The Final Push

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

synopsis

Synopsis

While on call for the trauma service, third-year medical student Michael Higgins finds himself in an extraordinary situation. He is summoned to the ER to participate in the evaluation and management of a critically-injured patient and soon discovers that the unconscious man lying before him is the same man who, two months earlier, committed a heinous act of violence that shattered Michael’s personal life. Following a lengthy emergency operation, the patient—known only as John Doe—is now under the care of the trauma team, of which student doctor Mike Higgins is a member. As John Doe’s condition gradually improves, Higgins’ personal life deteriorates further, but there might be a way to reverse the downward spiral: if he sees to it that John Doe never leaves the hospital, Michael Higgins’ world may right itself.

bio

Author Biography

I’m a former heart surgeon turned fiction writer. I write what can be described as medical mysteries, medical thrillers or novels of medical suspense, but I prefer to think of them as novels of surgical suspense. What is surgical suspense? Surgeons, surgical diseases and the operating room are all inherently dramatic. As a former surgeon, I’ve experienced this drama first hand and thought it would make for good fiction. My surgery training took me from the knife-and-gun-club of LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, to the famed Bellevue Hospital in Midtown Manhattan. My education as a writer includes an MFA degree where I was mentored by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane, among other accomplished faculty. I know a lot about medicine and surgery, I know a lot about writing and storytelling, and I believe that combining this vast and unusual right-brain/left-brain experience will make for interesting reading and discussion, so please visit often.

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Author Insight

Higgins Pulls the Trigger

The success of Higgins' plan depends on John Doe's violent reaction to the placement of a nasogastric tube, thus creating movement artifact on the heart tracing, and hiding the real cardiac rhythm from the nurses in the monitoring station. As a medical student and resident I was always struck by the strong reactions of semiconscious, and even comatose, patients to the placement of an NG tube. A testament to the strength of the gag reflex.

Book Excerpt

The Final Push

Higgins jammed the NG tube through John Doe’s nasal passage and into his throat. Doe’s gag reflex triggered. His eyes opened. His head thrashed back and forth. Higgins tightened his grip, shoved the tube deeper, felt the resistance as it passed behind the larynx and down the esophagus. Doe groped blindly. Higgins checked the monitor. The EKG tracing was straight lines and right angles. Artifact! He reached for the syringe. Hands shaking. Chest tight. Temples pounding. He placed his thumb on the plunger and pushed.

Two cc’s in.

He pulled the tube out and jammed it back in. Doe thrashed. Artifact on the monitor.

Four cc’s in.

Six cc’s.

He saw Lisa. In bed. In the fetal position. Her gaunt face. Protruding ribs. Tears filled his eyes. He pushed harder on the plunger.

Ten cc’s.

Fifteen.

Twenty.

John Doe stopped fighting.

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Richard Van Anderson

The Final Push

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Higgins Pulls the Trigger

Book Excerpt

The Final Push

Comment on this Bubble