cute
what?"
"Not cute,
acute," he corrected. "It means sharp or severe. Your appendix is
inflamed and it's causing sharp pains in your tummy."
"My
penndice?"
"Appendix.
It's a tiny little thing about the size of your pinky." Tom started to
hold up his fingers to emphasize, but Jamie squeezed his hand as he tried to
move it.
"Why does it
want to hurt me?" Her chin quivered as she asked, and she had to swallow
to keep from crying.
"Well, it's
sick, very sick. And it's just letting you know how sick it is so you can do
something about it. And that's what I'm here for. I'm going to do something
about it."
"What? What
can you do?" She was trying so hard to be brave and it almost broke Tom's
heart.
"Well, me and
a few others will go in there and get it out. Before it can cause you anymore
pain. In fact, it won't be able to hurt you ever again."
"How will you
do it?" She asked warily.
"The nurse
will give you something to help the pain and let you take a nice nap. And
while you're sleeping, I'll just reach right in there and take that nasty old
thing out. When you wake up, it'll be gone and so will the pain."
"Well, okay,
if you promise it'll be alright."
There's nothing to
worry about. I'll be there with you the whole time." He gave her hand a
final squeeze and let it go. She lay back in the much too big bed and sighed.
Only then did he notice how tiny and vulnerable she was. Tom smiled at her
then turned to leave. He gave a nod and a smile to Jamie's mother then left
them alone.
As the nurse was
giving Jamie a sedative, Tom was taking one of his own. Just a little 90 proof
sedative to help calm his nerves. He certainly didn't want the shakes now, not
during surgery. Besides, it was a custom. Or was it a necessity? Either way,
he'd been doing it for a very long time.
Less than an hour
later, Tom was standing over Jamie with a scalpel in his hand. Her face was
hidden behind a drape where the anesthesiologist kept her under. But Tom could
see her face anyway. It was the face of someone who knew pain way too early.
A frightened face, but a trusting face. She had been so scared but she had put
her trust in him. He would take care of her. He would take care of
everything. Tom swallowed hard and made his first incision.
For Tom, the
surgery was going as usual. He made cuts and snips with ease, almost on
auto-pilot. But for the nurse assisting him it was a different story. He just
seemed to be hacking at the poor girl. “Not that he was doing the procedure
incorrectly” Nurse Beverly Price would later report to the Chief of Surgery,
“he just didn't seem to be very . . . proficient.”
Rumors had been
floating around the hospital about this doctor for sometime, but she had
never worked with him before. And now, Beverly wished that she wasn't. Each
time she reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow, she would catch the
unmistakable scent of alcohol. It was either on his breath, or he was exuding
it from his pores with the sweat. Either way she cringed each time he cut
something else.
She wanted to say
something so badly she could taste it. Say something to Jake, the anesthesiologist,
or to Dr. Willis himself. But, she needed this job and she knew how things
worked in the hospital. The number one rule was covering the hospital's ass.
The number two rule was that surgeons were God. So Nurse Price bit her lip and
handed the doctor what he asked for.
When Doctor Willis
finally got to the point of removing the appendix, Beverly sighed with relief.
It would go quickly now, and with any luck he would have her closed. But, luck
was not with any of them, particularly Jamie Gibbs. Her blood pressure had
dropped to a dangerous level and capillary refill was poor.
The nurse had
increased the I.V. flow rate, but that didn't help. Her pressure kept
dropping. Tom stood there, trying to think. It didn't seem like she'd lost a
lot of
what?"
"Not cute,
acute," he corrected. "It means sharp or severe. Your appendix is
inflamed and it's causing sharp pains in your tummy."
"My
penndice?"
"Appendix.
It's a tiny little thing about the size of your pinky." Tom started to
hold up his fingers to emphasize, but Jamie squeezed his hand as he tried to
move it.
"Why does it
want to hurt me?" Her chin quivered as she asked, and she had to swallow
to keep from crying.
"Well, it's
sick, very sick. And it's just letting you know how sick it is so you can do
something about it. And that's what I'm here for. I'm going to do something
about it."
"What? What
can you do?" She was trying so hard to be brave and it almost broke Tom's
heart.
"Well, me and
a few others will go in there and get it out. Before it can cause you anymore
pain. In fact, it won't be able to hurt you ever again."
"How will you
do it?" She asked warily.
"The nurse
will give you something to help the pain and let you take a nice nap. And
while you're sleeping, I'll just reach right in there and take that nasty old
thing out. When you wake up, it'll be gone and so will the pain."
"Well, okay,
if you promise it'll be alright."
There's nothing to
worry about. I'll be there with you the whole time." He gave her hand a
final squeeze and let it go. She lay back in the much too big bed and sighed.
Only then did he notice how tiny and vulnerable she was. Tom smiled at her
then turned to leave. He gave a nod and a smile to Jamie's mother then left
them alone.
As the nurse was
giving Jamie a sedative, Tom was taking one of his own. Just a little 90 proof
sedative to help calm his nerves. He certainly didn't want the shakes now, not
during surgery. Besides, it was a custom. Or was it a necessity? Either way,
he'd been doing it for a very long time.
Less than an hour
later, Tom was standing over Jamie with a scalpel in his hand. Her face was
hidden behind a drape where the anesthesiologist kept her under. But Tom could
see her face anyway. It was the face of someone who knew pain way too early.
A frightened face, but a trusting face. She had been so scared but she had put
her trust in him. He would take care of her. He would take care of
everything. Tom swallowed hard and made his first incision.
For Tom, the
surgery was going as usual. He made cuts and snips with ease, almost on
auto-pilot. But for the nurse assisting him it was a different story. He just
seemed to be hacking at the poor girl. “Not that he was doing the procedure
incorrectly” Nurse Beverly Price would later report to the Chief of Surgery,
“he just didn't seem to be very . . . proficient.”
Rumors had been
floating around the hospital about this doctor for sometime, but she had
never worked with him before. And now, Beverly wished that she wasn't. Each
time she reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow, she would catch the
unmistakable scent of alcohol. It was either on his breath, or he was exuding
it from his pores with the sweat. Either way she cringed each time he cut
something else.
She wanted to say
something so badly she could taste it. Say something to Jake, the anesthesiologist,
or to Dr. Willis himself. But, she needed this job and she knew how things
worked in the hospital. The number one rule was covering the hospital's ass.
The number two rule was that surgeons were God. So Nurse Price bit her lip and
handed the doctor what he asked for.
When Doctor Willis
finally got to the point of removing the appendix, Beverly sighed with relief.
It would go quickly now, and with any luck he would have her closed. But, luck
was not with any of them, particularly Jamie Gibbs. Her blood pressure had
dropped to a dangerous level and capillary refill was poor.
The nurse had
increased the I.V. flow rate, but that didn't help. Her pressure kept
dropping. Tom stood there, trying to think. It didn't seem like she'd lost a
lot of
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