Chase continued to stand up and grabbed his shirt and started to put it back on.
“Is there any medication you would feel comfortable with him taking? I am a nurse, I could check his respirations if needed.”
“The problem will be when he is sleeping. So, no, I can’t give much for the pain. I could give some Toradol. That would be about it.”
“I’ll take it,” Chase said as he continued to get dressed.
“Toradol won’t have any side effects?” I asked the doctor.
“It’s safe, but it won’t take away much of the pain. You can also give him ibuprofen. But they are nothing like the pain relief he could get from narcotics.”
“I’ll be fine, let’s just get going.”
Chase had finished putting on his clothes and was standing and ready to go. There wasn’t anything that was going to convince him to stay in that hospital overnight. I could see it in his eyes.
“I’ll get you a prescription for the Toradol.”
My eyes stayed glued on Chase, as we sat and waited for the prescription so we could leave. I didn’t know what to do. He was obviously in over his head with whoever those men were, but he still hadn’t told me a single thing about what was going on.
As we drove home, I still needed Chase to tell me where to turn and how to get there. I did notice a grocery store close to his house, though, and I thought I could take his prescription there to get it filled.
“So, do you want to tell me what is going on?” I asked.
“Maybe after we get my pain medication?”
I could tell Chase was in a lot of pain, and I hoped the Toradol would be useful at least a little bit for him.
“I’ll drop you off and get you settled, then I can go get your medicine. Will they let me pick it up for you?”
“Yes, I’ll call the pharmacy. It’s that store we just passed.”
I felt Chase moan in pain as I walked with him into the house. I had never seen a man in so much pain before, and I couldn’t help but feel for him. Since my nursing school graduation, I had been relegated to taking blood vital signs mostly. He was a strong guy who didn’t look like much could make him wince, but broken ribs certainly did.
“Do you need anything else from the store?” I asked as I settled him into his bed.
“Ice cream and vodka.” He laughed.
“Deal.”
“Get in my wallet and grab some cash,” he said as he pointed to his dresser.
His wallet was filled with money, so I just grabbed a couple of twenties and headed out to the store.
It was a huge building. Bigger than any grocery store I had ever seen, but I was prepared for what I was going to see. I had watched so many American television shows, it was hard not to know about the giant grocery stores that populated the country.
At least, I thought I was prepared, until I got inside the front door and saw over twenty aisles of food. It was amazing. My mouth literally dropped open as I looked at all the choices. Everything had several options. You could choose from eight different kinds of chicken soup!
I walked up and down the aisles for at least twenty minutes, looking at all the food and trying to make some decisions about what I should buy. I had never been faced with such a wide array of food choices – I instantly saw why Americans were overweight. I suspected I would be too in a very short time.
“You look overwhelmed,” a young woman said as she stood next to me in the ice cream aisle.
“I am.” I laughed. “I’ve never seen so much ice cream in my life.”
“You’re not from around here, are you?” she asked with a smile.
“No, I’m from Europe.”
It was easier to just say Europe than it was to try and describe exactly where it was that I was from. No one ever thought I was telling the truth when I said I was from a place called Liechtenstein.