LITMIR.BIZ

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“It wasn’t too bad until Grace and Gretch learned to walk. They were preemies and a bit delayed in reaching their milestones, so they didn’t figure it out until just a few days ago. Now it’s like they’re each on a different mission, heading off in opposite directions. Keeps us running.”

      “No doubt,” Hailey agreed, ignoring a twinge of envy. Alyssa’s husband, Jadon, was one of the ED doctors she enjoyed working with. They made a beautiful couple.

      Once she’d envisioned a similar future for herself. Husband. Babies. Happily ever after. But not anymore.

      Moments after Alyssa left, Leanne, the charge nurse, came over. “Hailey? I just put a new patient in room seven. Here’s the paperwork.” Leanne thrust a clipboard into her hand. Most of their nursing documentation was on computer, but the registration and consent for treatment forms were still on paper. “Fifty-five-year-old guy with abdominal pain.”

      “Thanks.” Hailey took the clipboard and glanced up in time to catch Dr. Carter staring at her. The moment their gazes collided, he seemed to go still, and then tore his gaze away.

      Had she imagined the flash of interest in his eyes? Most likely. Rachel had confided that she’d tried to ask Dr. Carter out several times, but he’d always politely declined.

      Not that Hailey was interested in dating him, the way Rachel had been. Still, it felt good to be noticed.

      “Good afternoon, Mr. McLeod,” Hailey said with a smile as she walked into her new patient’s room. His wife was there too, standing next to his bed. Hailey quickly introduced herself. “Tell me what brought you to the hospital today.”

      The middle-aged gentleman grimaced. “We went out for lunch with my daughter, she’s a sophomore at the university, and ever since we finished eating, my stomach has been hurting. The pain is cramping, and it seems to come and go. Do you think I have food poisoning?”

      “Possibly,” Hailey said, as she set the forms down and reached for a stethoscope. “But generally food poisoning sets in at least four hours after the meal. What did you have for lunch? “

      “A steak sandwich and French fries,” he admitted. His wife glowered at him and she suspected his wife had wanted her husband to pick a healthier choice.

      “Hmm.” She took his blood pressure, which was a bit elevated, either from the pain or because he had high blood pressure already. His pulse was tachycardic at 104 but his respirations seemed normal. “Put this under your tongue,” she directed, holding out a probe for an electronic thermometer. After a minute, the device beeped. “Your temperature is normal, ninety-nine.”

      “Maybe it’s just flu?” he said helpfully.

      “Do you feel like you’re going to throw up?” He shook his head no. “Have you been told you have high blood pressure?” she asked, logging on to the computer to review his medication history. “Are you taking blood-pressure medicine?”

      “No.” He grimaced again, and she glanced back at him in concern. Whatever was going on with him, she doubted it was food poisoning. His medical history wasn’t too significant for anything other than heart disease.

      “Okay, Mr. McLeod, I’m going to talk to the doctor about your case. I think we may need to do some blood work, just to make sure there’s nothing going on with your heart. And then you might also need some X-rays or CT scans to see what’s going on in your belly. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”

      “Can’t he have something for pain?” Mrs. McLeod asked, a worried frown in her brow.

      “I’ll check with the doctor. I don’t know if he’s going to want to wait until we know what’s going on with your husband first.” She pulled up a chair for the woman. “Please sit down so you’re comfortable while you’re waiting.”

      “Okay.”

      Hailey made a few notes on the computer and then left the room to find Dr. Carter. Mr. McLeod didn’t appear too sick, but her intuition was screaming at her that something more serious was going on with his abdominal pain.

      The sooner they could get tests ordered, the better she’d feel.

      Simon glanced up to find Hailey striding purposefully toward him. Keeping his expression friendly but distant took more of an effort than it should have. “Dr. Carter? I need you to take a look at Mr. McLeod in room two. I’m concerned about his abdominal pain.”

      He frowned. “Appendicitis?”

      “Maybe, but he said he doesn’t feel sick to his stomach and he’s not running a fever. He does have a cardiac history, and ate a steak sandwich and fries for lunch.” Hailey’s expression was troubled. “His blood pressure is up a bit. One-seventy over ninety-two.”

      “So we’ll do a full work-up, then,” Simon decided. “Draw a cardiac panel, basic chemistry panel and blood count. If he has an infection, his white blood cell count will be elevated.” He could feel Hailey’s piercing blue eyes on his back as he headed for their patient’s room.

      He introduced himself to the couple. “We’re going to do several types of blood test, to see if we can narrow down what’s going on with your abdomen. Once Hailey gets your blood sent to the lab, I’m going to order a CT scan.”

      Hailey came into the room holding a fistful of empty blood tubes. “Should I put him on the cardiac monitor too?” she asked.

      “Cardiac monitor? It’s his stomach that hurts, not his chest,” Mrs. McLeod protested.

      “Yes, put him on the cardiac monitor,” Simon agreed. He turned toward the patient’s wife. “Sometimes chest pain can radiate to other parts of the body. We don’t want to miss anything, so we’re going to do a full work-up.”

      “All right,” the wife agreed.

      “I’ll be fine, Myra,” Mr. McLeod said, patting his wife’s hand. “I’ll be out of here in a jiffy. I’m sure this is nothing more than food poisoning.”

      Simon suspected the gentleman was downplaying his symptoms for his wife’s sake. He took out his stethoscope to listen to his patient’s heart and lungs. Hailey came in close beside him, reaching around him in order to put the electrodes on Mr. McLeod’s chest and then reaching up to turn on the monitor. He’d picked the wrong side of the bed, since the monitor cables were on the same side he was standing. Hailey’s scent, something fresh, like the scent of the ocean, teased his senses. He eased away, as far as his stethoscope would allow.

      When Hailey finished getting Mr. McLeod connected to the monitor, she went around to the other side of the bed, where the supply cart was located. Simon relaxed and finished his exam, verifying normal heart and lung sounds.

      He moved his stethoscope to his patient’s abdomen, expecting hyperactive bowel sounds. Instead, the normal gurgling sounds were diminished.

      “Tiny poke here,” Hailey warned. She deftly slid a needle into his vein, filling up her numerous blood tubes.

      “I’m going to call Radiology to schedule you for a CT scan,” Simon told him. “You’re heart looks okay so far, but I think you may have something going on with your abdomen. A CT scan is the best thing to show us what’s going on.”

      “Do you really think that’s necessary?” Mr. McLeod asked skeptically. “I’m sure I’ll be fine in a while.”

      Simon frowned. “Yes, I do think this test is necessary,” he said firmly. Hailey lifted a brow but didn’t say anything as she slipped out of the room, no doubt to send their patient’s blood to the lab. He sharpened his gaze on his patient. “You may have appendicitis or something worse, like a pocket of infection or an aortic aneurysm.”

      “Hank, please.” Mrs. McLeod was practically wringing her hands at the list of potential problems. “Don’t argue with the doctor. Have the CT scan, please.”

      “All right, I’ll have the scan.” A mutinous

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