Ice an Injury
By
Disclaimer: None of the E! characters belong to me. I'm just playing. They let me keep doing that even though I continue to break the toys. Maybe it's because I always put them back together again and never cause permanent damage. This story is a little piece of fluff I put together on a Sunday while watching an ice storm outside my window. Johnny's hand injury actually happened to me about 15 years ago.
“Wow…” Johnny was impressed. He walked out of the cozy, warm comfort of the ski lodge into a winter wonderland. He had just spent a relaxing four days in Lake Tahoe skiing and chasing snow bunnies. It was time to make the eight hour trek back to L.A. He had to go back to work tomorrow. About two hours ago, the ski resort was hit with an ice storm. Johnny looked around in wonder at the sparkling ice that coated and hung from every surface. The trees looked like glass sculptures. It was beautiful. The latest newscast warned people to stay off the roads, but Johnny needed to go home. With only two weeks left in 1974, he was out of vacation days. He would just have to risk it. Besides, he felt relatively safe in the sturdy, metal cocoon of his Land Rover. Eyes still wandering over the landscape in awe, he took a step toward the parking area and felt his feet slip out from under him. He fell down hard on his backside. After a self assessment told him he was only bruised, and with the hope that no one had seen his little mishap, Johnny tried to stand up. He soon realized standing up when every hard surface is covered in a layer of ice was not an easy task. Regardless, he finally managed to right himself and shuffled/slid to his Rover. “Man...I'm glad I live in L.A. I couldn't deal with this kind of mess all the time. It is pretty, though….”
When Johnny reached his vehicle, he suddenly realized he faced a dilemma. The Rover was encased in a two inch layer of ice. He tried his key in the lock, but the lock was iced over. He picked up a rock and chipped the ice away enough to get the key in, but it wouldn't turn. Taking a look at the doors, Johnny realized it wouldn't have mattered anyway. The doors were frozen shut. “Oh, man…how am I gonna get out of here?”
Johnny stood pondering his dilemma. He was not used to cold weather and ice storms. He lacked the experience of people who were no strangers to having to chip ice off of their windshields on a regular basis. He didn't even own an ice scraper, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to get to it. He suddenly remembered his pocketknife. Pulling it out of its sheath, he unfurled it and started using it to chip at the ice on the car door. It was a slow go. After about five minutes, the knife slipped. “Ow! Damn!” The knife had grazed Johnny's left forearm. It wasn't a bad cut, but it was bleeding. Resigned to the fact that he needed a bigger weapon with which to assault the massive ice layer, Johnny shuffled/slid back to the lodge, falling twice along the way.
Johnny approached the front desk. “Excuse me. Would you happen to have a first aid kit and something I can use to chip the ice off of my car?”
The young girl at the desk smiled at the handsome man. “Sure.” She indicated the still bleeding cut on Johnny's arm that he was trying hard to keep from dripping on the desk. “What did you do?” She reached under the desk and handed him a first aid kit.
“Hm? Oh, nothing. It's just a scratch.”
The clerk gave Johnny a look that meant Yeah, right. “Here, let me help you with that.” Together the two of them bandaged Johnny's cut. She handed him an ice scraper with a long handle. “Here. You can use this, but you really shouldn't be going anywhere. The roads are treacherous.”
“Thanks.” Johnny chose to ignore the comment about the roads. He had no choice. He had to get home. He took the ice scraper, and shuffled/slid back to the Rover. This time, he managed not to fall.
Johnny's impression of the ice storm had rapidly gone from wonder to disgust. After chipping away at the ice on the Rover for 30 minutes, he still didn't have it cleared enough to drive. He was sweating from exertion, and his lightweight jacket did nothing to ward off the chill. He tried to think of a more effective way to clear the ice, but figured if ice scrapers were invented for this purpose, they must surely be the best tools for the job. He continued chipping until all of a sudden the ice scraper broke completely in half. The force of his chipping caused the broken end in his right hand to plow right into his left hand, in the area between his thumb and first finger. The fractured end of the scraper was sharp, and it punctured the skin. “Damn!” Johnny thought it was odd, at first, that he didn't feel it. Then, he realized his hands were numb from the cold. Johnny opened his suitcase and grabbed a t-shirt. He ripped it and wrapped it around his hand to squelch the bleeding and finished the job of chipping.
