Hurricane Slams Hospital

By Audrey Phillips Cox

Hurricane Slams Hospital is set in a large urban teaching hospital and is loosely based on true events that transpired when a real hurricane made landfall in a major city located near the Gulf Coast. It is a fictitious drama; however, it is infused with wacky comedy about two sensible nursing supervisors whose jobs are hindered by some quirky patients, an arrogant doctor who is suspected of euthanizing his patients, a power failure, a flooded basement, and a category five hurricane that spins off several tornadoes, endangering the lives of all the patients and employees.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Audrey Phillips Cox
• Release date: Jul 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781732406568

Audrey Phillips Cox

Audrey started writing over ten years ago. Having a passionate love of books, she developed a desire to also write books. Although she wanted to start writing earlier in life, her busy lifestyle would not allow her to do so because she worked as a registered nurse while raising a family. However, while earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in college, she took writing/English courses. She was forced to retire early from nursing to take care of her debilitated mother which freed her from working outside the home. Needing to earn money, she worked from home for a company that provided articles that averaged about 500 words for websites. This company was very strict, to the point of being picky, and she honed her writing skills. Possessing a vivid imagination and having lived through a lot of good, bad, and ugly experiences in her life, she began to write books. She has written and published six books.

Book preview

Hurricane

Slams

Hospital

SOME QUIRKY CHARACTERS

ADD TO THE MAYHEM

Audrey Phillips Cox

Copyright © 2018 by Audrey Phillips Cox

All rights reserved, except for use in any reviews, in the utilization or reproduction of this work in whole or in part, presented in any form, whether electronic, mechanical or by any other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or any information stored in a retrieval system without the written permission of the author. 

APCWriter & Publisher

www.audrey-phillips-cox.com

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Note from the author

THE IDEA FOR THIS FICTIONALIZED NOVEL originated while I was working as a registered nurse in a local hospital in Mobile, Alabama. It is very loosely based on a collection of tall tales that surfaced in the aftermath of a hurricane that made landfall in the city, Hurricane Fredrick in 1979.

I have used my creative writer’s license to write a story about a fictitious hurricane that made landfall in Mobile, Alabama on October 15, 2002. That year, there were no actual hurricanes that made landfall in the city.

While most of the bizarre events that transpired in the story were conceived from within the deep recesses of my vivid imagination, some of them are very loosely based on actual events that happened when Hurricane Fredrick made landfall. All of the characters are purely fictionalized and are not based on any real people.

"It is very difficult to be wholly joyous or wholly sad

on this earth. The comic, when it is human,

soon takes upon itself the face of pain."

-JOSEPH CON]RAD-

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature,

he finds it is attached to the rest of the world."

-JOHN MUIR-

University Hospital

Mobile, Alabama

Tuesday, October 15, 2002

FOR TWO DAYS, A DANGEROUS STORM named Hurricane Harry has been out in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to make landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast. As if it has a mind of its own, it has been teasing and taunting the residents up and down the coast by frequently changing its course.

Having formed in the Atlantic Ocean over a week ago, it has already slammed into the Caribbean Islands and Key West, Florida, causing billions of dollars in damage. It had slowed down by the time it reached the Gulf of Mexico but the warm Gulf water has refueled the whirling winds, and it has begun to pick up strength again. It is predicted to be a category five hurricane by the time it makes landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast.

For the last six hours, it has remained on a consistent northerly track heading straight toward Panama City, Florida, which causes the residents of Mobile, Alabama to think that they might be spared from a direct hit from the hurricane.

UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, owned and operated by the local medical university, is located in downtown Mobile and is preparing for the worse. Nick and Laura, two nursing supervisors, will be working the evening and night shifts. Their job is to oversee the entire nursing staff of the hospital, to not only make sure that the patients get good nursing care but also to do everything they can to assure the patient’s safety in the event the storm changes course and heads for Mobile, Alabama.  Their jobs are not easy on a normal night. They have to be sure that units are adequately staffed, that nurses safely carry out treatments and doctor’s orders, resolve complaints of the patients, respond to emergency codes, smooth out differences that arise between nurses and doctors and resolve any problems relating to the nursing division. Adding a hurricane to the mix could make their lives turn into a nightmare.

"You need somebody to love you while

you are looking for someone to love."

-SHELAGH DELANEY-

NICK GENTLY PUSHED STELLA BACK onto the bed and began kissing her neck over and over again. She was warm and responsive, moaning very softly with apparent pleasure. Reaching up, she began to run her fingers through his curly hair.  Even though he was enjoying the moment, he reluctantly and tenderly whispered, I hate to spring this on you, but I have to leave for work in a few minutes. She stopped responding, and for a few seconds, she lay motionless. Uh, oh, he cringed.

