Read Online Manatee Blues by Laurie Halse Anderson - Free Book Online
Authors: Laurie Halse Anderson
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sticks out from Violet’s skin just a little bit.
“This is a chest tube,” she explains to us. “The tear in Violet’s lung keeps leaking air into her chest cavity. When that cavity is full of air, the lung can’t properly expand. We tapped it yesterday, but it filled again. This tube will make sure her lung can inflate properly.”
“You mean she’s going in the water with that tube sticking out of her?” Maggie asks, her eyes wide. “Won’t water get into the tube?”
“Maybe. The pressure from inside her body should hold much of the water out. It’s the best we can do for now. We can’t keep her on land until she heals. That’ll take months. Manatees really shouldn’t be out of the water for more than twenty-four hours. This is a better choice than allowing the lung to die. That would kill her for sure.”
Gretchen takes a large syringe, sticks it into the chest tube, and pulls up on it. The tube slowly fills with some nasty-looking pus. She hands the full syringe to Carlos. He hands her an empty one.
“No wonder she was feeling rotten,” Carlos says. “She has an infection in the chest cavity, too.”
“I’m glad we caught it,” Gretchen says as she suctions out more pus. “That’s it. All gone. We’ll increase her antibiotics to help kill this infection. The chest tube will allow for some drainage, too.” She checks to make sure the chest tube is secure, then covers it with a small bandage fastened with superglue.
Carlos starts to peel off the huge bandage covering Violet’s infected propeller cuts. “Since she’s under anesthesia, we can really clean these cuts without causing her pain,” he explains. He and Gretchen both pick up scalpels and start to cut away the dead tissue.
Zoe winces. “Are you sure that doesn’t hurt?” she asks.
“She can’t feel a thing right now,” Gretchen assures her. She drops the scalpel on the instrument cart and picks up a brown bottle of disinfectant, which she pours into the open wound. “The contaminated wounds and lung problems are bad enough to kill her. We need to help her fight off this infection.”
She rinses off the bubbly disinfectant, then pours on some more. “I’ll do this a couple of times until I’m sure we’ve cleaned out all the contaminant,” Gretchen explains. “This will help her form new tissue—scar tissue—that will close up the wounds.”
Once Gretchen is satisfied that the propeller wounds are clean, she injects the drug that will reverse the anesthesia and wake Violet up.
“This is going to take a while,” Gretchen says. “I need to wean her off the ventilator, get her breathing on her own. Then we’ll tube-feed her again and get her back in the tank.”
“How long until we’ll know if she’s better?” I ask.
“We’ll be able to tell right away if the chest tube is working. But it could take months or even years for a full recovery and until she’s ready to be released. She’s been through a lot.”
One of the research assistants knocks and opens the door. “Phone call, boss,” she says to Gretchen.
“Take a message,” Gretchen says. “I’ll call them back.”
“It’s the bank,” the assistant says. “They said to tell you they’re calling about the loan.”
“We can finish up here,” Carlos says. “Go.”
Gretchen pulls off her surgical gloves with a snap. “Wish me luck.”
“Should we release Key Lime into the tank with Violet?” Carlos asks as Gretchen heads for the door.
She pauses. “Absolutely,” she says. “There’s nothing like having a kid around to keep your spirits up.”
While the staff gets Violet back in the water, Zoe, Maggie, and I are put in charge of going through the case histories of the wildlife treated at the center. Gretchen and Carlos have to write up a big report that lists all the animals they’ve treated in the past year, what they were able to release, and what died. It’s the kind of paperwork the government requires.
Some of it is
“This is a chest tube,” she explains to us. “The tear in Violet’s lung keeps leaking air into her chest cavity. When that cavity is full of air, the lung can’t properly expand. We tapped it yesterday, but it filled again. This tube will make sure her lung can inflate properly.”
“You mean she’s going in the water with that tube sticking out of her?” Maggie asks, her eyes wide. “Won’t water get into the tube?”
“Maybe. The pressure from inside her body should hold much of the water out. It’s the best we can do for now. We can’t keep her on land until she heals. That’ll take months. Manatees really shouldn’t be out of the water for more than twenty-four hours. This is a better choice than allowing the lung to die. That would kill her for sure.”
Gretchen takes a large syringe, sticks it into the chest tube, and pulls up on it. The tube slowly fills with some nasty-looking pus. She hands the full syringe to Carlos. He hands her an empty one.
“No wonder she was feeling rotten,” Carlos says. “She has an infection in the chest cavity, too.”
“I’m glad we caught it,” Gretchen says as she suctions out more pus. “That’s it. All gone. We’ll increase her antibiotics to help kill this infection. The chest tube will allow for some drainage, too.” She checks to make sure the chest tube is secure, then covers it with a small bandage fastened with superglue.
Carlos starts to peel off the huge bandage covering Violet’s infected propeller cuts. “Since she’s under anesthesia, we can really clean these cuts without causing her pain,” he explains. He and Gretchen both pick up scalpels and start to cut away the dead tissue.
Zoe winces. “Are you sure that doesn’t hurt?” she asks.
“She can’t feel a thing right now,” Gretchen assures her. She drops the scalpel on the instrument cart and picks up a brown bottle of disinfectant, which she pours into the open wound. “The contaminated wounds and lung problems are bad enough to kill her. We need to help her fight off this infection.”
She rinses off the bubbly disinfectant, then pours on some more. “I’ll do this a couple of times until I’m sure we’ve cleaned out all the contaminant,” Gretchen explains. “This will help her form new tissue—scar tissue—that will close up the wounds.”
Once Gretchen is satisfied that the propeller wounds are clean, she injects the drug that will reverse the anesthesia and wake Violet up.
“This is going to take a while,” Gretchen says. “I need to wean her off the ventilator, get her breathing on her own. Then we’ll tube-feed her again and get her back in the tank.”
“How long until we’ll know if she’s better?” I ask.
“We’ll be able to tell right away if the chest tube is working. But it could take months or even years for a full recovery and until she’s ready to be released. She’s been through a lot.”
One of the research assistants knocks and opens the door. “Phone call, boss,” she says to Gretchen.
“Take a message,” Gretchen says. “I’ll call them back.”
“It’s the bank,” the assistant says. “They said to tell you they’re calling about the loan.”
“We can finish up here,” Carlos says. “Go.”
Gretchen pulls off her surgical gloves with a snap. “Wish me luck.”
“Should we release Key Lime into the tank with Violet?” Carlos asks as Gretchen heads for the door.
She pauses. “Absolutely,” she says. “There’s nothing like having a kid around to keep your spirits up.”
While the staff gets Violet back in the water, Zoe, Maggie, and I are put in charge of going through the case histories of the wildlife treated at the center. Gretchen and Carlos have to write up a big report that lists all the animals they’ve treated in the past year, what they were able to release, and what died. It’s the kind of paperwork the government requires.
Some of it is
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