Life and Death-1

Old Dogs Learning New Tricks

Enjoy this update. Thank you again for the constant support.

We've had a crazy couple of cases. We had a family come in who was making meth in their apartment and it exploded. Their baby suffered a stroke from ingesting the meth that seeped into the walls and carpets of their home. Alex got hit by the father and Meredith had to give him a few stitches but other than that it's back to all is good as a resident in charge of interns I have no idea how to run. "Oh, Joanne, this is why you and I need to get sick, these doctors. One's more handsome than the next."

"Oh, and here comes the most handsome one of them all. Hi Dr. Webber."

"Connie." The Chief greets the patient.

"He took my appendix out three years ago. Barely left a scar. How's Adele?" Connie asks The Chief.

"Uh, oh, she's good, good. Uh, marriage is hard. Uh, but we're dating again. Uh, and she agreed to date me tonight." My eyes widen as he says this. "But um...more importantly, how...how are you doing?"

"Oh, I just had a little bump on my tongue removed is all. A couple of taste buds. Turns out it was a little touch of cancer. So I'm here to have the ret out. I mean, you know the cancer, not the taste buds." Connie explains to us. Her friends laugh with her. "I don't know exactly how bad it is because Dr. Sloan over there has been awfully quiet."

"Cause you don't let him get a word in edgewise is why."

"Uh, how is she, Dr. Sloan?" The Chief asks.

"Well, we just got back the pathology report. Connie unfortunately, the cancer is a bit more widespread than we'd hoped. It's over 60% of your tongue."

"Well, what...what does she do, chemo?" One of Connie's friends asked.

"I think the, uh, best bet is a microvascular free flap. Dr. Benoist."

"He'll remove the cancerous part of the tongue, and then reconstruct it with a strip of flesh from your legs. Dr. Grey." Everyone looks to Lexie now.

"Uh, the extra flesh will provide the bulk your tongue needs to breathe properly, chew and swallow." Lexie finishes explaining to Connie.

"And talk? Connie asks. Lexie looks to Mark for help.

"Dr. Sloan. I'll be able to talk won't I?" Connie asks with desperation in her voice.

"You will be able to talk, Connie, I just don't know how well you'll be understood." Mark exclaims to Connie but this is not the answer she was looking for.

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Mark, The Chief, and I huddle around the nurse's station trying to understand what we're going to do for Connie. "Functional muscle transfer."

"What?"

"For Connie Williams. I was reading up on glossectomies and saw the procedure. We could micro-surgically reinnervate her hypoglossal nerve." The Chief is trying to persuade Mark who seems almost onboard with.

"A nerve graft? It's too risky. A free flap's still your best bet."

"Oh, even if that goes well, you and I both know she'll never speak the same. That woman loves to talk more than anyone I know."

"What's a functional muscle transfer?" Lexie speaks up since she's my intern for the day.

"You won't find it in the books, Grey. It's cutting edge." The Chief hands us both the research he found. "You connect the nerves from the leg with the nerves from the tongue. Gives her a shot at really speaking."