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Another set of cheers sounds through the room, and everyone only gives me half of their attention. I grab the remote and turn off the television. They all grumble and stare at me.
“I’m sorry, but if you want to watch the game, you’ll have to go into the waiting room,” I say to what appears to be their two younger sons and daughter.
“Sorry, we’re all just diehard New York fans. Excuse us for being so rude,” the husband says, sounding genuine.
“I know it’s a big game, so after I leave, feel free to turn it back on.” I turn to the wife in the hospital bed. “Mrs. Jennings, you came in struggling to breathe, and I read in your chart that you’ve had a bad cough?”
The husband nods. “She’s had this cold for a few weeks, and today she didn’t seem like herself. We thought we’d come here for some antibiotics, but when they took her oxygen, they said it was low and brought her back here.”
“I’m feeling better,” she says, giving me a thumbs-up, but the woman has oxygen tubes in her nose.
I slide through a small opening and scan my ID to enter the computer. “Let’s see if any labs have come in. You had a chest x-ray, right?”
It feels great to be interacting with a patient again, treating them.
I see that she has pneumonia, but they’re going to have her do a CT scan due to her low oxygen level. I swivel in my chair. “Well, you have pneumonia, so we’ll prescribe some antibiotics for that. But we’re going to send you for a CT of your lungs just to make sure we’re not looking at anything more serious. It’s a precaution only, but we want to be sure. Just stay put for now, and hopefully we can get you out of here soon.” I pat her shoulder.
“Thanks, Doctor,” she says.
“You’re welcome, Mrs. Jennings.” I grab the remote and turn on the television. “Now, enjoy, but just keep it down a little.”
They all cheer, and I shut the door to the room when I leave.
Before I make it over to the desk, I hear my name behind me. “Dr. Wallace, right?” Mr. Jennings says in a thick New York accent I’m still getting used to. I nod. “I don’t want it to seem as if we don’t care. That woman in that bed is my life, she’s the beating heart at the center of our lives and our family is nothing without her. Should we get out of there so you can treat her?”
I smile softly. “It’s quite okay, Mr. Jennings. I think she’s just let this cold go on so long that it’s now turned into pneumonia. I’ll keep you informed.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now go in there before you miss part of the game.” He takes a step away, but then turns back around. “You’re her, right?”
I frown. “I’m sorry?”
“My kids say you’re Cooper Rice’s girlfriend… or were?” This is the first time anyone has said something to me about Cooper since I arrived.
“I was, yes.”
He takes my hand and squeezes it, startling me. “Hard to date someone like that, but I imagine it’s hard to date someone who saves people’s lives, too.” He chuckles. “He’s having the game of his life, you know.”
“I saw that from my brief look at the screen.”
He studies me for a beat. “Well, I do hope you find the kinda love like me and the Mrs. have, because to live without love, well, that’s a wasted life. Everyone needs someone to come home to, someone who’s in the trenches with you, someone who finds your kid just as entertaining as you. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do. Sorry.” He waves his hand in front of himself.
“It’s okay. Thank you for sharing.”
“Maybe I’m just an old fool who wants everyone to be as happy as me.” He winks and walks back to the room, and I watch him go.
One of his sons comes out just as he steps inside. “Bathroom?” he asks me.
I point to where he can go.
“Sorry if my dad talked your ear off. He’s a sharer.” He laughs and heads in the direction I pointed.
Pushing away what Mr. Jennings said, I input the orders, informing Amber that we’ll get a CT scan done just to make sure there’s nothing else going on, but the chest x-ray clearly showed signs of pneumonia. I ask her to come and get me when the results of the CT scan arrive, then go to my office.
In the quiet of my office, I pull up the game on my phone just to check the score, or so I tell myself. Chicago is winning, and just as I pull it up, Cooper jogs onto the field. It’s early in the game, only the second quarter, so there’s a lot of game left.
Someone knocks on my door, and my mind moves faster than my hands, causing me to fumble the phone while trying to turn it off. I look up once I stuff it in my pocket.
