15. David
15
DAVID
Dr. Cooper scribbled her recommendation onto the script paper and handed it to the patient who came in with a nasty rash. I approved it because the diagnosis was good. No tests were needed for the dermatitis-type rash, and the patient was relieved. When they left the room, I shook Dr. Cooper's hand.
"Well done. It was a very simple diagnosis this time, and those make up about ninety-five percent of our cases here in the clinic." I had to cover ten hours every month in the clinic, and the board allowed me to employ the help of my interns once a month too, so today, they were all volunteering for two hours for the free walk-in appointments that often left clinic staff overwhelmed.
"Thanks, Doc. I'll go get the next one." Ginny breezed out into the hallway, and I trailed behind her.
I noticed Dr. Baine releasing a patient with a brand-new cast on his arm. That one took a while. And Dr. Holt was manning the fort at the desk, answering phones and checking patients in. Lauren was busy too, in the room with another patient whom I hadn’t had the chance to observe yet. Days as busy as this, I didn't have time to micromanage every one of the interns, and with Lauren being a licensed practicing doctor, I trusted her to handle herself.
However, this day was a teaching day, and she was my responsibility. So, I meandered over to exam room three where she was tending to the patient and knocked softly.
"Come in," I heard, and I opened the door.
To my shock, I walked into the office to see a woman who looked as if she'd been beaten and clawed to near death by a bear. She even had what appeared to be burn marks on her arms. She shook as Lauren pressed a cotton swab to her bloody wound and hissed at the sting of the disinfectant.
The woman looked up at me with a face drawn in pain, so I introduced myself. "I'm Dr. Park. I'm here to observe Dr. Newhouse as she works today. Don’t mind me." I stood in the corner of the room and watched, but Lauren kept working as if I weren’t there, gently cleaning and bandaging each wound.
"Sarah, I really think we need to get some X-rays for that shoulder." Lauren tossed her soiled gloves into the trash can and let the lid fall shut, then walked to the sink to wash her hands.
"Uh, no thanks. I just really need some medication for the pain." Sarah, the woman who was trembling so much it wasn't hard to see how afraid she was, seemed reluctant to look up at me. I'd seen it before. An abused woman has an aversion to men and only wants female doctors.
Lauren returned to stand in front of her and rested a hand on the woman’s knee. "You don’t have to go home. We can help you find a shelter, and they will fight for you." Lauren's head dipped, trying to get Sarah to follow her face, but the victim avoided eye contact.
"I told you, I just fell down the stairs." Sarah's eyes were full of emotion. She wanted the help but she was afraid to ask for it. I wanted to step in and say something, but it wasn't my place, and Lauren was doing a great job, anyway. I would only make this more complicated or frighten Sarah away.
"You're afraid if you leave him, he will hurt you more?" Lauren asked, and Sarah didn't answer. Her head dropped, and I saw tears dripping to her lap.
It was such a shame that such a young, beautiful woman was being harmed for no reason. Any man who did that to a woman should be punished severely. It was inhumane, animalistic.
"I can help you, Sarah." Lauren was doing such a good job of humanizing the moment, keeping contact with the patient, talking quietly, using her name so she knew she was important. I couldn't have done it better myself.
"I don't know." Sarah still protested, the fear too great. But I knew Lauren wouldn’t let up. She was too compassionate to stand back and do nothing, letting this woman go back to an abuser.
"I know, Sarah. I know you are scared and you don't want to be hurt anymore. You probably worry about how you'll provide for yourself, but let me tell you… If you’re strong enough to put up with this garbage this long, you'll be strong enough to get a job and pay the bills. I promise you."
I watched the expression on Sarah's face change, and she wrapped her arms around Lauren's shoulders and sobbed. Thirty minutes later, a social worker who joined us was escorting Sarah out of the exam room into one of the back offices to begin working with her and finding her a refuge for the evening, as well as providing a safe place for Sarah to give her statement to police who were on their way.
When the door swung shut after them, I watched Lauren's shoulders slump. I walked over and pulled her into my arms. It was difficult for her, and I knew why. She was emotionally invested in it because it hit home. She cared for her brother in this same way, begging him to accept the help she was offering.
"Hey, I'm here," I told her as I held her against my chest. At the hospital, we never had privacy for this sort of thing, but in the private exam rooms of the clinic, I was willing to risk some PDA in order to comfort her after such an emotional experience.
"My God, that was hard. I didn’t think she was going to let us help her." Lauren spoke into my chest, and her voice was muffled, but I understood her.
"You were so amazing, Dr. Newhouse. You deserve a medal or a reward of some sort." I joked with her, but I was serious. The others could learn so much from her as far as bedside manner was concerned.
"Thanks. This hug is enough." She squeezed me more tightly, and I breathed in the scent of her shampoo as I eyed the exam table and the stirrups that weren't completely folded under the bed properly.
"I could order you to lie on the bed with your feet in the stirrups and give you a real prize." I snickered, and she swatted my shoulder.
"I would totally do that right now, but I'm not sure these doors lock. Besides, I'm too loud." She pecked me on the cheek and reached for her tablet, ready to return to the lobby and get her next patient, but I had something to ask her.
"So, there is this conference in Springfield and I have permission from the board to invite one of my interns. After that performance, I know you're the right one for the job." If the board knew of our little secret, they'd never allow me to invite Lauren. Not only would it be seen as inappropriate, but words like favoritism would be tossed around. They'd still have to pay for the two hotel rooms, but I'd never tell them we only needed one.
"Why, Dr. Park, that's highly inappropriate." She smiled at me and her lips flushed. "I'm not sure a boss should ask his intern to jet off to an exotic location."
"If you call Springfield, Illinois exotic, there is something wrong with you." I laughed. "And it's not a request. It's an order." I winked at her and opened the door so she could walk out.
"Well in that case, I have no choice. I’m assuming it's all expenses paid?" I followed her through the door and resisted the urge to grab her butt.
"And what the hospital doesn't cover, I will. No sweat."
"Send me details," she sang and headed toward the front to get her next patient. I had to wait a moment to let my dick deflate a little. She got me going so much sometimes. I couldn't wait for this weekend.