Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Two Months Later
Grace
I had finally fallen asleep when my pager went off.
Reaching my arm and feeling around on the floor of the on-call room, I picked it up and looked at it.
I sighed as I got up from the bed and walked outside to wait for the ambulance to pull up.
When it did, and I opened the door, I saw Tracy sitting there.
“Tracy?” I looked at her and then at Jamieson’s father lying on the stretcher. “What happened?”
“He’s been in bed for two days with a migraine and vomiting profusely. He wouldn’t let me take him to the doctor. I think he’s dehydrated.”
“I don’t need a damn doctor. I am a doctor, and it’s a migraine,” Carlyle shouted.
“BP is 140/90, and his pulse is 130,” the paramedic spoke.
“This is humiliating, Tracy. I can’t believe you called 911.”
“If you weren’t such a stubborn ass, I wouldn’t have had to. You gave me no choice.”
“Let’s take him to room three,” I spoke. “Dr. Lasher, I want a comprehensive metabolic panel, CBC with Diff and blood gases. Get him on an IV drip and oxygen.”
“Grace, can I speak with you, please?” Tracy asked.
We walked out into the hallway.
“He’s been sick for a couple of months, but he refused to seek medical attention. Do you know what could be wrong? I’m so worried.”
“We have to run some tests. Hopefully, we’ll have some answers soon.” I placed my hand on her arm as we walked back into the room.
“Order an MRI with contrast and get him upstairs,” I spoke to Dr. Lasher.
“This is ridiculous,” Carlyle spoke in anger.
“Carlyle, shut up,” I spoke. “You’re sick, and you need medical treatment. So, for the love of God, be quiet and let us find out what’s wrong with you.”
“I’ve had enough of your mouth, young lady.”
“And I’ve had enough of yours. Excuse me for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
I knew Jamieson was in surgery, so I went up to O.R. four, held a mask over my mouth, and stepped inside.
“Hello, Dr. Harper. To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.
“How much longer are you going to be?”
“I’d say about fifteen more minutes. Why?”
“I need to speak to you when you’re done.”
“About?”
“About a patient down in the ER.”
“Okay. I’ll be down as soon as I’m done.”
“Actually, I’ll be waiting for you in the hallway,” I spoke.
He glanced over at me, and our eyes locked on each other. He picked up on the seriousness of my tone.
“Okay. I’ll meet you out there.”
As I was waiting in the hall, Renata walked over to me.
“I heard Jamieson’s father is in the ER, causing havoc.”
“He sure is.” I sighed.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I have my suspicions.”
“Something serious?” she asked.
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Does Jamieson know yet?”
“I’m waiting for him to get out of surgery.”
“Okay.” She sighed heavily. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”
As soon as Jamieson finished his surgery, he stepped out into the hallway.
“What’s going on with your patient?” he asked.
“Jamieson, it’s your father. He’s down in the ER.”
“For what?”
“Tracy called 911 and had him transported by ambulance. He’s been in bed the past couple of days with a migraine and vomiting. She also said he fell the other day and hasn’t been sleeping.”
He rubbed the back of his neck as he turned away from me.
“Did you order an MRI with contrast?” he asked.
“I did. He should be in there now.” I placed my hand on his back.
“Then let’s go.”
We walked to the MRI room, and Jamieson asked the radiologist to leave. We sat down and waited for the MRI to complete and the scans to produce on the monitors.
“Here they come,” Jamieson spoke.
He sat there in silence and began to rub his forehead.
“Is that—” I started to speak.
“It sure is. Damn it!”
“Jamieson, I’m sorry.”
“We better go tell him. I’m the last person he’ll want to hear this from.”