Chapter 6 #2
“No.” Now Esme’s voice was firm, and she reached over to tug the endlessly shifting butter knife out of Anna’s hands and set it aside so she could take them in hers again. “You’re an excellent therapist, and a lovely soul, and also, I think…” She bit her lip. “Anna, it’s… been a while, hasn’t it?”
“What do you… oh!” Anna went feverishly hot and yanked her hands away as she realized what Esme was getting at. “I mean! Yes! But also, come on! It’s not really about sex.”
“Did I say it was?” An eyeroll, and a tsk.
“No. I mean, in general, it’s been a while since there’s been anyone, any sort of companionship.
Could this be a simple case of someone who has everything you like in a woman landing on your doorstep in a crumpled little package, at a time when maybe you’re feeling a little lonely? ”
That made a certain amount of sense. She hadn’t thought about it before.
“You’re such a workaholic, really.” Esme chuckled and sipped at her milkshake.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw you in here.
I think it’s been years since you’ve even been on a date.
” Pushing the milkshake aside, she propped her chin in one hand.
“Maybe you need to find a nice girl to go out with. Or, no, I suppose it’ll have to be a mean girl… ”
“I hate you so much.” Laughing, Anna crumpled up her paper napkin and hurled it across the table.
Esme dodged. “Oh, you don’t and you know it. But do you feel better?”
Surprisingly, she did. And then she remembered what she was going to have to do tomorrow and she deflated again. “I still have to go in tomorrow and report on her mental state. Which is not great.”
“Well, that’ll be a separate issue. And maybe a good reminder of why you need to set aside your cute little impending ethical problem and just concentrate on the part where you fix her.” Esme raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”
“Hm.” Anna sat with it. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
“I can see about setting you up with a mean girl…”
“Okay, get out of my booth, that’s enough, you’re a menace.” But Anna was laughing again. It didn’t make her feel any better about tomorrow, but it was what she needed tonight, and that was good enough for now.
But the next morning, waiting outside of the conference room she had been summoned to was nervewracking.
Anna felt very much as if she were being called onto the carpet for being late to school, or having been caught smoking in the bathroom.
Not at all as though she were about to give a professional status report on a physician’s state of mind.
Her fingers plucked nervously at the file folder in her hand.
Per their request, she had done a brief write-up of the situation, and with her conclusions thus far.
She didn’t really feel comfortable with any of this, if she was being perfectly honest with herself.
It felt too soon to be giving a status update.
They’d had three meetings and she’d observed Victoria in action.
Admittedly, of the three meetings, only one had actually used up the entire allotted hour.
And during her latest observation of Victoria at work, the woman had experienced a small setback…
and then Anna had lobbed a grenade into whatever mess she had going on and it had gone off spectacularly.
But for all that had happened, so much still needed to be done. She needed to formulate a treatment plan. To get to the bottom of Victoria’s real issue. Giving a status update at this stage, she felt a bit pushed.
The door opened, and Elaine Martin stuck her head out. “Won’t you come in, Dr. Monroe?”
Getting to her feet, Anna brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and put a bright smile on her face. “Of course.”
Slowly, she followed Elaine into the conference room and took a seat in front of the table where three—four, once Elaine had taken her own chair again—people were watching her. Anna picked at her cuticles.
“I’d like to thank everyone for having the time to meet today,” Elaine began.
“This is an informal status meeting regarding Dr. Victoria Ellis, cardiothoracic surgeon.” She gestured to Anna.
“Dr. Anna Monroe is from our Staff Wellness team here at Oakridge Hospital, and she’s been evaluating Dr. Ellis.
” Elaine announced to the other persons at the table.
“Dr. Monroe, you and I are acquainted of course, and you’ve met Dr. Steve Sundstrom, Chief of Surgery.
I’d like you to also meet Marcus Kinkade, Director of Surgical Services, and Heather Sanders, head of Human Resources. ”
She wasn’t familiar with either of them.
Marcus Kinkade looked pinched, with a forehead that was a lot more smooth than his neck and thick salt-and-pepper hair and eyebrows.
Heather Sanders was far younger, but equally as unamused as Marcus Kinkade, the mauve suit she wore too severe for her age, her mousy stick-straight brown hair tucked behind her ears.
