Small Town Survival -Twenty Eight

28

Sam managed to get a nurse to not only get his wife some clothes but also to track down Doc. It was only about ten minutes later that Sam was outside the door looking in at Doc and the little boy who was still refusing to talk. Dr. Vern was at a lost and not so subtly suggested that Doc take him with them when they left. One look to Sam and a nod and it was settled, the boy would go with them.

Doc spoke up and said “Well boy, if you’re gonna come with us; we got to call ya somethin’….can you at least write down what you want us to call you?”

The boy nodded shyly and Dr. Vern handed him a scrap of paper and a pen. The boy labored for a few minutes with his writing and then finally handed the paper to Doc.

In big uneven letters was the name “Daniel”. And with that the three of them headed back to Sandra’s room to see if she was ready.

When they got there, the nurse was just finishing packing up a cooler with medicines in it.

Sue said “Doctors orders! These will help you, it’s not much; but we don’t want any kind of infection setting in. There are instructions in a plastic bag on top inside and in this bag,” as she motioned to another bag that looked like a laundry bag, “Is enough bandages to last at least a week. Make sure you keep her wound dry and clean.”

“Would you like to go with us, Sue?” asked Sam “We could use a nurse back home.”

Sue pondered for a moment and then said “Listen, it’s true I don’t have any family here holding me and we really won’t be able to stay here much longer. I’ve heard what some of those who are in charge have said and they figure we will only be here four or five more days. But there are some kids here that have no one and I don’t know what we are going to do with them if we close, so I can’t leave them no matter how much I would love to get out of this city before it really gets bad.”

Doc spoke up and said “How many kids are we talking about and what are their ages?”

“Well,” Sue took a deep breath “We have ten kids whose parents weren’t here, well I mean at St. Jude’s, when all hell broke loose. The youngest is only two months old and the oldest is twelve.” She took another breath and then continued “If you could take them with you; not only would I go but there is a young doctor and three more nurses who would go. We were planning on somehow taking the kids with us when we had to leave, but if you could help us, it would be so much better. We also would be able to take whatever we could pack up and fit into the three vehicles that we know will run. They are stashed in the basement of the parking garage here.”

Sandra quietly said “Go get ready, ya’all are going.”

Relief flooded Sue’s face and she sprang into action calling as she ran down the hall that everyone and everything would be downstairs in fifteen minutes.

Sam carefully helped Sandra into a wheel chair and with Doc carrying the cooler and Daniel carrying the bag; led the way out of the room to the one elevator that was working due to the generator. When they reached the ground floor Dr. Vern was waiting for them. He had a cart full of medical supplies in totes.

“Follow me friends. I’ll show you where Sue, the kids and the staff is going to meet you.” They followed him to the loading dock that leads out to the garage. They could hear vehicles coming up from below.

“You know Sam,” began Doc “We forgot to let the others know we found Sandra.”

“You’re right. Hey Dr. Vern do you think we could real quick shoot off a couple of flares to let our friends know to go to the meeting place?” asked Sam.