I rush over to bed 4, where my first patient is waiting for me. The man on the bed looks to be around 65 years old, and he smiles as I approach his bed.
"Hello sir, my name is Dr. Grey, and I'll be treating you today," I say and look for his chart before realizing that I am the first doctor to treat him. "What's your name?"
"Hi Dr. Grey, I'm Bill Kramer," the man replies. His tone is very warm and friendly, and I assume he is the grandfather of the girl who had been involved in the car crash.
"So, Bill, I heard that you were the one driving when the car crashed. Do you remember what happened that could have caused the crash?" I ask.
"Well, lately I've been feeling dizzy and have had some balance problems. I've also been having trouble hearing from one ear. While I was driving, I sort of blacked out and next thing I knew, I woke up to paramedics at the crash," Bill replies.
I think for a moment of the many possible illnesses or diseases Bill could have. Because he is older, it is hard to tell whether the deafness in one ear is related to the other symptoms or not.
"Okay Bill, I'm going to take you down to get an MRI so that I can get a better of idea of what could be going on," I say and look at Bill, but he is looking past me toward the waiting room. "Is everything alright?" I ask and look toward that direction, where Mark is standing with Bill's granddaughter near a woman who is laying on a bed. At first I think she is just unconscious, but when I look closer at the monitor and the paddles near Mark, I realize that she is dead.
Bill sits in silence for a few moments, before saying, "that was my Eleanor. We've been married for 36 years, we have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. We have -" he stops for a moment as a tear rolls down his cheek, "had a wonderful life together."
"I'm so sorry, Bill," I say and hold onto his hand. I can't even imagine how difficult this is for him. "I can take you to see her later, but we have to get you to am MRI right now. It's what she would have wanted."
Bill nods and lays back in bed. He closes his eyes as I roll his bed toward the elevator to get an MRI. On my way to the elevator, I am stopped by Derek.
"How's it going Lexie?" Derek asks.
"This is Bill, I'm taking him to get an MRI right now to see what caused the crash. He blacked out when the crash happened," I say, relaying the events from earlier.
"Do you have any ideas as to what could be wrong?" Derek asks in a hushed voice so that Bill doesn't hear.
I nod in response. "I hope I'm wrong, but I was thinking it was possible that he has an acoustic neuroma. It could also be a lot of other things, for all we know he might just have diabetes, but I have this hunch... anyway, the MRI can tell better than I can." Acoustic neuromas are a type of brain tumor also known as vestibular schwannomas, which are benign brain tumors which can be fatal if left untreated.
"I agree, good work, Dr. Grey," Derek says and returns to his patient.
"Alright, Bill, let's get you upstairs," I say and continue moving toward the elevator.
Sorry this chapter was a little boring, hopefully things will start happening soon :) Thank you all for your continued support of this story, it's because of you that I feel motivation to write, and it's thanks to all of you that I get to share what I love!
