Page 20 of He Saved My Boy
Please call me when you get this.
D
I read it twice before adding my number to the end.
Then I quickly tell the woman Teagan’s room number, and she assures me she’ll deliver it before I rush out the door to my patient.
* * *
I’d liketo say my mind is on my patient as I rush to the hospital. I’d like to say I can walk away from my night with Teagan without a second thought, like I have with several others throughout the past ten years. I’d like to say her leaving doesn’t sting and wound my obviously inflated ego, if I thought last night was special for her as well.
I’d like to say those things—but that’d be a complete lie.
No, my memory goes into overdrive and recalls every minute detail of my night with Teagan. Every facial expression, every gasp, every moan. Nothing makes sense for why she’d suddenly disappear. We’d even made loose plans to spend another day together, since I didn’t have to leave until tomorrow afternoon. Where the hell could she have gone?
Usually, driving clears my mind. But the entire route to Austin, my mind is on her. When I realize I’ve made the entire forty-minute drive without any recollection of how I got here, I chastise myself for being such a distracted driver. Parking my SUV in the physicians’ lot, I quickly make my way to my locker.
The moment I walk through those doors, I force myself to compartmentalize.
It’s what I do best. I have a four-year-old who needs my attention, and a team of people are counting on me. In a matter of weeks, I’ll officially make the shift from resident to attending, and I feel with every fiber of my being, I’m ready to take on that challenge.
As soon as I change into scrubs to look less like I’ve just been on vacation, I meet Hannah at the nurses’ station near the patient’s room.
“Hi, Dr. Fallon. Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your visit to Deacon.”
She’s the one who told me about the B&B and despite how things ended, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. “It was a much-needed break. Thanks for suggesting it.”
“It’s not much, but I enjoyed my trip there.”
Not wanting my brain to linger on my activities in Deacon, I quickly prompt, “Bring me up to speed with this patient. While we walk to his room, is there anything out of the ordinary I need to know?”
As we turn to walk down the hall, Hannah prattles out the details. “Connor Frost, age four. Just had a birthday two weeks ago. He was visiting his grandparents for the week, and they took him to the park. There he played on the monkey bars and fell, resulting in a fractured olecranon. The fracture itself appears clean, but it could be problematic as it’s near the growth plate. Based on the images, it will likely require surgery.”
Knowing I can’t go any further with a course of treatment without parental consent, I ask, “Have the parents been notified?”
“Yes. I believe they arrived about thirty minutes before you. They’re all waiting for you.”
Stopping at the door, I look to Hannah. “Thank you. Let’s go meet Connor and see if we can put his family at ease.”
From my experience with kids, they seem to trust you better if you confront them first. After knocking on the door to announce my arrival and giving ample time for a response, I swing the door open.
Immediately, my eyes go to the little boy lying in the large hospital bed. “Hi, Connor, I’m Dr. Fallon. I’ve heard you had an incident with the monkey bars. Let’s see if we can get you fixed up.”
Immediately, I notice his grandparents sitting in two chars off to the side, while his mother sits on the bed facing the boy, her back to me. The moment she turns her head, the wind is knocked out of me.
Holy shit. This can’t be happening.
The same beautiful blue eyes I’d spent lost in last night stare back at me in shock.
Thankfully, I get a moment to recover because Hannah quickly takes this time to introduce herself. “I’m Dr. Brighton. I’ll be assisting Dr. Fallon. Would you mind letting us help fix your arm?”
Connor has the same expression as his mother. Shock and wariness loom over him as he squeezes his mom’s hand. I can’t imagine what’s going through his head or how much pain he’s been in, but I’ve been in this situation before, and I know in just a matter of days, he’ll be acting like this never happened—despite the large cast he’ll be toting.
Unlike some doctors, I find shooting straight with a touch of humor gets me a lot further than talking down to small children. Especially to break the ice. “I know you’ve seen a lot of doctors and nurses today and are probably pretty scared.”
Connor’s eyes widen as he silently nods once.
“It’s okay to be scared. This is all new. But can I let you in on a little secret?” I ask conspiratorially as if no one can hear.
