“Okay,” Mr. Brown says as he wraps his arm around his wife and pulls her into an embrace. “Please, do whatever you need to do to help him,” he tells me as he holds back his emotions. I’ve seen this exact scenario more times than I can count in my career. Delivering this type of news is never easy, but part of the job that must be done.
“Absolutely, we’ll start with another EKG and go from there. Has he been a healthy baby since birth?”
“He’s always been susceptible to getting sick. Mostly just colds that linger.”
“And what was his birth weight?” I ask as I press my stethoscope to his chest so I can listen to his heart.
“Seven pounds,” Mrs. Brown informs me.
“And how has his weight gain gone?”
“Slow, our pediatrician had us supplementing with formula since he was about a week old.”
“Do you still breast feed?” I ask as I place my stethoscope back around my neck.
“I do.”
“Good, and are you still supplementing with the formula?”
“Yes, he also eats a few things. It’s been a slow process introducing foods to him the past few months. We waited until he was nine months old to start.”
“Not a problem. His slow weight gains, along with being susceptible to colds, specifically if any affected his lungs, are both signs of CHD.”
“How long will the tests take?” Mr. Brown asks.
“I’ll get the order in now and place a rush on it. Hopefully we’ll have the results within an hour or so. I’ll be back once we do,” I assure them before following Simon out of the exam room.
“Do you really think he’s got CHD?” Simon asks as we walk down the hall.
“That’s what my gut tells me, but we’ll know for sure within a few hours. How late are you working in the ER?”
“Until shift change at six.”
“Page me and we can grab a beer afterwards. I’d love to catch up.”
“I’ve got to get home to Bridget and the kids, how about you come over this weekend?” he suggests.
“Sure, Saturday around four?”
“That should work, we can grill and drink some beers on the back deck.”
“All right, text me if you want me to bring anything other than the beer with me. Give Bridget my love, and I’ll see you Saturday.”
“Will do, mate. See you then,” he tells me before I take off up the stairs to go check in on my patients on the pediatric floor.
4
MEGAN
“YOU DID GREAT TODAY. Did you have fun?” Lucy asks me as we enter the staff locker room together.
“I did, and thanks for all your help today,” I say as I grab my backpack from my locker and sling it on the back of my chair. I down the rest of the water in my bottle before tucking it into the side pocket.
“I think tomorrow you’re good to work on your own. I’ll be here and can help if you run into any issues, but after observing you today, you’re a natural at this.”
“Thank you, that means the world to me,” I reply honestly. I’m so thankful I was paired with Lucy. She made my first day with patients super easy and I hope that we can become friends.
I close my locker, spin my chair around, and start to roll down the aisle to leave the staff lounge. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I call out to her.
“Hello again,” a deep voice, belonging to Drew, greets me from around the corner as I reach the end of the aisle.
“Hi!” I squeak out in surprise.
“Sorry to scare you. How was your day?” he asks, his question sincere.
“It was great. Tiring, but great!” I tell him. “I love what I do. I love getting to be a small bright spot in a kid’s day. Especially when their days can be filled with so much pain and not fun moments. And my training partner was amazing, as well,” I tell him.
“I understand completely.” He asks, “Who did they pair you with?”
“Lucy,” I tell him, just as she approaches the two of us.
“Drew, be nice to this one. She’s a hell of a CLS,” Lucy says.
“I’m always nice.” He playfully scowls at her. I move my chair slightly so that I can more easily see the two of them. There is an easiness between them, and I can’t put my finger on if it’s just co-worker ease or something else.
“Be careful around this one,” Lucy tells me. “He likes to prank people.”
“Don’t be giving away all my secrets now,” he scoffs.
“Start acting your age and not that of your patients,” she volleys back at him.
“Never, where’s the fun in that?” he asks.
“Anyways, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Lucy says to me. “I’ll see you at Grandma’s this weekend,” she calls out to Drew before leaving the two of us.
“So, I take it you’re related?” I ask him, feeling a sense of relief that the familiarity between them isn’t due to a relationship, but because they’re related somehow.
“Yep, she’s my cousin. We have a sibling-like relationship, at times, if you didn’t figure that out already from our banter.”
“She’s really nice! I really enjoyed working with her today,” I tell him again.
“She’s the best,” he agrees with me. “So, are you new to the area, or just the hospital?” he asks, taking a seat on the bench that runs between the bays of lockers. I always find myself having to look up at people, as my chair only rises up so far, so for someone to bring themselves to my level puts us on a more even level, and makes things a little more comfortable for me.
“Both. I moved here from Nebraska for the job. The hospital had a recruiter at one of the end of school year job fairs that I attended. I was interviewed in person at that event and then had a final one over Skype.”
“Ah, nice. Let me guess, you’re a Husker, then?” he asks, referring to my alma mater.
“How’d you guess?” I ask, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
“Lucky one, I guess,” he replies, a smile filling his own lips. “That, and your water bottle there has the logo.” He points to the pocket on the side of my chair. “Did you get a chance to see Mack today?” he asks, changing the subject.
“I did. She was my last patient of the day. Her vitals had finally stabilized. We headed down to the playroom and she had fun for about a half hour before feeling like she needed to go back to bed.”
“Good. I’m hoping we’ll have a new heart for her within the next couple of weeks. Poor kid can’t catch a break.”
“I gathered that from her chart. I’ll make sure to stop in and see her daily,” I tell him.
“I’m sure she’d like that.”
“Well, it was nice to meet you, and I’m sure we’ll see each other again. Sorry again about earlier.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. It was completely my fault. Teaches me to text and walk, not paying attention to where I’m going.”
“Have a nice night, Drew,” I say before heading for the door.
“Night, Megan,” he calls out over his shoulder.