“You need the antivenom as quickly as possible. The sooner you get it, the more effective it is. By calling it in now, the ambulance can be at the house by the time we get to the bottom of the mountain, giving you at least twenty minutes. And by calling it in as a snakebite, the hospital can make sure the ambulance has it on board when they come out.”
“Oh,” I say with a nod. That makes sense. False alarm.
We ride in silence the rest of the way down.
The paramedics are just coming down Jake’s driveway as we drive up from the field. They pull to a stop, we pull to a stop, and then Jake hops out and comes around to the passenger side to get me. He carries me to the back of the ambulance just as the EMTs are extending the legs on the stretcher. He sets me gently on the thin mattress and backs away.
The emergency techs are both older guys, which makes me feel at ease somehow. Maybe it just seems that the older they are, the more experience they should have. Or at least that’s my way of thinking.
“Where were you bitten?” This comes from paramedic number one, on my left.
“The back of my left knee.”
He nods to paramedic number two, who begins placing a cuff around my arm as paramedic number one lifts my leg to examine the bite.
“What’s your name, ma’am?” the one on my right asks as he starts placing stickers on my chest.
“Laney.”
“Is this your husband, Laney?” he asks, nodding to Jake.
“No, he’s, um, he’s a friend.”
I use Jake’s term. It feels just as cold and hopeless as it did when I heard him use it on the phone.
“Do you have family in the area, Laney?”
I feel a moment of dread. I gulp, feeling tears threaten. This is not the end I had thought our wonderful camping trip would have. Not at all. And now my parents will be involved.
“Yes, I do.”
“What are their names?”
“Graham Holt is my father and—”
“Graham Holt, the preacher?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, all right then, Laney, we’ll get a hold of your father and have him meet us at the hospital.”
“I’d prefer you not, actually. Can’t Jake just come with me?”
The men look at one another across me, and then the one on my left clears his throat and answers. “Sure he can, but we’ll need some family member present in case something should happen.”
My stomach sinks and I nod. “Okay.”
I look to Jake. His smile is tight and his hands are shoved down into his shorts pockets. “I’ll meet you at the hospital, Laney.”
I nod and smile, knowing that it’s a pathetic one, what with my chin trembling.
“Laney, are you allergic to any medications?” EMT number one asks.
“No, sir.”
“Good. When we get you in the back here, I’m going to start an IV and give you some pain medication. Then I’ll be giving you some medicine to help neutralize the snake venom, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s important that you tell me how you’re feeling, all right?”
“Yes, sir.”
With a jolt, the two men collapse the legs of the stretcher and stuff me in the back of the ambulance. I lift my head and my eyes meet Jake’s as one of the guys closes the doors. He looks pale. And upset. And it’s all because of me. I’ve ruined what was supposed to be a fun weekend. What could quite possibly be our last weekend.
When I can no longer see him, I don’t hold back the tears. I let them flow.
“I’ll have that pain controlled in just a few minutes. You hang in there, Laney,” he says as he unwraps tubing and punctures a bag of fluid.
I give him a watery smile. I don’t think he can numb the pain I’m feeling right now. It has nothing to do with a snakebite.
I know I’ve looked at the doorway a dozen times. Where is Jake?
In my stomach, there’s a sinking feeling that he just won’t come, that this will be the end of us. This isn’t the fun he was looking for. This isn’t the kind of rush he enjoys. And I’m probably not the kind of girl that he’d ever give more than a few weekends to.
The doctor finishes examining my leg. He’s tall and gaunt with a head full of wild salt-and-pepper hair, but he has a warm smile. “Well, Ms. Holt, you’re one very lucky young woman. You’re not out of the woods yet, but based on the reaction of the tissue surrounding the site, I’d say you were only very lightly envenomated. What that means for you is minimal tissue destruction, no systemic effects like nausea, vomiting—”
“Sorry to interrupt, but she said she was nauseous right after she was bitten.”
My heart swells inside my chest. He came.
“Jake,” I say, unable to keep the silly smile off my face. He winks at me quickly then turns his attention back to the doctor.
“Sorry I’m late, sir. I’m Jake Theopolis. I was with Laney when she was bitten.”
The doctor nods, taking in this new information then turning back to me. “Are you feeling nauseous now, Laney?”
“No, sir.”
“It was only something you experienced directly following the bite?”
“Yes, sir. I, um, I . . .” I feel my cheeks sting. I already feel stupid for what I’m about to say. “I get that way sometimes at the sight of blood. Especially my own.”
He smiles kindly. “That’s nothing to be embarrassed about. And it was a traumatic experience, which only heightens your senses. But it’s a good sign that you’re not feeling poorly anymore. If you’d been more heavily envenomated, you’d be experiencing nausea and vomiting now, along with a variety of other side effects of a copperhead bite. What I believe is that you’ll have some local reaction like pain and swelling, possibly some bruising, but for the most part few lasting effects or disability in your leg. I think this young man’s quick thinking probably saved you quite a bit of suffering.”
Jake looks unaffected by the doctor’s praise, but he doesn’t look as miserable as he did at the house, either, so I’m sure it’s welcome, whether he’d admit it or not.
“So when can I go home then?”
“Not for a couple of days.” The doctor flips through my chart and glances back down at me. “But I’ll do my best to have you out of here before your birthday.” With a wink and a fatherly pat to my hand, he nods to Jake and then turns to walk out of the room.
“You’ve got a birthday coming up?” Jake asks.
“Yeah. Thursday.”
“Why didn’t you—”
“What on earth is going on here, Laney?”
I feel the blood drain from my face when I hear the booming voice and then see my father appear behind Jake.
“Nothing, Daddy. I’m fine.”
“You’re lying in a hospital bed. You are most certainly not fine.” He comes around and sits on the edge of the bed, taking my hand in his. “What happened, baby girl?”
I see the worry in his eyes, etched on his face. “I went camping and got bitten by a snake.”
He closes his eyes and brings our joined hands to his forehead. He’s silent for the longest time. I know he’s praying. “Thank the Lord you’re okay,” he says finally, opening his eyes to look at me.
“If it hadn’t been for Jake, things might’ve turned out much differently,” I say, hoping Jake’s heroics will help my father to look more favorably upon him.
“Well, who were you camping with?” Daddy asks.
“Jake. That’s what I mean. The doctor says his quick thinking probably saved me a lot of suffering.”
“But isn’t he the reason you’re in this predicament at all?”
“Of course not! My getting bitten has nothing to do with him.” I tug my hand free of my father’s and sit up straighter in the bed. I don’t like feeling as though he has such an advantage over me. He’s lorded over me my whole life, and with him sitting and me half lying, it makes me feel intimidated. And I don’t want to feel intimidated. I want to have the guts to make my father see what I see in Jake. Not what he thinks he knows about him.