AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Oh, his sight condition has nothing to do with the tumor."
Her mouth formed a perfect `o`, surprised by my affirmation.
"What? Did you consult the patient already?"
"No, but I looked over his chart and medical file. He's losing his eyesight because of Optic Neuritis, and we can treat that non-surgically." An inflammation of the optic nerve was pretty much obvious from his symptoms, but I was not surprised Brook jumped to the conclusion that it was a cancer side effect. I used to be the same way, but times gave you fines, and this was what I was trying to teach. "Mary?"
"I scheduled Mr. Sora for a perimetry test when he was admitted this morning with Doctor Lee-Kwang. Optic Neuritis was confirmed." A slick smile was dancing on her lips, proud that she anticipated my needs. I was not surprised; Mary was more useful to me than half the doctors I worked with. I knew she'd retire soon, and I had no God damn idea how I'd survive after that.
"So, I failed. I am sorry, Dr. Sullivan; I didn't take all the facts into consideration, and I misdiagnosed."
I patted her shoulder a couple of times to bolster her morale.
"It's alright, now you know. You can put that disappointed look away. I will operate tomorrow, and I'm taking you with me."
And just like that, she saw motherfucking stars.
"Really? Are you taking me on a different case?"
"No, I will introduce you to a bold move. I will get a detailed contrast MRI of Mr. Sora's spine and go in to extract the tumor. You'll assist."
"And what about the visibility problem?"
"We will use the MRI as a virtual map and guide the scalpel and catheter by that. The risks are still high, but I've done it before. Are you in?"
"Absolutely!" I didn't expect anything different.
This was invigorating - fifteen minutes of the euphoria of losing yourself in the job. It was the first time since the other day that the gutting feeling of fear had left my body.
When I stepped inside, and Rita looked at me with hollow eyes, calling me a liar...talking about taking her away...Every nightmare I ever imagined in the past two months came to life. I thought I had lost her, for good and forever. It made me realize how bad I needed to do something and find a solution to make her stay if she remembered, because if I didn’t, one day I might get home and really find the woman I loved leaving me - and this one would hurt twice as bad as Avery's runaway show.
Nothing made me relax before now, not even the mind blowing sixty-nine she gave me to apologize for ‘throwing a tantrum.’ I just couldn't shake the anxiety of losing her until now.
"Mary, anything else I need to look at?"
"No, doctor. The Chief was looking for you earlier."
Oh, I hoped I was not in trouble, and I prayed to God this was not about another conference that I had to go to. I got that Sonia Sadin wanted to put us on the map and absorb all the good publicity she could, especially after the malpractice scandal she had to deal with last year, but I was not in the mood for that shit. All my free time belonged to Rita, and I would not lose those moments to lock myself in the library and work on some research for a month.
I made my way around the hospital, stopping to chat with some staff members, looking around and finally I getting to the lobby where Chief Sadin was talking with the head of the Orthopedic department and six other doctors on that specialty. I'd heard that they received founding for a new teaching lab to be opened here at Chicago Mercy General for bone grafts development, and it was awesome news. No wonder Sonia was glowing and had her head up like a queen.
I approached them, shook hands with all the doctors and waited until Sonia finished their interaction.
"Well, Dr. Pikai, I'm glad everything is on schedule. I'd be happy to sign the paperwork when you and your team are ready. Now if you'll excuse me."
They walked away, and she turned to me smiling.
"Now, now, my prodigal son, you turned out to be a very rare sight these days."
Oh, so this was a slap on the wrist.
"I'm sorry, Chief, but all my work is up to date, and my hours at the free clinic are optimal."
She showed me the way to walk towards the elevators.
"I know that; it was just an observation."
"Mary told me you were asking for me."
