He had a pulse. She put her cheek back to his mouth to feel for breathing. She also watched his chest. There was no movement. She continued to give him mouth to mouth. Every so often she felt for a pulse, every time holding her breath till she found it. She didn’t know how long she was there. Time didn't matter. She would breathe for him for the next five hours if needed. The rain continued in torrents. She started to shiver from the wetness.
A fire fighter first responder finally approached her. She told him what happened. He quickly radioed the situation to his superiors. Amanda continued to breathe for JC. Within minutes, an ambulance made its way towards them, lights flashing, sirens sounding if someone got in its way. Amanda looked up. She was surprised to see the number of people standing around her. She hadn't noticed them before now. Before the ambulance came to a complete stop, a paramedic jumped out and ran to them with a red plastic toolbox. She quickly placed a breathing mask over JC's mouth and nose as her partner arrived and took his vital signs. Amanda finally sat back but didn’t relax.
The fire fighter returned with a tarp to hold over the paramedics as they worked on JC. They had called into the hospital and were instructed to intubate him. As soon as they did, they strapped him to a backboard and rushed him to the ambulance.
"Miss," the fire fighter said as she shook Amanda's right shoulder. "Are you going with them," he asked as he helped her to her feet.
"I… I… I don't know," she said with a dazed voice.
"Are you hurt," the fire fighter asked with concern.
"I don't think so," she answered in the same dazed voice as she took a step. Her left leg couldn't support her weight and she fell against the man. He quickly picked her up and carried her to the ambulance and sat her inside. He closed the door and pounded on it two times let the driver know to leave.
From her seat near the back door, Amanda sat and watched in a daze as the male paramedic continued to work on JC. He continued to breathe for JC by squeezing the Ambu bag attached to his breathing tube as he reassessed his vital signs.
"Here, this will help keep you warm," the paramedic said to Amanda as he handed her a thermal foil blanket. It was then that Amanda noticed her teeth chattering.
"Thanks," Amanda replied weakly as she unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, her eyes never leaving JC.
"Are you hurt," the paramedic asked as he took Amanda's right wrist and took her pulse.
"Um," Amanda answered as she tried to remember about herself, "I think my left knee is injured."
"Listen, if I'm going to assess you, I need to trade places with you," the paramedic explained slowly. "If I'm going to do that, I need you to breathe for your friend…"
"Josh," Amanda said quickly.
"Your friend Josh. Do you think you can do that," the paramedic asked as he turned Amanda's head towards him so she could concentrate.
"Yeah, I can do that," she answered as the paramedic stood and Amanda slid down the bench closer to JC's head. She immediately picked up the bag and gave it a squeeze.
"I'm Mike," the paramedic said as he lifted Amanda's left leg on the bench and probed it gently. Amanda felt a sharp pain and turned to him. It was then she noticed how swollen the joint was. "Painful?"
"A bit," she replied. She kept breathing for JC as Mike reached for her left wrist to check a pulse again. When he straightened her arm, she grimaced.
"That's painful too?"
"Yeah, a bit," she replied again as she pulled her arm back to her side. The paramedic stood and opened cabinets and began pulling several things out. Amanda turned her attention back to JC.
"I'm going to put your leg in a splint," Mike said as he placed a piece of cardboard around her knee and packed any open spaces with towels. He then secured the splint in place with gauze. "And put this over your head," he instructed as he handed her a sling. She did as she was told and placed her arm in the fabric of the sling. Mike stood and adjusted the straps. "Feel better?" He asked as he looked at her face. He quickly flashed a light in her eyes to see how her pupils reacted.
"Yes, till you about blinded me," she replied dryly.
"A sense of humor peaking through, I think you'll be fine," he answered with a smile and then turned his attention back to JC. Amanda moved back down the bench to give Mike more room at JC's head as he began to reassess JC's vital signs. They were almost to the hospital. "Now, when we get there, there will be a lot of things going on. The doctors are going to be doing a lot of things to Josh trying to figure out what his injuries are. They are going to be giving him medication to hopefully help him start breathing on his own. Are you related to him?"
Amanda stared at JC in a daze. She didn't know exactly what to say. She finally answered with the first thing that came to her mind. "I'm his fiancee," she said quickly. She had a brief flashback to a Sandra Bullock movie from years ago and twitched slightly to shake the memory from her brain.
"They're also going to take a look at you. X-ray your knee and shoulder, see what's going on, why you're being so quiet," Mike said.
"Ok." Amanda was quiet for a moment. "Can I stay with him while they're working on him?"
"Probably not, like I said, they're going to want to evaluate you too. And it's never a good idea to have non-medical staff in a trauma room," Mike trailed off as the ambulance pulled into the unloading bay of the hospital.