After another 30 minutes of chipping with the broken end of the scraper, Johnny stood back to catch his breath and admire his handiwork. He started to go back to the lodge to clean up the cut on his hand, but he didn't feel like shuffling/sliding anymore. The exertion from the ice scraping had made him tired. Besides , he figured, they won't want this scraper back anyway, it's broken. Johnny threw his suitcase and the pieces of scraper into the trunk, and hopped in the Rover. Shaking off the chill, he started the engine and headed home.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Good morning. Have a nice trip?”
Johnny looked up from attempting to tie his shoe into the face of his partner. “Yeah…great.”
It was then that Roy noticed the bandages on Johnny's hand and arm. “You…uh…cut yourself shaving?”
Johnny stood up and looked indignantly at his partner. “Oh, ha-ha! If you must know, I had a little trouble with an ice scraper.”
Roy tried not to laugh. “Yeah, I heard about the ice storm up your way last night. What happened?” He reached for Johnny's hand.
Johnny snatched his arm away. “I had to chip about two inches of ice off the Rover. I had to borrow an ice scraper. Well, about half way through, it broke and the end went right into my hand.”
Roy was concerned now. “I bet that hurt. Did you cut it?”
“It didn't hurt at all Roy . My hands were too numb. It's just a superficial cut, it's no big deal.”
Roy wasn't convinced. He knew Johnny's definition of “no big deal” was not usually and accurate assessment. “And your arm?” He indicated the bandage on Johnny's forearm.
Johnny looked down at his arm sheepishly. “Oh, that. That's from the knife.”
“Knife?”
“Yeah, I tried to use my pocketknife to chip the ice away at first. Blade slipped.”
Roy cringed. Johnny could have taken off a finger. “You used a pocketknife?”
Johnny was frustrated now. He just wanted a cup of coffee. “Well I didn't have an ice scraper! I'm from L.A. Do YOU have an ice scraper, Roy?”
Johnny had a point. “Well, no…but…” Roy followed Johnny out to the day room for coffee. “And why are you limping, Johnny?”
Johnny waved him off. “Ice is slippery, Roy .”
Roy smiled and shook his head.
In the dayroom, Chet spied the bandages and couldn't resist a barb at his pigeon. “What happened Gage? One of those snow bunnies give you a love bite?”
“Very funny, Chet.” Johnny walked to the stove and picked up the pot. He tried to pick up a mug in the other hand and sat it down abruptly. “Ahhh.” He grasped his left forearm with his right hand.
Roy was at his side in an instant. “C'mon, junior. Let's sit down.”
Johnny reluctantly allowed himself to be led to a chair.
Roy kneeled down in front of him. “Now, let me see that hand.” Roy 's tone was no nonsense.
Johnny knew the jig was up. His hand was hurting and it wouldn't work right. He held it out for Roy 's inspection. “It's nothing, Roy . Just a cut.”
Roy removed the bandage Johnny had applied. “Johnny, this cut is deep. It looks like it could use a few stitches.”
Johnny sighed. “ Roy …it's just….OW! Roy !” Johnny flinched as Roy gently palpated the bones in Johnny's hand. It was bruised and swollen.
By this time, Cap had entered the day room. He noticed one paramedic examining the other. “What happened?”
Roy finished his assessment. “I think it's broken.”
Johnny wasn't buying it. His hand was killing him, but it certainly wasn't broken. “ Roy …don't you think I would know if my hand was broken?” Roy and Cap exchanged looks. “It didn't even hurt when I did it.”
Roy shook his head and got an ice pack out of the freezer, wrapping it in a towel. “Johnny, you said yourself your hands were numb from the cold. You wouldn't have felt it. Here, hold this on there. I'm gonna get the drug box and dress that cut.”
“I'll get it, Roy .” Marco volunteered. “Should I get the resuscitator and biophone too?”
Johnny scowled as he placed the ice pack on his now throbbing hand. “Very funny, Marco.”
Roy started taking Johnny's pulse. “Just the biophone, Marco!”
Johnny couldn't believe this. “ Roy , you gotta be kidding.”
Roy 's glare told Johnny he wasn't.
Cap sat down, cup of coffee in hand. Johnny looked at it longingly. “One of you two wanna tell me what's going on?”
