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"All hands on deck emergency. Even the chief is in the OR for an amputation."
"But it's your honeymoon."
"Oh, James, we don't leave for Europe for a couple more days. Our pagers went crazy; what were we supposed to do? It's a jungle out there. I've heard you're operating on the culprit."
"Yeah, you came to watch?"
"I'm here to help you. Mary is in the ER stitching up minor casualties."
"Awesome, scrub in."
She walked in with me and sat at my right. It was such a pleasure to have London help me in the OR; her attention to details could compete with Mary's, and she was so curious. If we weren’t under such pressure, I'd let her hold the drill and make the first hole. Two hours in, and we talked about brain tissue, proper action, fluid draining, all the fun stuff.
I looked over the body and eyed the resident who kept checking the monitors.
"Dr. Hoover, maybe you want to take example from Nurse Boudreaux and maybe ask something once in a while. I don't know what you don't know, doctor, but we have to work together."
"Yes, sir, but, you know, I already know all that stuff. I mean, it's ok if she asks; she's a just a nurse. I appreciate that she's trying to be better at her job, and I respect that, but I'm a doctor. And I'm more interested in cardiology anyways."
London didn’t pay him any attention, but I was pissed at his comments.
"You're interested in cardiology, really?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, I wouldn't count on you seeing the inside of a cardio OR in the next few years. Not after you go tell Dr. Ford how you disrespected his wife."
"Dr. Sullivan, it's ok," she said.
"You are right, it's ok, and since Dr. Hoover knows neurosurgery so well," I stepped back from the table and put my hands up, "we can go have lunch while he finishes here. Come on, doctor, you need to stop this bleeding."
The man froze in front of me, his eyes wide, looking like a baby deer in the headlights of a Land Rover.
"Dr. Sullivan I didn't mean..."
"Didn't you?"
"No, sir, I meant no disrespect to any of you. I'm sorry."
Break them and make them better. I loved it. There was something amazing in shaping young minds like that.
"Ok, then we can all go back to business."
The rest of the surgery went better than I would have expected, and on top of that, Hoover was actually paying attention. He even asked London a few questions about post-op care.
"Dr. Hoover, come here please," I called, and I had him behind me in seconds. "We're good here; see how the protective tissue has this grey, opaque color?"
"Yes."
"This tells you the bleeding is under control; the lesion is sealed. Would you like to help me close?"
"Absolutely."
"London, please lower the light so we both can see." When she does and we both have good visual, I turn to Hoover. "There are three sealing needles, and we need to extract each one. The extraction needs to be slow and steady, so you need a good hand for this. I will do the first two and then you can go for the third."
I put all my concentration to do this with textbook quality and get today over with. When I was done with this, I would get to go home, see my daughter, but no Rita. Fuck. I couldn’t do this right then. I needed to keep my head clear for fifteen more minutes, then I could drag my sorry ass home and crumble.
"Ok, Dr. Hoover, now you."
