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"And,"Dr. Gianluca says, smiling as he removes the stethoscope from my chest, "we're finished with my half of the examination."
I suck my thumb as I sit on the examination table. The past four hours were a gigantic blur. I can't believe I needed so many shots and immunizations, but apparently my mother didn't give me them as a kid.
I received my tetanus shot, my flu shot, and a vitamin B-12 supplement to help with my undernourishment. Apparently, Dr. Gianluca knew I was undernourished the minute I took my shirt off and ordered the nurses to pump me full of nutrients at once.
I'm grateful for his help. But now, I want to head back to Chelsea and snuggle with Daddy.
There's a pillow fort calling my name, and I can't wait to get out of this office to give Daddy a thank-you kiss.
"Thank you, Gianluca." Constantine shakes his brother's hand.
Gianluca pats my shoulder. "The laryngopharyngeal reflux specialist will be out in a moment. You can discuss your symptoms with her and she'll recommend various treatment options."
I blow out a breath. "Okay."
Dr. Gianluca exits the office. The specialist comes in a moment later.
"Hi." She smiles warmly as she shakes my hand. "My name is Dr. Trina. I'll take over for Dr. Gianluca."
Warmth builds in my body. "Hi."
"Sit." She gestures to the seat next to Constantine. "Tell me about your symptoms."
I blow out a breath. "It started when I was fifteen. My throat burned when I came home from school. I tried a million things, but none of them worked."
Dr. Trina nods. "Throat pain can be the start of acid reflux. Go on."
"I attempted vocal exercises and throat massages. They helped, but they didn't give me full relief. My throat still burned when I woke up in the morning and when I came home from school. It was especially bad after talking all day."
Dr. Trina jots this down on her notepad. "Do you experience a globus sensation in your throat?"
I bite my lower lip. "Globus sensation?"
I've never heard of this before.
Dr. Trina brings her fingers to her throat. "It's when you feel a ball in your throat that you can't swallow. It doesn't go away if you drink water."
My jaw tumbles to the ground. "Yes! This is exactly what I experience. Burning pain in my throat and a weird sensation that won't go away."
Dr. Trina smiles. "You've said a few things that point to LPR. Before I diagnose you, however, I must make an appointment with my office for a full endoscopy and pH monitoring. We'll place a catheter in your nose and monitor the level of acid in your throat for twenty-four hours."
I read about these examinations online. They're expensive.
I nibble my lip. "You're joking."
Dr. Trina massages my shoulder. "This is the gold standard for diagnosing laryngopharyngeal reflux. Once you do this, we'll produce a diet plan for you and give you options for further treatment."
I smile. "Okay. Thank you."
"Show me your medication." Dr. Trina smiles. "Dr. Gianluca informed me you take over-the-counter PPIs. I want to see what you take."
I pull the purple box of pills I brought this morning out of my backpack.
"I take these." I hand them to Dr. Trina. "I buy them at Convenient Pharmacy. They're one-quarter of the price of the brand-name omeprazole, but they're all I can afford."
Dr. Trina pulls the pills out of the box. She runs her finger over at the plastic and frowns. "Do you take these every morning?"
"Yes."
