Vanessa Moore was a very good nurse. Dedicated was what would best describe Vanessa. She was 49 years old and an intensive care unit nurse at Maplethorpe University Medical Center for 21 years. She still loved her work despite it resulting in sometimes tragic outcomes. It was a natural part of the job that not all patients in her care left the hospital healthy enough to resume active lives. Sometimes people did die. That is why she chose to never marry or have children. She desperately wanted both. But she didn't think it would be fair to raise a family and have a husband, knowing she would always be dealing with life and death. Even her family could understand why she did what she did in this instance.
Her mom, Loretta, stayed home to raise Vanessa and her younger brother, Steven and younger sister, Paula, while Vanessa's dad, Edward, was an investment banker for 43 years. Vanessa knew her parents to be good, hard-working honest people who loved their children very much. She wanted to live up to their example. She thought she had so far and was proud of herself and her work.
Her pride took a back seat one time three years ago. One very interesting time...
Vanessa wasn't what you'd call a raving beauty. She was 5'5", had frizzy dark brown hair which hung loosely over her shoulders, eyes to match, and her body wasn't traffic-stopping. She wasn't ugly, mind you. Just not the typical sexpot that would get men's temperatures rising. She had 34 B tits which were always hidden in a bra, whether at home or work, was bow-legged and her ass sagged some, even in her ever-present cotton panties. She was the epitome of plain-looking. But she didn't care.
Some of her colleagues at the hospital remarked, to each other and to Vanessa, that she ought to try to spice up her looks a little. They did love her and were proud to work with her. They just felt she needed a new look to go with her wonderful personality and strong work ethic. It couldn't hurt to be smart, dedicated and sexy, could it?
Vanessa had been working days for five years. She enjoyed the sunlight streaming through her patients' windows as she chatted them up while tending to them, whether it be giving sponge baths, taking temperatures or just helping feed them. She was a day person, and preferred sleeping at night so as to feel refreshed throughout the day.
One hot July day, an horrific emergency call came through the speaker system at the nurses' station. Vanessa just happened to be the one to take the call. A 23-year old white male was being rushed to ICU in critical condition, unconscious after having slammed head-on into a concrete wall with his PT Cruiser. His foot slipped and he'd hit the gas rather than the brake as he tried to stop for a red light. The steering wheel locked when he tried to do this and he collided with an abandoned building with a very large concrete wall.
The patient, Richard "Richie" Davis, had broken both his arms and legs, numerous cuts and bruises and a collapsed left lung. That much was certain. The full extent of his injuries wouldn't be known until Vanessa and her crew got a hold of him.
Fifteen minutes after receiving the call, Vanessa sprang into action as Richie was rushed inside the unit. Vanessa quickly assessed the young man's injuries and determined, with her boss, Doctor Mike Mathis, that Richie would be headed for a CT scan of his head, neck and spine to see what else was going on with him.
An hour and a half later, Richie's CT results showed a fractured neck and a bruised spine but no paralysis. Richie would be a very sick young man for at least two months, eventually needing a neck brace and crutches. He avoided needing a full-time live-in nurse for the rest of his life by one half-inch.
As day slipped into early evening, Vanessa walked into Room 469 to check on her newest charge. Richie had just started to regain consciousness as she looked at his chart at the foot of the bed and checking his urinary output. He'd hardly eliminated anything since arriving. This wasn't too uncommon. She'd seen cases like his a few times. Most likely when he fully came to, he'd start urinating more as a reaction to his pain more than anything.
She peeled back his blanket to see how his injuries looked now. He still had a decent amount of swelling about his torso. He'd obviously exercised a great deal before today. Otherwise he may not have survived. His chest muscles were evident though shredded now. She lifted the lower half of his blanket, and found his legs to be the same as his chest. He was muscular and large. His legs, however, appeared to be OK except for the broken bones.
Just as she was about to cover his legs again, Richie softly muttered something. Vanessa leaned over and asked him to repeat himself. He'd asked for a sip of water. She informed him he could have no liquid as yet but would get him a cherry-flavored cotton swab with which she could help him clean his mouth. A minute later, she returned with the swab, sliding it in his mouth and washing inside his cheeks and teeth.
It wasn't water. But, at least now, Richie could lick his lips. A very slight smile passed over his face, and Vanessa smiled back and stroked his forehead, wishing him a pleasant night and telling him she'd be back in the morning to check on him. Richie immediately fell sound asleep for the night, as Vanessa left the room, thinking to herself how she couldn't wait for him to be fully alert. He did not even awaken for the check of his vital signs every three hours by the night nurse.