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There was a brief knock and the door opened. The stunning Dr. Henderson entered. He wasn’t dressed in his swim trunks this time, but that didn’t take away from his good looks. If anything, he looked better. The camera hadn’t captured how dark his eyes were. Concentrate. You don’t need him thinking you have high blood pressure from a racing heart.
He walked over to shake her hand. “Ms. Sparks, I’ve read your file. There’s a lot missing here, so maybe you can start by telling me what brings you in today.”
“I thought my primary doctor sent you the file.” She knew there wasn’t much to send, as she was the one who’d requested the referral. Since she was a private-pay patient, there was no preauthorization needed. Hence the missing labs.
Logan flipped through the file again. “I can reach out to him to see if something is missing. I actually prefer to run my own tests anyway. Although I’m not questioning him, I just know my equipment and staff. I hope you understand.” She nodded. “So tell me more about your injury.”
She’d practiced this so many times she should know it by heart. Yet now, in front of incredibly gorgeous him, she stammered as she tried to recall each detail. “I hit my head.”
“Where, with what, and when?”
Cori rubbed the crown of her head and pretended to wince as though it was sensitive to the touch. “I was in my basement. I’d recently put up new shelves, and when I stood, my head hit the support crossbeam.”
“When did this happen?”
She’d purposely left that part out. Cori didn’t want to sound too rehearsed like a robot. “Three weeks ago.”
Logan nodded and felt her head in the area she mentioned. Once again she pretended it was tender. “It still hurts to the touch?”
She was worried she was overdoing it. Back in school, her theater coach had often said she put too much drama in drama. Cori couldn’t afford to get an A for effort yet fail at this. Tone it down. “I guess I just anticipate the pain. It’s much better than before.”
“That’s a good sign. Yet you’re here, so I assume there’s something other than the pain concerning you.”
“I’ve had headaches since that hit. I know it might be nothing, but if it is I thought—”
“You’re never wrong for having a head injury checked out. I sometimes can’t help the people who wait. Where are you getting your headaches?”
Cori struggled with that question. Wasn’t a headache a headache? Given she wasn’t prone to suffer them often, she wasn’t sure what to answer that would be consistent with her other symptoms. Think, Cori. “Um, well... mostly at the back of my head?”
“Okay. Are they always in the same spot? Consistent times? If you take painkillers for them, do they make a difference?”
Oh God. Why hadn’t I thought about any of this? “Sometimes I’m so used to them that I don’t consider taking medication, to be honest. I figure everyone gets headaches every once in a while.”
He smiled. He had a really nice smile. “Headaches come in many shapes and sizes. They’re basically in one of two categories: primary or secondary headaches. My assumption is that yours are secondary, possibly injury related, which is not unusual. So, in the neck or head. The brain itself doesn’t have pain receptors, however, several areas of the head and neck do. I’d like to look into this a little more so we can find the root of the problem. That would mean tracking when they occur, where they occur, and for how long, and whether a general pain killer like acetaminophen improves your pain. Does that sound okay?”
“Yes, Dr. Henderson, that sounds great.”
Apart from that small oversight, Cori felt so far it was all going as planned. Now was the time to open up a bit about family and see if she could get him to talk even a bit.
“I haven’t told any of my family about this.”
“Why is that?” Logan asked, arching a brow.
“Do you have any siblings?” He responded with a nod only. “So you know how it is, right?”
“All families are different,” Logan said flatly.
Cori hoped he was more of a talker than that. “I’m sure you’re close to yours.”
He shined a light in both eyes before changing the subject. “Besides headaches, are there any other abnormal behaviors or issues that you’re experiencing?”
“Could it affect my hearing?”
“Has your hearing changed?” Logan asked.
Cori shrugged. “Not that I’ve noticed, but your nurse suggested it might have.” She felt bad throwing the nurse under the bus like that, but she wanted it to be an issue picked up by someone else. Who better than his own staff?
“I see that in the notes. My suggestion is to do a CT-scan of your brain. From there I’ll determine what other tests I might require.”
