Chapter 3 - The Lethal Dose Dripping In Secret
“Then why are his cardiac enzymes showing severe myocardial injury alongside acute autonomic dysfunction?” I demanded, stepping into her path to block her retreat.
My father-in-law, Richard, picked up the dropped clipboard from the cold floor, his hands shaking as he adjusted his reading glasses to examine the medical chart himself.
“Sarah... what are you saying?” Richard asked, his booming, arrogant voice suddenly cracking with a wave of deep, instinctual panic.
“Are you saying someone gave Jason something? Are you saying my son was poisoned inside this woman’s apartment?”
Before I could answer, the heavy double doors of the trauma center swung open, and Dr. Marcus Hayes, the chief attending cardiologist, rushed into the hallway.
Dr. Hayes looked at the lab sheet in my hand, then looked up at me, his eyes widening in immediate recognition from our previous medical research conferences.
“Dr. Vance?” Dr. Hayes exclaimed, ignoring my in-laws entirely as he stepped over to shake my hand.
“I had no idea this was your husband. We were prepping him for an emergency craniotomy based on the external stroke symptoms reported by his colleague!”
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“Stop the surgical prep immediately, Marcus,” I instructed firmly, handing him the electronic lab report on my phone screen.
“His baseline electrolyte panel is completely disrupted, and his EKG shows a prolonged QT interval with distinct U-waves—this is acute digitalis toxicity induced by heavy cardiac glycosides.”
