Month: November 2025

Madeline called Mitch to her office. She explained that she had asked Rita for her utilization review reports on NICU admis sions over the past six months. Mitch searched in his pocket for a paper clip. He didn’t like where this was going. He remained standing in front of her desk. “Mitchell, I saw nothing

Monday, Kim wasn’t at work. She hadn’t returned from her weekend off. She didn’t show up again the next day, or the next. Sophie asked the other nurses if everything was okay with Kim. Nobody seemed to know anything other than she had called in sick. Christy and Suzanne were concerned. They all agreed it

Mitch stood to the side of the hall talking into his phone, out of the way of the cafeteria traffic and hospital staff. “What the hell were you thinking, Tommy? I gave you explicit instructions never to do anything unless I tell you to. And I never told you to go anywhere near the blood

Once Danny had turned the corner and was safely on his way to recovery, Sophie wanted to try again to get him transferred out. She spoke with Dr. Morrison, but her request went nowhere. She spoke with Jody, their social worker, who told her she’d see what she could do. Days went by, and there

It turned out, there was more that could be done. By the next morning, Danny’s condition had gotten worse. His oxygen lev els were desaturating despite maximal ventilator support. His blood pressure had stopped responding to the medications he was on. A third blood pressure medication was added. Multiple bags hung off the IV poles—plasma,

Dr. Sheldon watched Danny’s monitors as the numbers drifted down—blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate. It had been thirty-six hours since he’d received the blood transfusion. “Kim, put him on an open warmer. We need full access. Start another IV and a dopamine drip to help with his blood pressure. We need to get his

Wednesday, February 29, was a day that Sophie would never forget. Walking back from spending the night in the parents’ lounge, she looked through the windows of Pod C. Three nurses stood over Danny’s incubator examining his hands and feet. Sophie had seen this before when Kim was looking for a place to start an

Adam picked Sophie up outside the triage entrance and handed her a new phone. They were headed home for a long-overdue night together. The air had warmed up considerably. The snow that remained on the ground had softened. A low level of fog forced Adam to drive extra cautiously. Blu greeted them at the door,

It was after midnight, and Sophie couldn’t sleep. She had learned the NICU also never slept. It was as busy at eleven at night as it was at eleven in the morning. She got up and headed to the hall with the vending machines. She was craving a Milky Way. She heard footsteps coming toward

The next day brought another preterm labor into triage. Mitch delivered the baby, who was born to a heroin-addicted mother, seven weeks early. Within twenty-four hours, the baby began to withdraw from the opiate. The nurses called Mitch into the nursery and made him stay and watch as the inconsolable baby jittered and shook. Her