Free Camp Nurse by Tilda Shalof

Appleseed–type place, run by real Native people who were trying to take back their culture. Theysaid Thanksgiving prayers to the trees and the wind – you know, like ‘I thank the Lord for the birds and the bees and the apple trees.’” He took his hands off the wheel, clasped them, and closed his eyes in fake prayer. “Me? I’m more a rub-a-dub-dub-thanks-for-the-grub Yayyy, Ggggod! kind of guy, but hey, whatever floats your boat. That place was wild! We got to go to their sweat lodge and smoke the peace pipe.”
    “Keep your hands on the wheel!” I sat up to shout at him. “Watch the road!”
    “Yup, my parents always sent me off to camps. I guess they needed a break from me, no explanation necessary there, ha ha … Oh, I’ve been told I’m a handful. They tried to put me on meds, but I don’t need them any more. Obviously, I can deal.”
    Just get us back safely
, I prayed.
    “Once they sent me to one of those 4h camps in the States. You know, all that head, heart, hands, and health stuff – it made me puke. So goody-goody! Yeah, right! One summer the nurse came up with her daughter who was a counsellor and they were both sleeping with the same counsellor. Can you believe it? Hey, anyone you dig at camp?”
    At that moment, I was grateful to see the entrance to camp, thus ending Wheels’s monologue.
    “Good night,” I said as he let me out in front of the infirmary. I was ready for bed but by now the rain had stopped, the sun was up, and it was almost time to dole out the morning meds.
    Later that day, I spoke with Amanda’s doctor in the hospital. The brain scan had showed a small cerebral bleed, a tiny stroke, that likely caused the seizure. She would be going home to Toronto to be examined by a neurologist and undergo more tests. She would definitely not be coming back to camp. I never found out how she was after that. It was often like that in the ICU too. We got our patients through a life-threatening situation and stabilized them. Once they progressed to the floor, they wenthome and we never heard how they fared. Our job was to get them through the crisis.
    There were only three more days left at camp and it looked like I was going to make it! I sat reviewing my notes and making sure they were in order. I had written them one quiet day when all activities had suddenly been cancelled. (I soon found out why: The latest Harry Potter tome had arrived and everyone who could lay their hands on a copy was busy reading.)
    Freddie A
. Eleven-year-old with sore finger, painful after two days, improved after x-ray and ice cream cone.
    Daliah C
. Camper claims to have been bitten by a rattlesnake. States she heard “rattles.” On examination, no findings. Possible insect bite? Camper kept overnight for observation in infirmary. Vital signs taken every four hours. Condition stable. Slept well. No signs of neuro-toxic venom poisoning.
    Zack D
. Counsellor. Knee wound still infected. Edges are macerated and red, still not approximating and very little granulation tissue. Appointments made with a doctor in town, but he refuses to go.
    Allan E
. CIT . Canoe dropped on big toe, left foot. Large blood bubble under the nail. Very painful. Ice applied and drainage with sterile, sharp object.
    I left it at that short note for Allan E., but I’d never forget that toe! It must have throbbed, but he tried not to let on just how painful it was, though his eyes teared up and his fists wereclenched. I knew what I had to do after reading about this very thing in my first-aid book. “This is going to seem scary,” I warned him, “but it will relieve the pressure.” With Sarge’s cigarette lighter, I heated a needle to a high temperature and inserted it into the centre of the blood spot. The hot needle melted the nail, the blood spurted out, and the pain was immediately relieved. Allan smiled, which was the biggest reward. It’s so much easier to inflict discomfort when you focus on the fact that it will make things