Through the Cracks by Honey Brown Page B

experiencing any headaches? Blurry vision?’
    Adam shook his head.
    ‘You’re remembering things okay?’
    He nodded.
    ‘That knock, although giving you mild concussion, was more the final straw than anything else.’
    A buzzer sounded out in the corridor and the nurse gestured in that direction. The doctor lifted two fingers and she left.
    The doctor widened his stance and put his hands behind his back. ‘I can see you’ve been through quite a bit, young man. I suspect you haven’t felt well for a long time. You had an untreated kidney infection and a high fever due to that. We’ve dealt with the infection intravenously. Doing it that way we were able to get on top of it quickly. You would be feeling quite a lot better, I would suspect. Your general health will take more time sorting out. You’ve had some setbacks, and we need to work on turning that around. Your stay here will depend on the results of your blood tests, and the results on some other tests I’m going to get done, and getting your weight up to a healthy level. You’ll be here with us for awhile.’
    The nursed returned, took up her position next to the doctor.
    ‘I’m organising a kidney function test,’ he said to her, ‘and X-rays, head to toe. We’ll go from there. Light exercise in the meantime, a high-calorie diet – full menu, no holding back. We need to organise a time I can sit down and talk with the parents. That will need to be co-ordinated with the relevant authorities, I imagine, I’m pretty sure the tests are going to confirm some things.’
    The nurse touched the doctor’s arm, she whispered in his ear. The doctor looked at Adam while she spoke. The nurse stopped whispering and stood back.
    ‘They can’t speak to him without a guardian present, can they?’ the doctor asked.
    ‘I think they’d like to.’
    ‘Give me his chart again.’
    Nurse Judith handed it to him.
    ‘Why haven’t we got his full details yet? I thought this was sorted out. Has someone been assigned? What’s the hold-up in reporting him?’ He checked his watch. ‘Where’s the head nurse?’
    ‘She’s with the police now.’
    ‘Well, they can’t talk to him in the children’s ward, and not without an adult or guardian present.’ The doctor turned to the first page of the chart. ‘Adam,’ he read, and looked up, ‘the police are here and would like to talk to you about a stolen car. It seems there was a traffic accident and the ambulance picked you up a few streets from it. As far as I know you need a guardian present for that kind of questioning . . . A stolen car is of no interest to me.’ He looked at Adam’s few belongings, only then seemed to notice the way Adam was sitting so high on the bed. ‘I’m happy to go and explain to the police that you’re not well enough to talk to them, but do I need to explain it to you too?’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Away from here, I imagine they can question you. We don’t have to worry about you going, do we?’
    Beside the doctor, the nurse’s expression was mild, but below that Adam sensed that she was scowling.
    ‘The man before . . .’ Adam ventured carefully, ‘he came and he —’
    ‘It’s a misunderstanding,’ Nurse Judith interrupted. ‘The pastoral visits. Teenage patients often don’t like them.’
    The doctor stared blankly at her. It was as though he hadn’t taken in what she’d said. Then he snapped, ‘The obvious solution would be for the teenage patients not to be visited by the clergy. Is that really only glaringly apparent to me? You might be feeling better,’ he said to Adam, ‘but you are not well. Use your time in here as an opportunity. There are resources available to you. This nurse,’ he shot her a sideways glance, ‘is going to sit down with you and explain those resources, and get some details.’ He dropped the chart on the bed. Checked his watch again. ‘I’ll go and talk to the police. I expect a surname, parents and some clarity when I