The man sitting in the chair agrees, “She’s got a point, Dad. What if the next time you think your heart is skipping a beat, it turns out to actually be a heart attack? We might not make it to the hospital in time. At least if you’re already here when it happens, there’s a good chance you’ll make it.”
The hospital bedroom falls silent as the elderly man looks at his children looking back at him. Both of them have a deep sense of worry in their exhausted eyes. Both of them having to balance a daily living while watching over him has constantly been on his eyes for quite some time. And with the recent heart issues he’s been having, it’s only been worrying them even more. He considers that if he’s at the hospital, not only would his health be able to make a turn for the better, but he’ll be able to allow his children to live their lives without having to worry about him, even if it’s just for a few days.
With his mind made up, the elderly man lets out a small sigh and looks at the woman in front of his bed, “It’s just testing, right? Nothing I personally have to do?”
“Just lie in bed while we take some blood samples, that’s all. The results will take a few days, but our main priority will be keeping you in the hospital just in case you have another episode with your heart. You’ll pretty much be on bed rest, so you can watch all the ‘Dawn of the Fallen’ as you want.”
The woman’s last few words sealed the deal. The elderly man looks at his children and assures them that he’ll be fine in the hospital for the next few days. The son gives a small sigh of relief and thanks the doctor while the daughter tries to throw in a few sarcastic remarks, but nothing threatening and hurtful. As for the doctor she gives a warm smile to all of them.
With all the thanks and procedure talk out of the way, the woman puts the paperwork in a little folder hanging on the edge of the elderly man’s bed and turns to head for the door, “Let’s get this blood work testing started. I’m just going to step out and grab just a few thing, okay?”
The elderly man and his children all nod in unison before the woman leaves the room. Stepping into the brightly lit hallway of the hospital, the woman can see far down to each end of the medical wing. Barely anybody is wandering around and on shift tonight, minus the two janitorial crew members. Keeping the supplies she needs in mind, the woman makes her way towards the cold storage room. As she walks, she walks by the reception counter and makes eye contact with the young man sitting behind it.
With a warm smile and blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, the young man calls out to the doctor, “Hey, Becky. Got a long night, huh?”
Hearing her name being called out, Becky changes directions and walks up to the reception counter, giving a small shrug before leaning on it, “It’s not too bad. I only have about four patients checked in tonight, but I promised to help look over a few others for Enrique until he comes in around six. He said next time he gets a Type-O patient, he’ll pass them along to me in exchange. Apparently, one of his current patients his really attractive and doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her.”
“So, he willing to swap blood just to have some pretty girl to look at? That doesn’t sound like a good trade to me.”
Becky gives a shrug and shakes her head, “I have no idea why he’s so keen on the woman, but I don’t really care. Besides, after the patient I got tonight, I wouldn’t even care if Enrique gave me somebody with Type-A negative anyways. I scored big.”
“Oh yeah? What happened?”
Right as Becky was about to begin her story a woman wearing a patient’s gown slowly makes her way through the hall, her feet slapping against the cold, marble colored flooring. To prevent any information from leaking out, Becky shakes her head and tells the young man that she’ll tell him next time. Agreeing, the man gives a thumbs up before changing his attention to the lone patient walking by herself, “Ma’am, are you alright?”
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