Cherished by You

CHAPTER 4-

MIKA
Thursday

"Good job Nealah."

I smiled high-fiving my four-year-old patient.

"Okay sweet girl, now we're going to measure your height and weight," I said and I walked with her and her mom to the scale and height chart on the wall.

The nurse wrote her height and weight down, then we headed into the room.

I looked over her records and checked to see what we would be doing today. Nealah was a regular patient of mine and her medical charts looked about the same. She had just come in to get a shot today.

"Mom, how has she been feeling?" I asked smiling as I played with Nealah.

She was a four-year-old African American girl with light brown skin and her hair in two small puffs. She had a pair of hot pink Barbie glasses. Her mom had her pink winter coat and backpack wrapped in her hands as Nealah played with a toy I had just given her. She was the cutest.

"She's been good Dr. Rose. She got better once she took that medication you prescribed," her mom Nadia said looking at a happy Nealah.

"Her teacher said she been doing good in school now too since you recommended that she might need glasses."

I smiled happily to hear the news.

"I'm happy to hear that," I said listening to everything her mom had to say.

The nurse then brought in the syringe and the medication. Nealah's mom told me more about how good Nealah was doing as I received the items and prepped them getting ready for the shot. She was proud of her daughter just like any mom would be.

Nealah's mom was coming from Harlem to come to see me this morning. She had come during lunch at work to take Nealah to get her shot since we were mostly here Monday through Friday 7 am - 5 pm for pediatrics. Nealah's mom worked at the UPS downtown.

I washed my hands in the sink with soap and water. Nealah was playing with one of the toys she had gotten from the nurse and I quickly moved in to give her her injection without her noticing, then just like that we were done.

"Good girl. All done." I smiled after placing a small Hello Kitty bandaid over the injection site.

She smiled back at me then placed her hand over the bandaid realizing what had just happened. I gave Nealah a high five then got up and grabbed a lollipop for her from the cabinet just above my head. Since she was a regular patient of mine I knew what flavor she liked.

"Still like strawberry Nealah?" I asked her smiling toward her.

"Yes please Dr. Rose," she said sweetly stretching her hand out to receive the lollipop I was giving her.

"So it's going to be a little sore for the next day or so, but that's about it," I said to her mom. "Any questions, concerns, or comments?"

Nealah's mom looked at her daughter then at me.

"No, I think we're good. Thank you, Dr. Rose."

We then all got up and I walked Nealah and her mom out to the waiting room where they had entered after she put on her pink little coat. She was so cute.

"Thank you Dr. Rose!" she said walking through the front door of the office.

"You're very welcome Nealah!" I joyfully said, then walked back into the room to pack up for the day.

It was 5 pm and I was clocking out to head out of the hospital for the day. I was tired from staying up last night researching some information for a presentation I had to do next Friday at the medical school. It was over a pediatric disease called Damon Disease or HCM, which was a cardiac muscle disorder.