Roy just finished measuring Johnny's respirations. “Johnny had a little trouble with an ice scraper. It broke and went into his hand.”
Cap looked at his injured man. “When, pal? Yesterday?”
Johnny nodded.
Cap was incredulous. “And you drove all the way home from Tahoe on icy roads with a busted hand?”
Roy nodded.
“You could've been killed, ya twit!”
Johnny didn't feel like a twit. He just didn't have much experience with ice scraper injuries. “Cap, I told ya. It didn't really hurt that much. I mean, I couldn't really grip the steering wheel, but…”
Roy and Cap looked at each other and sighed.
Roy removed the bandage from Johnny's knife wound. “This is just superficial. Anything else I should know about? You said you fell…”
Johnny fixed Roy with a glare. “I'm fine, Roy .”
“Johnny, you were limping.”
Cap's eyebrows raised at this new bit of information. “Limping?”
Johnny shifted in his chair. “If you must know, it's just a bruise, and I'm not about to show it to you, so don't even try it!”
Roy chuckled. “Okay, I'll take your word for it on that one. You know, Johnny? I half expected you to come back from this ski trip injured in some way, but I expected it would be on the slopes.”
Johnny hissed in pain as Roy once again examined the bones in his hand. “ Roy …if you fall on the slopes, the snow cushions your fall. One thing I learned about ice, Roy …Ice is hard, man!”
Roy replaced the ice pack. “And cold. Keep that on there and wiggle your fingers.”
Johnny tried to wiggle his fingers, but felt nauseous at the attempt. “Can't…”
Roy looked at his partner, concerned. “You can't? It hurts?”
Johnny sighed. “Yeah…”
Cap stood up. “Well, listen. I'm gonna call in the still alarm and Code I. Do you want an ambulance, Roy , or are you gonna take him to Rampart in the squad?”
Roy was wrapping the BP cuff around Johnny's arm. “Don't know yet, Cap. Depends if Rampart wants an IV.”
Johnny leaned his head back. “I don't believe this…look, just wrap it up and be done with it, Roy ! I can still work.”
Cap admonished him. “You can't even pick up a coffee cup, John! How do you think you're gonna hold onto a hose?”
Mike chimed in. “Or do CPR?”
Marco added his two cents. “Or squeeze a BP bulb?”
Johnny knew he was defeated. “Okay…okay…I get the point. Geez!” Why me?
Roy picked up the biophone receiver. “Rampart, this is County 51.”
“Go ahead 51.” It was Brackett's voice.
“Rampart, we have a still alarm, Code I at the station…28 year old paramedic with a probable fractured hand. He injured it chipping ice off of his car yesterday afternoon. There's also a puncture wound between his thumb and first finger. The hand is swollen and discolored, and the patient is not able to move his fingers without considerable pain. He's also lost his ability to grip objects. Also, Rampart, he has a 3 inch laceration on his forearm from a pocket knife. Vital signs are pulse 90, respirations 18, and BP 128 over 84.”
Brackett was shaking his head. Did he say ice? “10-4, 51. Does the patient want anything for pain?”
Johnny shook his head.
“Negative, Rampart.”
“10-4, 51. Go ahead and bring him in the squad. Keep the hand iced and elevated.”
“10-4, Rampart.” Roy helped Johnny stand up. “C'mon, Junior. Your chariot awaits.”
Johnny wrestled out of Roy 's grasp. “I can make it, sheesh.”
Roy looked back at the amused faces of his shift mates and smiled as they all watched Johnny limp to the squad, cradling his injured hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Okay, Johnny. Let's take a look.” Brackett removed the ice pack and bandage from Johnny's hand. His face twitched when he took in the damage. “Tell me how you did this again?”
Johnny sighed and told Brackett about his ordeal at the ski lodge.
Brackett raised the head of the table. “Lie back, Johnny. I'm going to irrigate that cut and put a few sutures in.” Then, we'll get it X-rayed. I'm pretty sure it's broken.”
Johnny hoisted his long legs onto the table and leaned his head back. He knew what was coming…lidocaine…in needle form…into his sore hand. He closed his eyes, silently cursing the freezing properties of water.
Brackett had the syringe ready. “This will sting a little.”
