fandomhigh | First Aid - Danger Shop, Friday, Period 5 [Week 6]

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First Aid - Danger Shop, Friday, Period 5 [Week 6]

The Danger Shop was set up like a waiting room again. Magazines and medical journals, a kids' table with toys and plates of cookies were scattered around the room, all circa 1960. The cookies weren't from 1960. They were real and fresh.

"Symptoms can look a lot alike. How can you tell the difference between a simple illness and something serious? The truth is, it takes years of practice and studying. You don't have time for that yet, so we're going to go through a case study so you can get a feel for what you should be looking for and how you should approach a potential emergency. One at a time, come through to the examination room. It's your choice if you come in. I won't try to force you. While it's not your turn, help yourselves to the reading material and the cookies."

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Cara bit her lip, glancing at the patient in concern. "Are they all right?"

"That's what you're here to find out," Hawkeye replied, gesturing for her to come closer. "Mr Harris, this is Cara. Cara, Mr Harris. He's been getting headaches."

"Has someone been hitting him in the head?" That would be simply terrible.

"Mr Harris?"

"Well I did hit my head when I fell off the roof. I was fixing the gutter."

Hawkeye glanced at Cara. "Don't worry about details. The important part is your process."

Cara thought about it, and hoped this wasn't recent enough for there to still be blood. "Did this happen before or after he started getting the headaches? Since a head injury would do it."

"I hit my head last Sunday and today is Friday and I've had headaches for a few days now," Mr Harris replied.

"Okay," Hawkeye interjected. "Possible head trauma. What would you think to do to check him physically for signs of head trauma?"

Oh, Cara knew this one!

"You look for a wound and also check their eyes," she supplied. "If they can't focus, it means you hit them too hard and you have to stop the training session until they can pay proper attention to you. Not that I do that any more. It's bad."

Hawkeye offered Cara a pen light. "Check his eyes. And yes, hitting people in the head is bad." Except when your name was Frank Burns. Then it was funny as long as it wasn't serious. "Let's not do that any more."

"Hitting them in other places is bad too," Cara agreed, shining the light in Mr Harris's eyes. "Especially if it's with an agiel. They really hurt." Which was understating things a just a little.

"Agiels or not, you shouldn't hit people. Then I have to patch them up and it usually interferes with my poker game. Are the black parts of his eyes getting smaller when you shine the light at them?"

"Yes," Cara said after a moment. "But they're taking a while."

"That's not a good sign," Hawkeye told her. He lowered his voice, but not so Mr Harris couldn't necessarily hear him. "Think about what someone's brain would be like if it wasn't damaged. What kind of questions would they be able to answer? Can Mr Harris answer them?"

Cara considered that. "How many fingers am I holding up?" she suggested.

"Four," Mr Harris answered. Whether that was actually the right amount remained to be seen.

Cara hadn't actually be holding up any fingers yet. "That's bad, right?"

"That's bad," Hawkeye agreed. "Although the patient might look alert and be trying to reassure you that he's fine, a few simple questions about what he can see or simple facts he should know or math he should know will tell you a lot about his reaction times and brain function. The eyes are a good way to tell if something's wrong too. What's your decision? Send him home for bed rest or send him to get more tests to find out what's wrong?"

"More tests," Cara decided. "Bed rest is probably a bad idea with that kind of head injury."

"And right you are. Mr Harris, time to get your head scanned by something that makes a lot of noise. Cara, you're done. Eyes, ears and fingers. Yours and the patient's and you'll be able to tell a lot about a patient. You can go. Don't forget to get a cookie!"

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First Aid - Danger Shop, Friday, Period 5 [Week 6]

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