Suddenly, Stella put both hands in the middle of his chest and pushed him with what seemed to him like superhuman strength, up and off of her, and he sailed through the air, landing on the floor beside the bed.

       Do what? she asked in a hysterical voice as she sprang out of bed with both hands on her hips, glaring at him as she leaned over him in a threatening way. He tried gathering his thoughts, to somehow smooth over his ill-timed announcement but she did not wait for him to answer.

She began to run around the room, gathering up her personal belongings, while she ranted and raved about his inconsiderate ways. Her behavior made him wonder about his feelings towards her.

Nick tried to reason with Stella as he followed her around the bedroom of his apartment. I don’t have any choice in the matter. Although he had anticipated that she would be angry, he had underestimated her reaction to his announcement that he would have to work. This reaction was nothing new for Stella because she always got angry when she did not get her way. He knew that her anger was based more on that rather than the fact that he had to leave her to go to work. Although he was exasperated with her Drama Queen antics, he continued to try and reason with her.

Still ranting loudly, she turned to him and said, You are the most selfish man that I have ever met. Pausing for only a second, she added, If you think that I am going to sit around this apartment by myself, while you work at that hospital all of the time, you are dead wrong. Her head had been bobbing around in agitation, which caused some of her sun-bleached, blond tendrils to fall out of her ponytail, and was now framing her comely face. Her flashing green eyes, fringed with the thickest lashes Nick had ever seen on a woman, were boring right through him.

Usually, he was amused by her spirited ways, and that was one of the reasons he had been attracted to her in the beginning, but now he was only frustrated at her inability to try and see his side of the situation. Come on Stella. Try to understand. There is a hurricane out in the Gulf, and there will be a lot of nurses who will call in and not show up for work.

AT THIS POINT, HE BEGAN TO WONDER if he had done the right thing by volunteering to help Laura, the evening shift nursing supervisor at the hospital. Volunteer? He had better not let it slip to Stella that he had volunteered and had not been forced to work as he had implied. Not actually lying, he had simply not told her the truth. Since he had not been at the hospital long and had moved to Mobile to apply for a potential position as the Director of Nursing of the hospital, he knew he needed to put his best efforts forward if he were to land the position. He had agreed to work as a midnight shift nursing supervisor until all the candidates for the job were evaluated.

Unaffected by his pleading, she reminded him, You know they are expecting this hurricane to make landfall in Panama City. As she rummaged through the closet hunting her clothes, she added, It will be so far away that we will hardly feel any effects from it.

He didn’t know much about hurricanes, but he knew enough to know that the prediction could be wrong. As evidenced by some of the hurricanes of the past, hurricanes were very unpredictable. Fickle as women, Nick thought but kept his opinion to himself because he was in enough hot water with Stella as it was.

As his eyes followed her around the room, he saw that it was in total disarray with Stella’s belongings being scattered about everywhere. He had only lived with one other woman other than Stella, and she had been a neat freak. Having been raised by his grandmother, who had also been a very neat person, he had erroneously assumed that all women were obsessed with neatness, but Stella had blown that hypothesis to pieces. Personally, he liked things to be neat, but that had only been one of the many points of contention between them. Lately, he had begun to have ambivalent feelings about their living together.

Knowing how obstinate she was, he felt powerless to stop her as she flew around the room frantically snatching up her shoes, underwear, clothes and other items. Having mixed emotions about her leaving, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stop her. Nevertheless, he pressed on, trying to say something that would convince her to stay.

Glancing around the room, he noticed the huge teddy bear leaning up in the corner next to the bed. Fond memories swept over him as he remembered the night that he had won it for her at a local carnival and how much fun they usually had when they went out together. Right then, which was the only redeeming feature he felt that she had. She could be fun under the right circumstances. Reaching over to pick up the bear, he held it up and said, If you leave, who gets custody of JoJo?

His attempt at humor fell flat. She had gone into the silent treatment mode. To his dismay, he watched as she rapidly began to yank clothes off of the racks and angrily started throwing them into two suitcases that were lying on the bed. Some of her clothes landed squarely in the suitcases, and some fell off the bed and onto the floor, unnoticed by her.

Although he was growing more frustrated by the minute, he continued to explain, We are talking about sick people needing assistance if the hurricane should change its mind and come our way. These are people who are helpless. Growing more animated, he leaned forward to put his arms around her in a loving way and added, If that hurricane should hit here, all hell will break loose at the hospital. Surely, he thought, she could not be so selfish that she did not care what happened to the patients at the hospital.

He was wrong. All I know is that you care more about your old job than you do me.

WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THEIR RELATIONSHIP? It was Stella’s lack of brains, he decided. They would be better matched if she was more intelligent and not such a dizzy dip, he mused. At the beginning of his relationship with her, he could have cared less if she had brains or not. She was very pretty, bordering on beautiful and very sexy. That was the driving force behind their relationship. The sex still worked but he had decided that there had to be more.

