The next few days were taken up by relaxation. John spent the time walking the city and exploring the sights to be seen. Walking the streets he was both impressed and not at the state of the city. With memories of modern cities, the urban planning and architecture are impressive but overall something was lacking that made it feel like a real city.
'I need to think on this later' he thought to himself as he wandered the city. Turning a corner he found himself in front of a large building behind a gate. A sign above the entrance read "Pennsylvania Hospital." This intrigued him as he had not seen any hospitals like it. Walking through the gate he approached the central building with two large wings on the sides of it.
Approaching the central entrance he opens the door and finds himself in a large room. A woman sits behind a large desk at the front with wooden doors on either side of her. Around the room, there is an assortment of potted plants and occasional paintings but the more interesting people were the patients. An assortment of people from all walks of life stood or sat in the room.
Standing around for a bit he took in the atmosphere of the room. It was not pleasant, a far cry from the sterilized white-walled hospitals of the twenty-first century. The air was filled with an unpleasant moist smell to the degree that it felt as if a big breath would cause one to choke on the air itself. He kind of just stands there staring off into the distance, in what must have been an odd sight for most people.
While standing in the lobby John hears a loud noise, one that sounds much like the noises he has heard on his family farm, but he dismisses it. Following the noise people began shouting and running past his left. Snapping out of his stupor he sees a large, slightly overweight man kneeling over clutching his chest. The man is sweating profusely and is wobbling over, this continues for a few seconds after John starts to look at him until he collapses onto the ground, seemingly unconscious.
John rushes over to him as people begin to scream for doctors and nurses as people crowd the man. Everyone is shouting over each other not knowing what to do as he realizes what this is.
John was an American in the new millennium, he could identify a heart attack quite easily given the not uncommon occurrence of them. Not needing to use his gift to know what to do he pushes through the crowd.
"MOVE ASIDE" he shouts to the crowd with the people startled by this eleven-year-old's deceleration but they still abide by his forceful command.
Reaching the man he lies down on his back flat puts his hands over the man's chest on his sternum and immediately begins compressions. To keep time he starts humming an old song
"Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive," he says barely audible.
At this point, there were a handful of doctors standing around him but none of them made any move as they were confused about what this child was doing to this corpse. Continuing the compressions for a while longer out of nowhere the man's eyes shot open and he began coughing violently.
'What' John thought to himself completely shocked, 'Can just chest compressions restart a heart.' With the question, the now all too familiar headache of his gift kicks in and gives him an answer. 'Yes they can, but it is rather rare.'
With the man breathing again people were startled. what they saw seemed impossible. A man had died right before them and yet a child had brought him back to life. It was like some tale from mythology where a healer brought back a man from the dead with a chant and magic.
Then one man started to clap, then a woman nearby and soon the entire room was filled with the clapping of a crowd as John kept tending to the recovered man, keeping him calm and laying down his head on his jacket. Doing his best to ignore the people he stood up and tried to push his way through the crowd.
"WAIT" a voice in the crowd called and John turned around and saw a young man, barely an adult, running up toward him. "What did you just do" he asks with a face that displays only shock.
Looking around at the crowd he sees all the people staring at him he looks back at the young man, 'Eh, I've got something better to do today' he thinks to himself as he feels his stomach grumble a bit.
"How about you join me for lunch and I can answer any questions you have," Johns says with a smile.
"Sure, that sounds great," the young man says with a big smile.
As the two walk out of the hospital they come to a nearby coffeehouse and sit down as he orders a cup for the two of them and some bread.
"So," John says with a smile, "Who do I have the pleasure of eating with today"
Giving a small smile back, "My name is, Benjamin, Benjamin Rush. I am an apprentice under Dr. John Redman. What is your name and why are you in the city."
That name seemed familiar but unwilling to give himself a headache he puts off asking any questions until later.
"My name is John Carpenter, I am currently in town with my family on business" he replies in a slightly formal tone, one he was taught by his grandfather.
The two of them stayed silent for a while longer before Benjamin spoke first, "So, what did you do to that guy back there? He collapsed dead and yet you brought him back to life, it's almost unbelievable."
"Well, that is a technique I developed called C.P.R.," John said trying his best to sound informed even though he is only eleven.
"C.P.R., What does that mean, How do you do it, How does it work" Benjamin starts to ramble on and on before John raises his hand.
"Mr Rush, please. C.P.R stands for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Basically by mtheodially pressing on the patient's chest to mimic the function of the heart. By doing this blood can be continually pumped keeping the body supplied with air for a short while after the heart has stopped. In rare cases, it can bring a person back but it is highly unlikely to restart a heart on its own." Giving a small sigh, "I just got lucky today, I theorize you would need to shock the heart somehow to normally get it to start again."
Benjamin stares on with a look of absolute awe at what this child just told him. "You can restart a heart," He says with a tone conveying absolute wonder. Staring for a few more seconds he shakes himself out of his stupor.
"What did you say about air in the body" he asks with a suspicious but curious tone of voice. "How is there air in the body"
John gives a small smile, 'they really know so little about the body.'
"Blood works by transporting air around the body, red blood has air and goes from the heart. Blue blood has no air and is going back to the heart where it passes through the lungs to get more air."
With those words, it seems like a switch went off in Mr. Rush's brain as he processed the new information. "That is why some blood is blue, it hasn't been exposed to air but when we are cut it is, and then it becomes red"
Seeing the man lost in thought turns John's smile into a grin, 'I am glad that people are smart and not superstitious. Thank Bill Nye that I want reborn into Massachutus where I would be burned."
The two men continue to talk for a few hours and John writes a small piece of paper on how CPR is performed and the two eventually part ways. Reaching home later that night John lies down in bed before remembering to check out the name Benjamin Rush.
Thinking hard for a second the headache comes on and a small flood of information reaches him.
"Holy crap, I just met a founding father and signatory of the Declaration of Independence"