi, her phone rang, vibrating inside her purse. Sara quickly fished it out and saw that it was her assistant calling. She furrowed her brows, curious as to why they were calling her suddenly.
"Hello?" Sara answered, trying to keep her tone as professional as possible.
"Dr. Olsen, I'm so sorry to bother you. But we have an emergency patient at the hospital and they need you to come in," her assistant said, a hint of urgency in their voice.
Sara's heart sank. She had been looking forward to this meeting with Poul and Jonathan for so long, and now it seemed like she might have to cancel.
"What kind of emergency?" she asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
"It's a forty-year-old man who accidentally drank an insecticide as he was drunk,"
"Did you check the bottle?"
"According to the responders, the bottle contained an organophosphate."
Sara's mind raced as she thought about the implications of the patient ingesting an organophosphate insecticide. She knew that organophosphates are a class of chemicals that inhibit the activity of acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme responsible for breaking down acetylcholine in the body. Without a proper breakdown of acetylcholine, the body can experience a range of symptoms including muscle twitching, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. In severe cases, the patient could experience seizures, coma, and even death.
"Alright, I'm on my way to the hospital. And start preparing activated charcoal and check if we still have vials of atropine."
"Yes, Doctor," her assistant replied, grateful for Sara's clear instructions.
Sara's mind continued to work quickly as she hailed a taxi and made her way to the hospital. She knew that time was of the essence and that every minute counted in cases like this.
Once she arrived at the hospital, Sara quickly made her way to the emergency room and examined the patient. After that, she performed an immediate gastric lavage, which is a medical procedure where a tube is inserted into the stomach through the mouth to empty its contents. She also ordered a series of tests to be performed to determine the extent of the damage caused by the insecticide ingestion.
"Doctor, this is the result of the Arterial blood gas test," the nurse handed her the results, and Sara quickly scanned through them.
"What the…it's 6.7 pH? Bring me four ampules of sodium bicarbonate stat."
The normal range for blood pH is between 7.35 to 7.45. If the pH level drops below this range, a condition known as acidosis occurs, which can lead to a range of serious health complications, such as organ failure and even death. This is because a drop in pH can disrupt the body's normal metabolic processes, causing enzymes to malfunction and proteins to denature.
To correct this, she only needs to inject the patient with a sodium bicarbonate solution. Sodium bicarbonate works by neutralizing the excess acid in the body and helping to restore the normal pH range.
The nurse quickly fetched the sodium bicarbonate and handed it to Sara. She carefully injected the ampules into the patient's intravenous line and watched as his pH levels began to rise.
"Okay, good. Let's start administering the atropine now," Sara said to the nurses, her voice calm and steady despite the urgency of the situation.
The nurses quickly prepared the vials of atropine, and Sara carefully injected them into the patient's bloodstream. She watched as the patient's symptoms began to subside and his breathing became more regular.
Sara let out a sigh of relief, knowing that they had caught the ingestion early enough to prevent any long-term damage. She knew that the patient would still need to be monitored closely for any signs of complications, but for now, she was satisfied with the progress they had made.
"Keep monitoring his vitals and make sure he stays stable. And let me know if there are any changes," Sara instructed the nurses before turning to leave.
All in all, the process took almost an hour. Sara fished out her phone and checked if Poul had sent her a message, asking why she was taking too long. But upon opening her phone, her brows furrowed. There was no message at all.
"Isn't he even curious why I'm one hour behind the schedule?" Sara sighed, disappointment etching her face. He might not be excited to see her.
But then, a notification popped up. It was from a page belonging to a huge broadcasting company in Denmark. She double-tapped the screen and the article opened. The headline read Truck Crashes into Coffee Shop in Denmark, Casualties Unknown. It contained the name of the coffee shop and the moment she read the name of the coffee shop, her eyes widened. It was the coffee shop where she is supposed to meet Poul and Jonathan.
She quickly rushed out of the emergency room and hailed a taxi.
Sara got into the taxi, her heart racing with worry and fear. She couldn't believe what she had just read on the news. The coffee shop where she was supposed to meet Poul and Jonathan had been hit by a truck. Her mind was racing with questions. Were they okay? Had they been inside the coffee shop when the truck hit? She tried calling Poul, but the call went straight to voicemail. She tried again, and again, but still no answer.
As the taxi drove through the busy streets of Copenhagen, Sara's worry grew. She tried calling Jonathan too, but he didn't answer either. She couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible had happened. Her thoughts were interrupted as the taxi suddenly swerved to avoid a pedestrian who had stepped out into the road.
Sara's heart raced as the taxi swerved, barely avoiding the pedestrian. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but her worries about Poul and Jonathan were still at the forefront of her mind. She checked her phone once more, hoping for a message or a missed call, but still nothing.
As the taxi approached the intersection, Sara could see the traffic light turning red. The taxi driver hit the gas, trying to cross in time, but it was too late. A large truck barreled towards them, slamming into the side of the taxi with a deafening crash.
Sara felt a jolt of pain shoot through her body as the impact threw her against the side of the taxi. She heard the sound of breaking glass and metal twisting and bending around her. Her vision blurred, and she felt herself slipping away.
The last thing she saw was the truck driver jumping out of the cab, looking shocked and panicked. Then everything went black.
When Sara opened her eyes again, instead of seeing a hospital room, she saw a Victorian-style parlor with richly embroidered furniture and gilded frames on the wall. She sat up slowly, her head spinning from the impact of the accident. She looked around, confused and disoriented. The room was unfamiliar to her, and she had no idea how she had gotten there.
Suddenly, the door opened, and a woman dressed in a long flowing dress entered the room. The woman had long curly hair that cascaded down her back and a warm smile on her face.
"Penelope, are you feeling well now?" The woman asked.
"Penelope?" Sara tilted her head to the side and looked down. There she noticed something odd, her arms were small like it belonged to a child. "What is happening?"
