Just One Night (ONC 2023)

Chapter Thirteen

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Harper and I had become quick friends, once I got used to the bubbliness. Added that we were the only two women in our residency we tended to lean on each other. Don't get me wrong, we were friendly with the other residents. Harper and I just got along quicker. I think Harper and Becky would make great friends, Becky had been throwing around the idea of visiting and I think a girl's night would be a great idea.

The ideas forming in my head for a girl's night are pushed to the back of my mind as I round the corner to an open room door. Today has been pretty slow in the ER, surprisingly. So the little man that sits on the bed has been given special treatment, his own room.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Margret Davis." I looked from the boy on the bed to the woman who had stood to be next to him. She was either his mom or a young grandmother, with slight wrinkles crinkling the sides of her eyes and mouth. Her eyes are pretty blue, that's reflected in the boy's, along with the slight tan in their skin. They spent time out in the sun, not hard to do in New Mexico. I look back to the boy in the bed. His face looks a little green as he holds his arms to his chest, one leg propped up onto a pillow. "But Doctor Maggie works. Can you tell me why you're here today?"

"Travis was outside playing with friends. Skateboarding." The woman starts, saying the last word with distaste and a soured look on her face. "They had set up a ramp with some plywood."

I managed to bite back my laugh, but not the smile. The kid had only just turned 10 and was already in the ER with an injury due to recklessness. I move to the other side of Travis, putting my tablet on the little table near his bed. "So I take it there's a possible broken bone, some scrapes, and bruises?"

Travis's face pales, from closer up I can see his jaw is clenched tight. Poor kid must be in pain. I grab a pair of gloves from the stack of boxes near the bed, as I put them on. "I see your leg is propped up, but is there anything else? Arms hurt? Chest? Head?"

He untangles his arms from his chest and holds them up. I gently grab one of his hands to examine one of his forearms, then the other. "Road rash, nothing too deep. We can have these cleaned up and bandaged."

"It was just his arms and leg." The woman mentions, she then looks down at Travis. "I kept trying to get him to use elbow and knee pads, but he kept arguing, saying they look stupid."

"None of the guys I watch wear them." It's grumbled from Travis.

"If it's skateboarders on TV or online, most of them have been skating for as long as you've been alive." I point out and he frowns. I point down to his baggy sweatpants and move down to his leg. "Knee pads won't stop your leg from breaking, but they will help with bad scrapes. You could always wear the knee pads under your sweatpants."

That makes him look up at me and meet my eyes finally. The woman huffs out a breath and takes a seat, in a chair she pulls closer to the side of the bed. There's still a disappointed look on her face, and I begin to think that's just how she looks. I don't mean to be rude, some people just always look disappointed. I pull my attention away from her, to Travis's leg. "I'm going to roll your pant leg up and look at it, okay?"

When I get a nod from him, I put a hand under his ankle, lifting. He lets out a gasp filled with pain, and I try to quickly pull his pant leg up trying to avoid touching his leg as much as possible. When the pant leg is up to his knee, Travis is gripping the bed railings, and I'm sure his molars are cracked with how hard he's grinding his teeth. Setting his leg back onto the pillow, I don't even need to touch his leg to know it's at least fractured. A nurse could look at it and tell it's broken.

"I'm going to have an IV and pain meds brought in for you, then to x-ray to see how bad your leg is."

"None of that strong shit." The woman said. She places a hand on his that's still white knuckling the railing of the bed. "Family history of addicts."

Grabbing my tablet again I look over the boy again, shaggy brown hair, slightly tan skin with vivid blue eyes. And so much pain on his face and tensed up body. "I'll start him off with extra strength over the counter, to take the edge off the pain. I can't promise that won't change in the future, but we will ask you beforehand."

Her head shakes. "Only if there's surgery."

"I'll make a note of that." I hated that, but I also understood it. Pain pills are a slippery slope and so many get addicted to them.

"I'm going to have to call your dad now." The woman says to Travis.

He lets out a groan. "Mimiiii."

As I leave there's a small smile on my lips. So the woman was his grandma, and in that moment I was a little jealous. He had a grandma with a few noticeable tattoos, auburn hair with blond streaks, and wore tight black jeans. She was probably a cool grandma.

I make my notes in his chart then move to the nurse's station and have them start on his IV and pain meds right away. I didn't want the kid to sit there in that amount of pain for any longer than he had to. Bringing up the next room's information on my tablet I read it over quickly before actually going into the room.

Twenty minutes later I'm leaving the room, pulling off gloves and tossing them into a waist basket. I spot Travis grandma standing just outside of his room. Her eyes meet mine and I make my way over to her.

"He's getting his x-ray." She informs me, her arms are wrapped around herself much like Travis had been. Nervous maybe?

"I'll go check in on him then." I tried to give her a reassuring smile, and she nodded eyes going down the hall towards the x-ray room.

When I go to step away she says, "Nancy."

"Nancy?" I ask her and she nods again, looking at me this time.

"I never mentioned my name, I'm Nancy, Travis's grandma."

"Well Nancy, I'll go check on him, and walk him back to the room." At my promise, her shoulders drop a little. Sometimes family members just need a promise of you being there to help their nerves. It's become one of my favorite parts of the job so far, being there for not just the patient but their family members and trying to make their hospital visit less stressful. It's probably not the most 'doctor-like' thing to do, fuck that. I wanted my patients to be comfortable around me, even if I never see them again. I don't want them to have any lasting hospital trauma because I was an aloof asshole. That's not the doctor I'll be.