EXCERPTS PAGE - NEVER BEEN HARMED
... the off-white ceiling titles blended together and emitted a pallor hue throughout the room from the scattered fluorescent lighting. Smells of human body odors, medical chemicals and disinfectants hung in the air at an almost trenchant level. The olfactory stimulation made him uncomfortable and his nostrils constricted forcing him to breathe mostly through his mouth to avoid the aromas. On either side of him lay a seemingly endless row of beds all lined up as perfectly as a surgeon’s tools before an operation. Dingy white curtains hung from ceiling tracks that would circle privacy around any given bed when needed, but today they hung motionless against the wall near the head of each bed, and from his view, left or right, not a single bed lay empty. Nurses, technicians and doctors lazily roamed about the room randomly visiting the occupied beds. Dart sat upright in his bed and watched their mouth and lips move, yet all he could hear was the ringing in his ears. His senses didn’t seem right to him, and this bothered him the most. It was like a stupor or dull sensation, and without his usual sharp senses he felt distant, lethargic, and vulnerable. He squirmed restlessly, and as his frustration grew, so did his impatience.
Dart tossed off his covers, then threw the first of his legs over the bed. A sharp pain in his right upper arm and shoulder stunned him as he paused and grimaced heavily. Before he could move the second leg, a friendly and attractive young nurse kindly placed her hand on it stopping it from joining the other already hanging over the side of the bed. Her smile was warm and genuine, but the shake of her head implied authority forcing him to reconsider the urge to get up and leave. She leveled her gaze into his eyes making sure his could see hers, but more importantly, her lips. “Please Sergeant, back in bed,” she said in a firm yet pleasant voice. She easily lifted his leg back on to the bed and then re-covered him. Her strength did not correlate with her small petite frame, which surprised him. The nurse then pulled the curtain from the wall and circled it around the entire bed. The privacy brought Dart a small sense of calm, but the aching shoulder, and ringing ears, negated the comfort. The brown haired nurse spoke firmly, “Sergeant, can you hear me?”
Hesitantly, Dart nodded his head. “I hear you. Not well, but I do.”
“My name is nurse Shanks, Julie Raiss Shanks. Please call me Julie. Can you remember yet what happened to you Sergeant Olsen?”
Dart looked into her comforting and soft hazel-blue eyes. A glowing shade of blue nearly identical to those of his mom’s, Jean, and it was there he found a placate of stability and reassurance. “All I recall for sure was an IED detonating and then climbing out a vertical mine shaft, after that I remember nothing.”
“Sergeant, the ringing in your ears is called tinnitus. It is from the explosion. It will pass with time and your hearing will clear, although you will likely lose some of your hearing, especially as you age. Now, I need you to stay in this bed. Doctor has ordered bed rest.”
He shook his head with a slight discontent. “I’m not pregnant you know.”
The comeback made her chuckle, and in turn Dart cracked a faint smile. “I love your wit Sergeant, and I agree,” she replied still laughing, “you are surely not pregnant. Where you from soldier?”
“Sandstone Ridge, Utah ma’am. How about you?”
“Armada, Michigan.”
“May I ask you a personal question?”
“Certainly, but if it is concerns my love life then be forewarned I am a happily married woman.”
“Duly noted ma’am. How can you work in a place like this, I mean why do you do it?”
Nurse Shanks smiled. She thought for a second, then answered, “Your passion, as a Marine, is to protect our freedom and our country, and mine is to protect and help heal those willing to do so. Being an RN is actually my first passion, but it is my second career during the summer months. My first career, but second passion, is being a school teacher. It gives me the best of both worlds; helping those that fight for our country and teaching others why we should.” Julie saw the respect from Dart’s eyes, then grinned. “Listen, we will have plenty of time to talk later, but for now, you have been through tremendous trauma and your body needs rest. Albeit your mind may disagree, your body does need a chance to recuperate. Now, I pulled the curtains because the doctor and a couple Marine officers will be in to see you shortly, so please relax and rest, and no more trying to run out of here. Promise?”
Nurse Shanks parted the curtains to leave, then Dart shifted slightly and cleared his throat. “Promise. Julie?”
“Yes Sergeant?”
“I know this is a hospital, but where exactly am I?”
She smiled warmly, then answered. “LRMC. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany. You were flown from Afghanistan to Ramstein Air Base three days ago then medevaced here for surgery. Now get some rest soldier and that’s an order. Trust me, you don’t want to get on my bad side.”
Dart looked confused, but the words came out of his mouth before he could think, “Spoken like a school teacher all right.” Julie smiled again and quickly left the room -Glenn Rice
