Toxin Read Online Free PDF Page A

from the grieving couple. She was reading a magazine.
    â€œMrs. Arnold,” Kim said, forcing himself to smile.
    Startled, Gertrude looked up. For a nanosecond her face registered surprise, but as soon as she recognized Kim, she became visibly irritated.
    â€œWell, it’s about time!” Mrs. Arnold snapped. “What happened? Is there a problem?”
    â€œNo problem at all,” Kim assured her. “Quite the contrary. Your husband tolerated the procedure very well. He’s being . . .”
    â€œBut it’s almost six o’clock!” Gertrude sputtered. “You said you’d be done by three.”
    â€œThat was an estimate, Mrs. Arnold,” Kim said, trying to keep his voice even despite a wave of irritation. He’d anticipated a strange response, but this was more than he’d bargained for. “Unfortunately the previous case took longer than expected.”
    â€œThen my husband should have gone first,” Gertrude shot back. “You’ve kept me waiting here all day not knowing what was happening. I’m a wreck.”
    Kim lost control and in spite of a valiant effort, his face twisted into a wry, disbelieving smile.
    â€œDon’t you smile at me, young man,” Gertrudescolded. “If you ask me, you doctors are too high and mighty, making us normal folk wait all the time.”
    â€œI’m sorry if my schedule has caused you any distress,” Kim said. “We do the best we can.”
    â€œYeah, well, let me tell you what else happened,” Gertrude said. “One of the AmeriCare administrators came to see me, and he told me that AmeriCare wasn’t going to pay for my husband’s first day in the hospital. They said he was supposed to be admitted this morning on the day of surgery and not the day before. What do you say to that?”
    â€œThis is an ongoing problem I’m having with the administration,” Kim said. “When someone is as sick as your husband was before his surgery, I could not in good conscience allow him to be admitted the day of surgery.”
    â€œWell, they said they weren’t going to pay,” Gertrude said. “And we can’t pay.”
    â€œIf AmeriCare persists, then I’ll pay,” Kim said.
    Gertrude’s mouth dropped open. “You will?”
    â€œIt’s come up before and I’ve paid before,” Kim said. “Now, about your husband. Soon he’ll be in recovery. They’ll keep him there until he’s stable, and then he’ll go to the Cardiac floor. You’ll be able to see him then.”
    Kim turned and walked from the room, pretending not to hear Mrs. Arnold calling his name.
    Retreating back up the hall, Kim entered the surgical lounge. It was occupied by a handful of OR nurses on their breaks and a few of the staff anesthesiologists and anesthetists. Kim nodded to those people he recognized. Having been working at the University Medical Center only since the merger six months previously, Kim didn’t know all the staff, particularly the evening and night people.
    Pushing through the door into the men’s surgicallocker room, Kim pulled off his scrub top and threw it forcibly into the hamper. He then sat on the bench in front of the bank of lockers to unpin his watch from the waistband of the pants. Tom, who’d taken a shower, was busy putting on his shirt.
    â€œIt used to be when I finished a case I felt a certain euphoria,” Kim commented. “Now I feel a vague, unpleasant anxiety.”
    â€œI know the feeling,” Tom said.
    â€œCorrect me if I’m wrong,” Kim said. “This all used to be a lot more fun.”
    Tom turned from facing the mirror and chuckled. “Excuse me for laughing, but you say that as if it were a sudden revelation.”
    â€œI’m not talking about the economics,” Kim said. “I’m talking about the little things, like getting respect from the staff and