Leaning over the bed, he reached into one of the suitcases and began to take out her clothes as fast as she was throwing them into it. He was stalling for time. The administration of the hospital wants to be prepared for the worst. Pausing for a moment, he held up a skimpy piece of black lingerie, admired it briefly, and then threw it aside with the rest of her clothes.

She seemed oblivious to what he was doing. Not bothering to answer him, she continued to hunt for her belongings. Since it was early fall, and the weather was still hot and humid, she was dressed to be comfortable. Her baggy shorts and over-sized tee shirt did not hide her shapely figure. As she turned around, he saw her eyes go to the jumbled pile of clothes that he had removed from the suitcases and carelessly threw on the bed.

Reaching over to him, she jerked a blouse out of his hand, then quickly bent down and scooped up the rest of her clothes and stuffed them back inside the suitcases. With a tone that was controlled but seething with hostility, she asked, Why didn’t you insist that they get somebody else to work overtime?

He didn’t hesitate to answer, The other supervisors are married, and they need to be home to take care of their families and property. Since I’m not married…

A smile that bordered on being evil crossed her face, and she interrupted him. In other words, I don’t count for anything since we are not married. Rambling on, she reached for a red, mini-skirt. It doesn’t matter if I get blown away in the storm. Slipping out of her shorts, she asked, Isn’t that right? Establishing eye contact with him, she waited for a reply as she pulled the skirt up over her slim hips.

Jerking himself back to reality, after being lost in thought about how she looked as she changed clothes, he responded, That’s ridiculous. Anger began to kick in at that moment. Enough is enough. Lashing out, he said, And this argument is stupid. Having a lack of judgment and control of his tongue, he added, You’re acting like a spoiled rotten brat. The moment the words popped out of his mouth, he regretted them, but they were the truth.

Her demeanor suddenly changed. She became very calm, and the look she gave him sent chills over his body. I’ve blown it, he decided. Dealing with her temper was difficult, but in past conflicts with her, he had found her icy cold shoulder and pouting manner to be worse.

Moving over to the dresser, she calmly took down her ponytail, picked up a brush and ran it through her long, silky, blond hair. After briefly examining herself in the mirror, she calmly gathered up her makeup and other toilet items and placed them in a navy blue overnight case.  Suddenly, it dawned on Nick that the luggage belonged to him. Should he say something? No. Not right now, he decided. Timing was everything, and he had already caused enough trouble with his bad timing.

       But you just moved in a few weeks ago. At work, they don’t even know you exist. Oops…another slip of the tongue. He was sabotaging himself.

Quickly whirling around to face him, she lashed out, See, that proves that I am right. You haven’t told anybody at work about me. Going on, she asked, If we had gotten married a couple of weeks ago, would you have told them about me? She continued to stuff her clothes into one of the suitcases.

       That’s different, he said, getting married would have made our relationship more permanent. What was wrong with him? He had never had so much trouble controlling his tongue. He needed to think first, then speak, but found this hard when he was angry and exasperated. Wincing, he quickly added, What I mean is…

SINCE NICK HAD NEVER BEEN MARRIED, he wasn’t sure what he might have done, but she was probably right; he probably would have told everyone about her. Watching Stella hastily zipping one of the suitcases closed, he noticed that she had inadvertently left the cord to her hair dryer dangling outside the suitcase. Before he could tell her, she jerked the suitcase up and headed out of the bedroom.

"I think family is where the most ridiculous

and least respectable things in the world go on."

-UGO BETTI-

THE PHONE BEGAN TO RING, but he ignored it. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, he weakly answered, feeling slightly guilty, I thought we would try living together for a while, share a few laughs and then see where that might lead us.

It had not been his idea for them to live together. One day, without notice, Stella simply showed up on his doorstep with her belongings packed into lots of plastic bags and moved in without being asked. Not having been totally against the idea because he was so enamored with her sexuality in the beginning, and was not thinking with his head but with parts further down his body, he did not resist. Now he was paying the consequences for allowing such a headstrong woman to live with him.

It served him right for being drawn to women with aggressive and independent natures. One thing he admired about Stella was that she was not a clinging vine type of woman. He hated clinging vines. They always seemed to suck the life out of him.

       Laughs! Is that all our relationship means to you? she asked as she struggled to pick up all of her belongings at one time. What about commitment? She had her arms and hands so full she dropped the teddy bear on the floor, and as she attempted to pick it up again, one of the suitcases popped open, spilling everything all over the floor.

THE PHONE CONTINUED TO RING. Distraught, he moved toward the phone. Why did all the women in his life have to be in such a hurry to get serious? He turned to Stella and asked, Where will you go?

