We're Not Broken, Just Bent
Four
“So you aren’t doing my biopsy?” Mark looked confused as I told him what floor to go to after I looked at his scans. All signs pointed to it being an acoustic neuroma.
“No, I’m not.” I grabbed his wristband from the nurse’s station and motioned for him to hold out his hand to me. He reached his left hand out.
“Why not? I trust you, I don’t know any other doctors here.” We started off the morning with him panicking and it just seemed to be getting worse.
“Because it’s a conflict of interest for me and Dr. Daley is a really great doctor. I wouldn’t be sending you off to him if I didn’t trust him as much as I would trust myself.” His arm fell to rest at his side once again.
“What happens if it’s cancer, what if I die?” I was trying to act like he was just another patient, but I was finding it very hard to keep my composure.
“We’ll figure it out Mark, I promise. If it is cancerous or even if it isn’t, we’re going to go in and cut the sucker out. I promised your sister I was sending you home in one piece and I don’t want to know what happens if I don’t pull through for her.” That got him to crack a smile as I grabbed some folders out of my bin at the counter.
“Hello doctor Whelan.” I smiled at the head nurse on this floor, her name was Betty and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to manage my stuff.
“Good morning nurse Betty.” She busied herself as a few visitors came up to the desk to ask about a patient.
“So you’re not going to be there?” Mark’s tone caught me off guard. He sounded like a child scared of the dark, and I was the one telling him to go down into the pitch-black basement.
“I can be there when you wake up. Mark I’m really sorry but without much time to move my schedule around before you got here,” I trailed off and he only nodded.
“No, I completely understand. You’re very important around here.” He moved the bracelet around his wrist as a nervous habit.
“Hey, I’m going to get you through this. Try and think best case scenario right now, try not to go into this worrying like you are right now.” I could tell me acting like a doctor hurt him, but I couldn’t act any other way right now.
“Right, best case scenario is someone is still cutting my skull open.” His tone was on the verge of angry.
“You should probably head up now, he’s doing me a huge favor by taking you right now.” He leaned away from me and seemed to realize I wasn’t going to indulge his self-pity party.
“Yeah, I’ll see you when I wake up?” I nodded my head and looked down at my watch.
“I’ll be there.” My tone was a promise and that seemed to be enough for him, for now. He began to walk away from me and down the hall before a fear I hadn’t noticed crawled into my chest and I found myself running after him. He turned around at the sound of my pounding footsteps.
“Good luck.” He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug and buried his face into my shoulder as he leaned down a bit.
“Thanks Bales.” I gave him one good squeeze and let go of him. He smiled, it was worried, but at least it was smile. I turned back around to grab my patient’s folders and make my morning rounds. The thought of losing Mark right now was too much to bear. I was angry at the fact we let our friendship slip away and now something could happen to him and I couldn’t fathom a world without Mark Ruffalo in it.
“No, I’m not.” I grabbed his wristband from the nurse’s station and motioned for him to hold out his hand to me. He reached his left hand out.
“Why not? I trust you, I don’t know any other doctors here.” We started off the morning with him panicking and it just seemed to be getting worse.
“Because it’s a conflict of interest for me and Dr. Daley is a really great doctor. I wouldn’t be sending you off to him if I didn’t trust him as much as I would trust myself.” His arm fell to rest at his side once again.
“What happens if it’s cancer, what if I die?” I was trying to act like he was just another patient, but I was finding it very hard to keep my composure.
“We’ll figure it out Mark, I promise. If it is cancerous or even if it isn’t, we’re going to go in and cut the sucker out. I promised your sister I was sending you home in one piece and I don’t want to know what happens if I don’t pull through for her.” That got him to crack a smile as I grabbed some folders out of my bin at the counter.
“Hello doctor Whelan.” I smiled at the head nurse on this floor, her name was Betty and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to manage my stuff.
“Good morning nurse Betty.” She busied herself as a few visitors came up to the desk to ask about a patient.
“So you’re not going to be there?” Mark’s tone caught me off guard. He sounded like a child scared of the dark, and I was the one telling him to go down into the pitch-black basement.
“I can be there when you wake up. Mark I’m really sorry but without much time to move my schedule around before you got here,” I trailed off and he only nodded.
“No, I completely understand. You’re very important around here.” He moved the bracelet around his wrist as a nervous habit.
“Hey, I’m going to get you through this. Try and think best case scenario right now, try not to go into this worrying like you are right now.” I could tell me acting like a doctor hurt him, but I couldn’t act any other way right now.
“Right, best case scenario is someone is still cutting my skull open.” His tone was on the verge of angry.
“You should probably head up now, he’s doing me a huge favor by taking you right now.” He leaned away from me and seemed to realize I wasn’t going to indulge his self-pity party.
“Yeah, I’ll see you when I wake up?” I nodded my head and looked down at my watch.
“I’ll be there.” My tone was a promise and that seemed to be enough for him, for now. He began to walk away from me and down the hall before a fear I hadn’t noticed crawled into my chest and I found myself running after him. He turned around at the sound of my pounding footsteps.
“Good luck.” He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug and buried his face into my shoulder as he leaned down a bit.
“Thanks Bales.” I gave him one good squeeze and let go of him. He smiled, it was worried, but at least it was smile. I turned back around to grab my patient’s folders and make my morning rounds. The thought of losing Mark right now was too much to bear. I was angry at the fact we let our friendship slip away and now something could happen to him and I couldn’t fathom a world without Mark Ruffalo in it.