RN: “Doctor we just got another one. This makes 10 patients we’ve gotten in from that PTA meeting at the middle school. Similar symptoms, something must be going on.”
MD: “Another one? Alright, I’ll be right there.”
MD: “Hi Mrs. Block, I’m Dr. Castline. I’m going to take a look at your daughter. Correct me if any of this is wrong. You were at the PTA meeting last night at around 7:00 and your daughter got sick after that?”
MOM: (nods)
MD: “When exactly did she first throw up?”
MOM: “ It was around midnight. She’s felt bad all night. She also had some diarrhea.”
MD: “Are there any other complaints?”
MOM: She’s been complaining of a headache.
MD: “Angie, how many times last night did you have diarrhea?”
Daughter: “ Uh, dunno. My belly hurts.”
MD: “Ok, we’ll look at your belly in a minute, ok? (To Mom) What did she have to eat and when?”
MOM: “Punch and cookies at the school, at 6:45. Dinner was frozen lasagna and some milk.”
MD: “And you had the same thing she did?”
MOM: “For dinner I did; I didn’t have anything at the school. But, I also saw a couple of her friends outside (referring to the ER waiting room) – is there some kind of food poisoning going on?”
MD: “We’re trying to figure that out. Angie, I’m just going to take a look at you now.”
MD: “Mitch, get the health department on the line.”
RN: “Alright.”
RN: “The health department is on the line. It’s urgent. Line 4”
MD: “Hello, Dr. Castline here.”
HD: “Amy, it’s Stephanie.
"Look, we’re at the school; we’ve been here all night. It was definitely the source. We got worried with 30 patients showing up so sick at the two hospitals, but we got lucky. One of our guys had a radiation detection meter and the punch was contaminated. We got a radiation specialist out here and he says it was loaded with Cesium 137 – he said specifically to tell you that.”
“Police are here; they’ve shut down the school. The state radiation control folks are on their way, and they’ve called in the feds. We got TV crews in the parking lot. (Gets interrupted) Yeah, I’m sorry, I need to go.”
MD: “Stephanie, how many people were there last night?”
HD: “About 400. Look, I’ll call back in a few minutes.”
MD: (to RN) “Mitch…. Get administration on the phone; we may have a disaster on our hands. Get Dr. Berger from Radiation Oncology, the Medical Director of Nuclear Medicine, and the Radiation Safety Officer down here stat. There was a radioactive substance – Cesium – in the punch.”