Johnny drew a breath through clenched teeth as he willed his eyes not to water. Macho firemen do not cry over needles. Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Johnny made a personal vow then and there to never go anywhere again where the temperature could drop below 40 degrees. He kept his eyes closed as Brackett thoroughly cleaned the wound with saline solution and stitched it closed with 6 sutures.
Roy looked at Brackett when he saw that he was almost finished. “Oh, by the way. He fell on the ice too. He's been limping all morning.”
Johnny shot Roy an “if looks could kill” glare. “I told you before, Roy . It's just a bruise.”
Brackett straightened up. “Let me be the judge of that Johnny. Where is it?”
Johnny rolled his eyes and looked down.
Brackett chuckled. “Oh…I see. Well, drop your pants, so I can take a look.”
Johnny crossed his arms and the ice pack fell to the floor. “Unh-uh.”
Brackett crossed his arms right back. It was showdown at treatment room 3. “Do I need to get Dixie ?” Brackett's eyebrow rose questioningly.
Johnny reluctantly stepped off the table. “Ok…you win.” He shot Roy another menacing look. “I'm gonna get you for this, pally.” He emphasized the last word. He started to unfasten his belt and realized he had another dilemma. “Um…I can't…”
Brackett shook his head and undid Johnny's belt and pants.
This is SO embarrassing. Johnny scooched his pants down and turned around. Brackett noticed a large bruise on his hip. Johnny was growing impatient, refusing to make eye contact with Roy . “So? Are you gonna put me in a body cast?”
Brackett pulled Johnny's pants back up. “It's just a bruise.”
Johnny resisted the urge to stick his tongue out and say “I told you so.”
Dixie entered with a wheelchair and eyed Brackett and Johnny suspiciously. Brackett was fastening Johnny's belt. Johnny noticed her playful smile. “Ice is slippery, Dix!”
Dixie nodded and pushed the chair closer. “Ah…well, I have your taxi service to X-ray. Cheapest fares at Rampart. Hop aboard. That is…if you can sit down…”
Johnny marched over to the chair and flung himself down as if to prove a point. “I can sit just fine…OW!”
Brackett, Dix, and Roy couldn't help a laugh at poor Johnny's expense.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Well, Johnny. You won't be able to work for about six weeks. Make sure you keep the dressing changed.” Brackett was putting the finishing touches on Johnny's splint.
“Okay, Doc.”
Roy helped his partner off the table. “Don't worry, Doc. I'll see to it myself.” It had been decided that Johnny would stay at the Desoto's for a while until his hand healed enough to allow him to do more for himself.
Johnny rolled his eyes. “I'm sure you will…you and Jennifer with her little pink Barbie bandages.”
Roy laughed. “Well, it's that or the Pretty Pony ones.”
Brackett called after them as they left. “Remember, Johnny! RICE! Rest…ice…compression…elevation!”
Johnny called over his shoulder. “Let's just forget the ice part, Doc.”
Brackett was momentarily confused until he remembered the cause of this latest injury. “How about a bag of frozen peas, then?”
“Whatever, Doc…” Johnny limped down the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Johnny sat on the couch in the Desoto's living room on Christmas Eve, his left hand in a splint and wrapped with an Ace bandage. He was trying to open the gift Roy handed him and was struggling trying to do it with one hand.
Jennifer took pity on her uncle. “Here, Uncle Johnny! I'll rip the paper for you.”
The paper was removed and Johnny looked at the box. “A hairdryer?”
Roy smiled and pointed at the box. “It's from me and the guys. It's a very special kind of hair dryer.”
“It is?”
“Uh-huh. It's battery powered! You can take it with you the next time you go skiing and if you have another ice storm, you can melt it off you car with the hair dryer!”
Johnny chuckled. It was actually a pretty brilliant idea. “Thanks, Roy . But from now on the only ice I wanna see are the ice cubes in my drink. They're much safer.” Johnny got up and walked to the kitchen. He fished an ice cube out of the ice bucket to add to his glass. The ice cube slipped out of the tongs and landed on the floor. Johnny looked, but couldn't see it. He took one step and his foot slipped on the ice cube, causing him to come down hard on the linoleum floor. “OWWW!”
Roy chuckled as he walked quickly to the kitchen to check on his partner. “What do they say again about things that don't mix? Oil and water…firemen and ice…”
THE END