The fever crisis / near-death

pivotal · c. 20 Nov YDAU

• When: late in the hospital serial
• What: Gately's fever spikes to where an R.N. yelps at his forehead; the boyish M.D. orders the dose upped, an ice bath, and "Let's Try Doris," saying "the poor son of a bitch was burning down." Through it Gately's only conscious concern is Asking For Help to refuse Demerol, gurgling "addict"; his heart-monitor serrates and flags the nurses' station. He figures he might die and finds it "more like trying to pull something heavier than you," not the alleged calm. Records the live/die question WITHOUT resolving it — the book leaves it open, and so does this chronology (as printed).