The ambulance doors flew open and doctors dressed in blue scrubs grabbed for the foot of the gurney JC was strapped to. Mike stayed at the front of the gurney and helped push it out while he spieled JC's vitals and a description of the scene to the doctors. They rushed to the doors of the emergency room, leaving Amanda still sitting on the bench. She didn't know what to do or how to get out of the ambulance with her leg and arm wrapped so they could not be used. She sat there.
Finally Mike returned with another doctor and a gurney for Amanda. They helped her to the bed and wheeled her in while Mike told the doctor about Amanda's condition. As they rolled her down the hallway, she caught a glimpse of the trauma room where JC was being worked on. Mike's description of the scene was no where near the organized chaos that surrounded JC now. A tear slipped from her eyes as she was placed in her own room.
"Oh, Amanda," Mike said as a nurse came into the room with a hospital gown for Amanda to change into.
"Yeah," Amanda replied listlessly.
"What you did for Josh, the CPR and mouth to mouth, saved his life. I wish more people were as level headed as you were in a crisis," Mike said as he closed the door. The nurse helped remove Amanda's wet clothing so she could start an IV.
Over the next two hours, Amanda was not told anything about JC. She was given a complete evaluation during that time. The doctors determined she had at minimum a severly sprained her knee and would need to stay off it completely for several days before they could assess the joint for more permanent damage once some of the swelling had been reduced. They cleared her shoulder, just bruised from being forced against the seat belt. They were going to keep her overnight for observation because of her dazed status.
And finally, Dr. Palmer, the doctor that had been working on JC came to her with information on his condition. Along with him was a social worker, Anne.
"How is he," Amanda asked as soon as he introduced himself.
"In critical condition. He's still not breathing on his own. We're going to move him to the ICU and continue to support him with medication and a respirator. The longer he's on the machine, the more severe the aftereffects can be. We're also worried that if he doesn't regain consciousness soon, he'll slip into a coma," Dr. Palmer replied. Amanda's hand went to her mouth as she tried to hide the sobs that were rising in her throat. Tears escaped from her eyes. Anne handed her tissues.
"How long before he does? And why did his heart stop," Amanda questioned as soon as she found her voice.
"At this point, only time will tell. Like I said, the sooner he starts breathing on his own, the better. As for his heart, if the right amount of pressure is applied at the just the right point, the heart stops beating. Somewhat similar to having the wind knocked out of you. While we mostly see that type of injury with fist fights, every now and again it will happen in an automobile accident." The doctor stopped and looked down at the pager at his waist. "They're moving Josh now. Once he's settled and you're settled in your room, you can come see him, briefly," Dr. Palmer said as he stood to exit the room. As the door closed, the sobs Amanda had been holding back broke. Anne walked to the bed and sat down, taking Amanda in her arms as she did and gently rocked her. After several minutes, Anne broke the hold as Amanda's sobs abated.
"I need to ask you some information about Josh," Anne said quietly as Amanda wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Um, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I need to talk with the hospital's public relations department," Amanda replied.
"Why, do you feel the treatment you or Josh has received has been substandard?"
"Not at all, it's just Josh isn't his real name, sorta," Amanda said as she took a deep breath to try and organize her thoughts. "He goes by JC… Chasez…" There was no sign of recognition on Anne's face. "He's part of *Nsync…" A spark of recognition registered in Anne's eyes. "And once the media gets wind of this story, all hell is going to break loose, they'll descend on this hospital like a swarm of locust and your PR department needs to know of this situation so they're not completely blind sided, though I don't think they'll ever be fully prepared for the three ring media circus that is going to be camped out on their front lawn…" Amanda trailed off.
"I'll call them immediately," Anne said as she walked to the phone.
Several minutes later, a well-dressed middle aged woman entered Amanda's room. Anne made short work with the introductions and Amanda told Mrs. Brown the story she had told Anne just a few minutes before. Just as she finished, there was a knock at the door and a highway patrolman walked in and handed Amanda her purse from the car. He took a brief statement then left. As soon as he did, Amanda pulled her cell phone from her purse and turned it on.
"You can't have that on in here," Anne said quickly.
"I realize that, but there are three numbers I have to get off my phone book so maybe I can get in touch with JC's parents before the media does. They deserve to hear the complete true story, not what yarn the media may spin," Amanda replied as she finished writing out the third number and turned her phone off. She reached for her wallet and pulled out her calling card.
She tried Justin's number first. There was no answer. She thought to call Joey, but remembered he'd be in the middle of the matinee performance of the week. She dialed Gentian's cell and crossed her fingers.
"Hello," Gentian answered breathlessly.
"Gen, it's Amanda…."
"Hey girl, long time no talk," the blonde answered with a smile to her voice. “Have you patched things up with JC?”
Amanda took a deep shaky breath. "Gen, there's been an accident…."
