19
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 – 9:31 a.m.
Aspen Memorial Hospital – ER
The constant clatter of medical carts and gurneys going by and the chatter and sounds of pain emanating from behind curtains throughout the ER kept Karen’s emotional state in high gear. Within the last half an hour, the nurses had been in and out of Maisie’s makeshift room performing various tests with quiet efficiency. They took blood samples, connected her to various monitoring devices, jotted down notes and entered data into the bedside computer. Throughout it all, Maisie only fidgeted occasionally in bed attempting to brush off the minor irritations in her semi-comatose sleep. An occasional wrinkle on her forehead indicated the presence of pain, but it didn’t seem to be as intense as before. Karen watched with concern as the medical personnel worked on her daughter asking a question or two now and then, but for the most part staying out of the way so they could do their job.
Entering the curtain area like a fresh breeze off the ocean, Ken glided in, his white doctor’s coat trailing behind him. Karen’s pulse quickened and she immediately stood to meet him. Her eyes met his and a feeling of calm settled over her. His confidence instilled in her a feeling of hope and cure, a cure for her ailing child.
“I’m sorry it took so long,” Ken said. “I got tied up with a problem upstairs and it took longer than I expected.” Ken’s mind was still pained and perplexed over the demise of Benita just moments ago. Looking at Karen he asked, “How’s she doing?” Ken turned to look at Maisie as Karen replied.
“She seems to be doing okay. The nurses did a bunch of tests and stuff. Maisie hasn’t moved a lot but she doesn’t seem to be hurting like she was.”
Ken picked up the notes the nurses had jotted down and scanned them. He then entered his password on the computer screen by the bed and pulled up additional information.
“Well, it looks like everything is stable for now. We’ll get the results back from the lab in a bit and we can see if there’s anything there to worry about. I don’t think there will be though. As I mentioned earlier, I really believe she’s bottled up all her emotions since your dad died and her constant worry and emotional loss have caused her to experience these headaches. I’ve seen it before. Usually, some strong medication in conjunction with some counseling helps the headaches to go away.”
“Anything would be great. I just don’t know what to do when these headaches hit. This is the first time she’s had one so bad. I couldn’t do anything, so I called 911. I was just scared.” Karen’s eyes began to water.
“You did the right thing,” Ken said in a re-assuring voice. “There’s nothing wrong with calling for help when you’re not sure.”
“Do you really think medicine and counseling will help? I mean, I hate to have to go through a bunch of stuff like that only to have the headaches continue.”
“I can’t guarantee it will work, however, in my experience, nine times out of ten it does. She’s also got the advantage of being young and resilient. Getting her to open up and talk will be the biggest thing. I think she just needs to let it out and deal with it.”
“I hope you’re right,” Karen said, glancing back at Maisie who was beginning to stir.
“How about you?”
“What?”
Ken repeated the question. “How are you? Are you handling things okay? The death of your dad, Maisie’s headaches, and your husband’s leaving you. It’s just as traumatic and difficult for an adult if not more so. I’m concerned about your health and stability as well.”
“I’m okay I guess. I really don’t have much time to think about it, but all in all, I feel okay.”
“Have you been eating well, getting enough sleep, exercise, things like that?” Ken asked, a slight note of concern etched on his brow.
Karen looked away and glanced at Maisie again. After a few seconds she turned back to Ken. “I think I’m fine. Maybe I’m not doing everything I should, but you have to understand, I’m by myself now, so I can’t do everything I should. Other than that, I feel like I’m doing okay.”
“It’s not easy having several overwhelming stress-related things happen in such a short time. Although the brain compensates, it still has to wrestle with what’s happened and try to figure out what to do to keep everything going. Sometimes, without you even knowing it, the brain and body really are going through a difficult time adjusting. If you’d like, I could prescribe some medicine just to help you relax a little more. Something to help you sleep, have a little more energy, get things back on track.”
“I don’t know doctor. I don’t think I need to depend on medicine to help me deal. I should be able to handle this without meds.”
“That’s what a lot of people say. It’s not something you’d become addicted to, just a temporary help to give you a little boost and help to sort things out in your mind and life.”
Karen stood pondering Ken’s offer when a nurse stepped through the curtain.
“The lab results are back Dr. Slaterbaugh.” Reaching out, Ken took the paperwork from her.
“Thank you.”
The nurse turned and left, the curtain swinging back into place as Ken began to peruse the lab comments.
After a minute or so, Ken said, “Looks good. The white cell count is normal. There’s no infection bacterial or viral, nothing to indicate a major problem. It appears that we’re back to the probability of emotional stress. I’m going to recommend an excellent counselor to work with both you and Maisie. I believe that after just a few short sessions, you’ll both be feeling much better. In the meantime, I’m going to prescribe a mild medication that will help with Maisie’s headaches. It’s called Fiorinal, a combination of butalbital, aspirin and caffeine. It’s a non-narcotic analgesic that will help with the pain. Give her one pill when she feels a bad headache coming on. It’s best if taken before lying down in a dark room. That will allow her to rest in an environment that’s more relaxing. Then come back in a couple of weeks. I’d like to check up on you and see how things are progressing. Attend the counseling sessions as well. I’ll have my nurse in Neurology set up an appointment for you and give you a call. I’d like to see how things go.”
