Notorious D.O.C. (Hope Sze medical mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

times, I just didn't know what to do. My instinct was to
flee. I steeled myself against it.
    Reena's crying softened. I hovered in the
doorway. Maybe I could just wait her out. If, for some reason, I'd upset her,
she could get over it and we could talk.
    Still, I was relieved when Nancy's flats
tapped into the room. "Is there a problem?"
    "Her!" Reena said, pointing at
me. Her red-rimmed, accusing eyes stabbed me from behind her curtain of hair.
    "She hasn't even had a chance to
talk to you yet, Reena. Would you rather come to the interview room?   We've finished working in there and you're
welcome to come in." Nancy offered her a tissue.
    Reena blew her nose loudly. "I
can't. Not with her ."
    "She's the resident on today, Reena,
and you've already talked with me—"
    "So why does she have to go through
it again?" demanded Jodi.
    "This is a teaching hospital. You
know how it works, don't you, Reena?" Nancy's body language, her comments,
were all directed at Reena. I realized part of my mistake was probably that I
was trying to talk to both of them instead of concentrating on the patient.
"We have medical students, residents, and staff physicians at St.
Joseph's. It's part of the process."
    "Yeah, but why her ?" Reena's voice had turned more nasal, more whiny. My
shoulders relaxed. I could handle brattiness, not hatred. Thank goodness for
Nancy.
    Jodi said, "Aren't we allowed to
refuse?"
    I gulped. Nancy said, "Yes, that's
true, but we like there to be a reason. Do you have a reason?"
    Silence. Jodi looked hard at Reena, who
said finally, "I just can't."
    Nancy glanced at me. "I'm sorry, Dr.
Sze. Would you mind—?"
    "No, no, that's all right." I
handed her back the chart. Oops. I still had Mrs. Lee's envelope underneath. I
tried to grab it back and flip it over, but it skittered off my fingers and
landed on the floor, face up, with a bang.
    I snatched it back, covering it with my
body. "Excuse me."
    Reena was already screaming, her hands
welded into fists, her mouth one giant O, her body arched in misery, while Jodi
yelled at me, "Get out, get out, get out!"

 
 
 
    Chapter
5

 
    My hands were still shaking ten minutes
later.
    I paced the resident's room. It was smaller
than Room 14. It was also dominated by a bed. But the door locked and I could
be alone. So no one could see me gasping. The whites of my eyes. My heart
throbbing in my throat, choking off my words.
    Breathe.
    I checked my watch. Twelve minutes. Long
enough for them to subdue Reena. I should be back there. I should be running
it.
    Instead, I was alone with my panic
attack.
    "CODE WHITE. EMERGENCY ROOM. CODE BLANCHE, SALLE D'URGENCE ."
    The words had echoed through the room.
Men in white uniforms had descended. For one wild moment, I'd thought they were
coming for me.
    "Two of Ativan? She's allergic to
Haldol," Nancy had said.
    I'd nodded yes and bolted.
    Some doctor I was, yelling at Tucker,
telling him to respect me and my decision to return to work.
    I couldn't even do psych.
    Hell, I was too busy being psych.
    Something about the room, the screaming,
the loathing emanating from the two
women threw me off.
    Breathe.
    I pressed my back against the white
concrete wall and forced myself to take my own pulse, pressing my fingers
against my carotid while I stared at my watch.
    One hundred and twenty-four beats per
minute.
    Normal is usually between sixty and one
hundred.
    Breathe.
    Well, at least pressing on my neck and
providing some vagal stimulation might slow me down.
    Lame medical humour.
    Breathe.
    I took my pulse again. One hundred and
twenty-six.
    Come on, Hope.
    I glanced at my watch. Sixteen minutes
away. Long enough for them to start asking, "What happened to the
resident?" Nancy would have given medication already.
    Even though the emerg doctor was always
in-house, and the psychiatrist was presumably on the way, I had to get back
there.
    On top of everything else, I felt
terrible about dropping Mrs. Lee's envelope. I hadn't even realized I'd