until we know what we’re dealing with.” Jeremiah’s comment stopped her at the door.
“Good, ‘cause I’m not taking anything. We got too much work to do.” Danny’s jaw clenched against the pain.
“If Eden gives it to you, you’ll take it even if I have to shove it down your throat. This isn’t the time to be all John Wayne on me.” Keelee’s response was what Eden expected. That woman was a rancher all the way from the tips of her cowboy boots to the top of her head.
“Jeremiah, help him up, please?” Eden watched as Jeremiah instructed the man on what he was going to do. He used his strength to prop Danny into a sitting position so he didn’t have to tighten his muscles, but still, the young man’s face blanched to a dusty gray.
The trip to the x-ray room and positioning him left the poor guy sweating and the tears that ran down his cheeks wouldn’t be mentioned by anyone, that Eden could guarantee. They positioned him, standing, against the specialized plate where the film and sensors were located. She lined the crosshairs of the camera, inserted the tray behind Danny, and looked at Jeremiah. “Okay, you need to leave.”
He nodded and exited, shutting the door behind him. She slid the lead drape across the wall. The curtains already draped the other three walls and above and below the room, and she’d been assured panels were also installed. She walked into the protective alcove and readied the machine for the shot. “Danny, when I tell you, stop breathing. You need to be perfectly still for me. Okay?”
“Yeah,” the grunted answer came back at her.
“On three. One, two, three, hold.” She took the shot at the exposure she needed, and when the machine cycled through, she told the young man to breathe easy. They repeated the process for each angle needed to ensure there was no damage to the head of the humerus. Before she called Jeremiah in and went to get the pictures, she straightened his arm and took a shot of his elbow, which had a wicked bruise on it.
Eden turned on the light and pulled the curtain back. “I’ll be just a minute. Let’s not move him. If it is just a dislocation, we can do the closed reduction here.” She nodded to the gurney at the side of the room.
“Sounds like a plan.” Jeremiah sauntered over to the young man casually, but Eden knew it was to be there if the man needed support. “You know, motorcycles don’t throw you to the ground and try to trample you.”
Danny laughed and then groaned. “Doc, you’re killing me here.”
Jeremiah laughed, “Not my intent.”
Eden smiled and hustled to the other room and waited for the film to develop. It didn’t take long before she was back in the room and turning on the backlight to slide the image into the slot.
“Full,” Jeremiah said from behind her.
She nodded. “I’m thinking local anesthetic and traction to put it into place.”
“What’s that mean?” Danny asked from over her other shoulder.
“See here,” she pointed to the end of his arm. “This is your collarbone, here is your scapula or shoulder blade, and this is the upper arm, which is the humerus. At the top is the head.” She cupped her other hand over a fist. “What happened when you fell is that it jarred this bone out of that joint.” She separated her hands, showing how it happened.
“So, it’s not broken or nothing like that?” Danny stepped in closer to look at the x-ray.
“Correct. I took a shot of your elbow, and I can’t see any breaks, but here is the hitch in that giddy-up. I’m not a radiologist. What I’m seeing here looks like a full dislocation. I will send these x-rays to Belle Fourche tomorrow and have the radiologist down there read them, too.”
“So, I’m stuck like this until then?” Danny sighed in resignation.
“No, I’m going to give you a local anesthetic and Doctor Wheeler and I are going to maneuver that bone back into place. Then I’m going to x-ray it again and make sure we have it in place. Those pictures will go to the doc first thing in the morning. If he sees something that I don’t, you’ll need to take a trip south.”
Danny nodded. “How long will I be off a horse?”
“Two weeks, and that isn’t just off a horse. You’ll be in a sling and you will not use that arm. I’ll also make sure