A New Start

Madchen still couldn’t believe it, this was her new home! Florida!!!

Searching through the jobs on Indeed, she found an ad for a respiratory therapist at The Sacred Heart Hospital in Miami, so she applied, not expecting them to call her.

When she got the email requesting an interview, she flew to Miami, where they hired her on the spot. 

She still couldn’t believe her luck.

They gave her two weeks, and she flew home,packed up what little things she had, and drove back to sunny Florida.

That was six months ago.

There was nothing left for her in Northeast Tennessee. Her family was useless, the only person who ever loved her was dead. No boyfriend, or any real friends to speak of, so she had nothing left to lose.

Madchen reflected on all this while checking a ventilator in the ICU, thinking how lucky she was to have found an apartment so quickly after arriving, one that let her bring her huge english mastiff, Thor, with her.

He was her best friend, the only being that mattered to her, and she loved him unconditionally.

It was just her and him against the world, and she wouldn’t have it any other way/

She sighed as she checked the alarms on the breathing machine one last time before exiting the room, heading to the next.

“Hey, Tennessee,” a voice rang behind her.

It was Curt, one of the nurses in the huge med/surg unit.

“Yes, Miami,” she turned to him, smiling.

“Room ten’s sats[02 saturations] are dropping, can you check on them?”

She nodded her head, walking swiftly to the room. The patient needed suctioning, so she took care of it, adjusting some of the ventilator settings before she left.

“He’s fine now,” she approached the middle aged nurse and informed him.

“Thanks, Madchen, you are an asset to our hospital,” he patted her on the back.

“Welcome,” she strutted down the hall, to check on the next patient on her list.

Madchen loved her job, taking care of her respiratory patients all day. It didn’t matter what assignment they gave her, she treated all of her patients with the same care and concern.

Most of the people in her department really liked her, but there were a select few who thought she was just a suck up, a little hillbilly who needed to crawl back to “them thar hills”.

It didn’t matter to her though, she wasn’t here to make friends, she had a job to do and that’s all that mattered.

Besides, who needed friends when they would just stab you in the back. No, Madchen loved her solitude, just her and her dog.

Sitting on her balcony that evening, she enjoyed a hot cup of  brazillian roast coffee with Thor, while watching the sunset over the Atlantic ocean. The colors were vibrant, with hues of red and purple mixed in with the silver clouds.

Taking in a deep breath of salty air, she smiled. This was the life, just she and her dog, enjoying the sunny Florida weather, away from her small town in Tennessee. 

She never looked back, it was going to be a good life, or so she thought…