Quitting the Quarterback (The Nash Brothers #4)

CHAPTER 18 Cassie Fields

A VIP Patient

I’m sitting across from Dr. Hayward, my boss, as he goes over today’s schedule with me. I’ve been sitting in on his patients as I’ve been trained on the system over the last month, and a couple weeks ago, we transitioned to me running the appointments and him dropping in to see how I’m doing. Last week, I had my own patients on Tuesday and Thursday, and it went really well. This week I expect to take on even more independent responsibility.

Dr. Hayward has a medical degree in sports medicine, and he opened Motion Orthopedics with his best friend, Dr. Barlow, one of San Diego’s leading orthopedic surgeons. Between the two doctors and the staff of physical therapists, we work collaboratively to ensure our patients are receiving top-level care to accelerate recovery and restore mobility.

“We have a VIP patient coming in. Male, twenty-nine, a healthy professional athlete,” Dr. Hayward says. “Because of your background in sports medicine, I’d like you to shadow me on this one. ”

Just telling me that he’s a pro athlete tells me pretty much everything I need to know. He’ll have the drive to return as quickly as he can to his sport, but his mental state is anyone’s guess. Some athletes use injuries as the time when they can show the world what they’re made of. Others fall apart and can’t handle the mental aspects of being sidelined from the sport they love. Some of them hate being told what to do, and some really hate being told what to do by a woman.

“What’s the injury?” I ask.

“ACL-MCL complex injury,” he says, and I wrinkle my nose. That’s a tough one for a pro athlete. It’ll keep him out of his sport a while. “Happened yesterday afternoon, and he’ll be in at nine this morning. We’ll start prehab therapy next week after the swelling goes down. Dr. Barlow will examine him first and recommend a date for surgery, but we want to do some stabilizing and strengthening exercises with him ahead of that.” He opens a file to show me the MRI report, and I scan through everything. It looks like a fairly complex but still standard ACL tear with a grade two MCL tear, and it’ll require some physical therapy ahead of surgery with a lot more after.

“Once I consult with Dr. Barlow, we can put together a preoperative program for him, but I have some ideas in mind,” he adds. “What about you?”

“Reducing swelling will be our first goal of prehab,” I say, thinking through what challenges we might be facing based on the MRI report. “Then maximizing muscle strength and range of motion ahead of surgery. Depending on the patient’s needs, I’m thinking a four-to-five-week program with balance training, knee extensions, quad work building up to squats. Swimming, biking, and elliptical work. A pro athlete is going to need to retain muscle strength, so we’ll help with leg curls and press.”

“Good, Cassandra,” he praises. “We’ll get that knee to look and feel normal again before we go in and fix the root of the problem. Just so you know, this particular patient may be stubborn.”

“That’s why you hired me,” I say smoothly with a grin. I’m a mom. I’m used to dealing with stubbornness all the time. I glance around for my water bottle, which I usually keep with me at all times, and I realize I left it in my car today.

He nods with a smile, and I glance at the clock. I have one patient to see before I sit in with this athlete, and she’s currently in one of our exam rooms with a TENS unit getting some electrical currents to stimulate her calf before I head in to do a bit of muscle work with her on a strain that’s been bothering her for weeks.

I double check her notes before I head in, and we’ve taken her pain down from a seven to a three over the last two weeks. I let her know we only need to see her once this week after I finish my muscle work, and I add a few notes to her chart before she heads out.

I have ten minutes to spare, even more probably since this VIP patient is meeting with Dr. Barlow first, so I take the opportunity to run down to the lobby and out to the parking lot so I can grab my water.

I rush back into the building and spot Gary, who works security, on my way by.

“Miss Cassie, always running,” he says as he laughs and shakes his head.

I hold up my water bottle. “Left this in the car today. But, yes, running is good for you.”

He laughs his hearty laugh. “We’ll see about that.”

I grin at him and head in the opposite direction from the elevators to take the stairs up to the sixth floor where our offices are in this medical building, and I’m still smiling as I head back into the office. I gulp down some water, leave my bottle in the break room, and head toward Dr. Hayward’s office.

And then I wait for this VIP patient.