“Thanks doctor. I hope it works. What about today? Are you going to give her something now or what?”
Maisie began to stir and her eyes fluttered open and then shut again.
Ken and Karen walked to the side of the bed.
“I’ll give her a shot today to alleviate the pain. I’d like to have her stay here for a while until she’s fully awake and I can check on her before she leaves. I’m guessing a couple of hours.”
Maisie blinked her eyes a few times and looked up at Ken.
“Papa?” she asked.
“No dear. This is Dr. Slaterbaugh. He’s going to help you with your headaches.”
A confused look was pasted to Maisie’s face as she tried to clear her head and figure out where she was.
Ken reached over and held Maisie’s hand.
“I’m Dr. Slaterbaugh. How are you feeling?”
Maisie looked at him and blinked a few times.
“My head hurts really badly.” Grimacing, Maisie grabbed her head with both hands and squeezed.
“I’m sorry sweety. I’m going to get some medicine that will help the pain go away. Do you feel hungry?”
“A little,” Maisie said, her face beginning to settle back into a child-like state of innocence.
Maisie’s dark curly hair was splayed out over the pillow. A few wispy curls dangled across her face. Her dark brown eyes looked up at Ken with intrigue.
“You know,” Ken said, “You look a lot like Shirley Temple?”
“I know,” Maisie said, “People tell me that a lot.” A slight twitch of her forehead indicated the passing of another bolt of pain. She winced slightly and then regained her composure. “I have a bunch of Shirley Temple movies at home. I watch them quite a bit.”
Ken noticed the affirmative shake of Karen’s head indicating the regularity with which Maisie watched them.
“My favorite Shirley Temple movie is Curly Top. My second favorite Dimples. I just love the way she acted, especially with the grown ups. She was so funny too.” Another grimace of pain scurried across her forehead and she shut her eyes briefly trying to alleviate the discomfort.
“Well, I can see why you like those movies so much,” Ken said as he stood by her bed holding her hand. “You have curly hair like her and the dimples too. Are you sure you didn’t do that on purpose to copy her?”
“Now how could I do that? This is how I was born silly. I didn’t have plastic surgery or something like the movie stars do. Besides, that’s kind of dumb. Why would people want to change...” A wrinkle of pain emerged on her face stopping her conversation in mid sentence. She squeezed the covers with her small hands. As the wave subsided, she continued. “…how they look? You should be happy the way you were made.”
“Well, I agree,” Ken said. “Unfortunately, some people don’t like themselves very much.”
Maisie’s face changed to one of sadness.
“That’s too bad. I like the way I am. Did you know you look like my grandpa?”
“Yes, that’s what your mom told me. That’s also what you said when you were still half asleep.”
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did. You called me Papa several times.”
Maisie turned to see her mom shaking her head yes, her faced creased by a small smile. Her faced reddened at the thought of calling the doctor her grandpa, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“It’s okay. I wouldn’t mind having you as my granddaughter if I were old enough. I’m only 46. So are you saying I look old or did your grandpa look young?”
Maisie blushed again, her face suddenly contorting with pain. Ken grabbed her hand until it subsided.
Then Maisie said, “He looked young and you look like him although you’re not as old as he was. Funny how that works isn’t it? Why do people look like other people anyway?”
“That’s a good question. Maybe you should figure that out and tell me.”
“But you’re the doctor, you should know everything.”
Karen and Ken both laughed.
“Just because I’m a doctor doesn’t mean I know it all.”
Maisie gave Ken a scrunched up face saying ‘don’t laugh at me.’
“Besides, trying to figure that question out will give you something to do and will keep your mind off of those headaches. In fact, how is your head feeling?”
“Better than it was. But it still hurts. I couldn’t even move earlier. Now I can at least move it a little.” Another wave of pain crossed her face, although diminished.
“I’m glad to hear that. Like I said, I’m going to give you some medicine that will help. Today, I’m going to have a nurse give you a shot to take away most of the pain. Then I’ll have you rest here for a few hours so I can keep an eye on you.”
“I don’t like shots!”
“I understand. But, can you be brave and pretend you’re Shirley Temple for this one?”
“I suppose,” Maisie said, rolling her eyes.
“And, what did you want to eat?”
“How about a cheeseburger and a milkshake?”
Maisie looked at her mom who just smiled and said, “It’s okay. Go ahead.”
“I’ll have a nurse come in shortly with your shot and some food.”
“Nice combination,” Maisie said. “Do I get the shot first so I can enjoy the food later?”
“Of course,” Ken said. He reached over and squeezed Maisie’s hand again. “Stay right here. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
“Very funny,” Maisie said.
Looking toward Karen, Ken said, “I’ll be back in awhile. In the meantime, feel free to sit here with Maisie and relax. I’ll prescribe some medication for you too, something to help you sleep. Did you want anything to eat?”
“Maybe. I’ll let the nurse know if I decide on something.”
“Okay. I’ll send the nurse in shortly.” Ken turned to leave. “I’ll check in on you later Miss Shirley.”
Maisie looked at Ken and said, “Okay Papa. I’ll be right here.” She squinted her eyes as Ken turned to leave. Everybody laughed as the curtain swung shut behind Ken.
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