Anna bit her lip, then took a deep breath and kept smiling. “Terrific. Pleasure to meet you.”
Elaine pushed forward a small device. “We’re going to be recording this meeting, so please be aware that anything you say is officially on the record.”
Now, that really made her nervous. “Dr. Martin, I’m not sure… I really have only had a few days of contact with Dr. Ellis. My work with her is in the very earliest stages.”
Steve Sundstrom chimed in. “We agree, it’s very early.
But we just need an idea of what you’ve observed, Dr. Monroe,” he explained.
“It’s not a commitment; we’re not asking you to tell us that you know what’s wrong and how to fix it.
We just need some idea of what might be happening, and your initial impressions.
We won’t be making any final decisions based on the information you provide today. ”
That made Anna feel somewhat better. “I see.”
“So.” Elaine opened a small folio that lay before her and folded her hands together.
“I’ll begin. This is a status update on the psychological evaluation of Dr. Victoria Ellis, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon here at Oakridge Hospital.
Approximately two weeks ago, Dr. Ellis experienced a catastrophic event while concluding a coronary artery bypass graft.
The patient, Daniel Jennings, experienced a known possible complication of this procedure, a blood clot traveling to the heart, that resulted in their death.
” She was reading from a report in the folio, her voice calm and impartial.
“In the course of informing the decedent’s family of the passing, she was verbally accosted by said family in the surgical waiting room.
Following this encounter, Dr. Ellis was found in a stairwell by another member of staff, seemingly experiencing a state of extreme emotional distress. ”
Anna held her breath. Reading about that Monday had been unpleasant enough.
Hearing it read aloud had a greater impact altogether.
And she’d simply dismissed it as Victoria having a very bad Monday indeed.
She closed her eyes in shame as Elaine read on.
“Later that same day, Dr. Ellis was due to perform another surgical procedure, a routine stent insertion. While the patient was on the table, she began insisting that they be removed and returned for another CT scan to verify there were no possible blood clots. When informed that this was unnecessary and urged to continue on with the procedure, Dr. Ellis dropped the scalpel she held, then ran out of the room, apparently feeling unable to proceed without the perceived security of another CT scan. She departed hospital grounds, and was not seen for a full day.”
Another page flip. “Dr. Ellis has been directed to undergo psychological evaluation and treatment from the Oakridge Hospital Staff Wellness Center, under the care of Dr. Anna Monroe, PsyD. She has reluctantly submitted to several appointments, and has been observed in the course of her surgical duties by Dr. Monroe. Two days ago, while performing her first coronary artery bypass graft since the patient loss, Dr. Ellis was observed by myself, Chief of Surgery Sundstrom, and Dr. Monroe. At the end of the procedure, Dr. Ellis appeared to suffer a brief “freeze” moment. She did recover, and completed the procedure successfully. However following patient closure, Dr. Ellis was observed confronting Dr. Monroe in a corridor outside of the operating theater—”
Anna’s eyes opened wide in shock. She hadn’t seen anyone around them, hadn’t realized they’d possibly been overheard.
“Following which, Dr. Ellis once again disappeared from the hospital and has not answered phone outreach attempts since then. Her vehicle remains in the hospital parking garage.”
Further shock rocketed through Anna. Unreachable for nearly two days? “Has anyone gone to her residence?”
Elaine nodded. “Dr. Ashley Proctor did visit, Dr. Ellis answered the door in a relatively calm state yesterday, so we know she is alive and in town. She has requested a few days of leave, which we have granted. Now, Dr. Monroe…” Her gaze was expectant.
“Can you enlighten us as to the complete contents of your conversation in the corridor two days ago?”
Anna took a long, deep breath and squared her shoulders back.
She had to swallow before she could speak.
“As you know, Dr. Martin, part of my work with Dr. Ellis has included researching some of her past surgeries. This is because during one of our sessions while describing the CABG procedure that went wrong, she used another patient’s name.
Unconsciously. This and other factors indicated to me that it wasn’t the recent surgery gone wrong that was the root of her issues, but something further in the past. I took the name and consulted Dr. Martin to see if it matched a past surgery. ”