She had slowly made her way to the front door while struggling to carry the luggage and the teddy bear and not drop anything again. Laying one of the suitcases down, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned to face Nick. I don’t know, but I do know that I am not going to waste any more time on a man who is not willing to commit to anything but shacking up.

Shacking up? That was an outdated expression that he had not heard in a long time. It reminded him of his grandmother because she had used it a lot when he was growing up; ranting about the young folks shacking up and not getting married as the good Lord intended.

At that remark, he had no more qualms about her leaving because he knew that she was doing the right thing. If she was looking for more than a superficial relationship, she had picked the wrong man. Marriage was not something that he had even remotely considered at this time in his life.

HE PICKED UP THE PHONE and tried to control the exasperation in his voice, knowing that it might be the hospital and very important. Hello.

Mr. Adkins, the manager of the assisted living facility where his grandmother lived, was on the other end of the line. Nick immediately assumed he was calling about his grandmother’s overdue rent. Before Mr. Adkins could state why he had called, Nick asked, Can you hold on for a moment, please? Then, putting his hand over the speaker, he called out to Stella before the door closed completely behind her. Stella…

Sticking her head back inside the door with a look of anxious expectation, she asked, Yes?

Nick pointed to the small wooden table next to the door and said, You’re forgetting your music box. Sitting in the middle of the table was a little ceramic pig, with a ballerina outfit on, perched on top of a round music box. It needs to go with her, he felt. He hated the sight of the little pig because she was always playing it and he had grown weary of its cheery little tune. With that addressed, he turned his attention back to the phone and began to talk to Mr. Adkins.

Although he had been deeply engrossed in his conversation with Mr. Adkins, he heard Stella’s sugary, beckoning call, Oh, Nick. Just as he turned toward her and their eyes made contact, he watched as if in slow motion as she threw the ceramic pig across the room at him. Ducking to avoid being hit, he heard a loud crash behind him.

He didn’t have to look. It had hit his TV, he was certain. Sick to his stomach, he turned to face the television and found glass strewn into a million little pieces, all over the floor. He cursed under his breath. The TV was the only one he had and was one of his prized possessions because he had spent many pleasant Saturdays sitting on his couch and watching his favorite sporting events. Appalled and furious at the same time, he saw that the little pig was sitting upright in the middle of the rubble and was playing the tune Old MacDonald had a farm…Turning towards her, he called out, You crazy fool!

       Hello. Hello, he heard Mr. Adkins’ voice calling out to him over the phone. As Nick put the phone back to his ear, he heard the door to his apartment shut softly and then he heard a loud commotion on the other side of the door. He watched as Stella opened it slightly to release the dangling hair dryer cord from its snare. This time, she slammed the door shut so hard the door jam shook, and the sound resonated throughout the apartment.

TURNING HIS ATTENTION BACK TO THE PHONE, Nick apologetically declared, No, No, Mr. Adkins, I wasn’t calling you a crazy fool. Just at that moment, Stella’s cat, who had been hiding under a chair, must have decided it was safe to come out of hiding and began to rub up against his leg. Stella had forgotten to take her cat. She’ll be back when she remembers, he thought. My cat just knocked something over, and I was talking to him. Although he liked the cat, he did not want to be bothered right then, so he took his leg and gently pushed him away. He immediately responded and went to investigate the little pig still whirling around on its pedestal, merrily singing away.

       As I was saying, Mr. Adkins continued, there has been a mandatory order to evacuate this facility since we are located in a low lying area that will surely flood if we receive a direct hit from the hurricane. Mr. Adkins went on to inform him that Nick would have to move his grandmother out of her living quarters and into a safer place, explaining that this was the sort of thing that was left up to the family and not the responsibility of the facility. He reminded Nick that his grandmother’s rent was in arrears and had to be paid up before she would be allowed to return to the facility. Then he added, You must come and get her now.

       That is impossible. I have to leave for work right now. I am already running late, Nick stated emphatically.

Undeterred, Mr. Adkins insisted, Then get someone else to come and get her. After a slight pause, he asked, Don’t you have a brother?

A lot of good that does, Nick thought. Yes, but he can’t come and get her either. He didn’t bother to explain that his brother’s wife would not let his brother come and get her. His sister-in-law and his grandmother got along like two pit bulls in a dogfight. Wondering what he was going to do about the situation, he just sat holding the phone, not saying anything.

He turned to look at his TV where the little pig was on its final course sitting in the middle of a pile of glass. He looked at his watch and knew he needed to leave right away for the hospital. Stella had just left him, and in spite of himself, he had pangs of regret. He did not have any idea about what to do with his grandmother. What else could go wrong?

HE WAS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for his grandmother’s welfare. She had raised him and his brother, and he owed it to her to