Liz went through the routine vitals and was pleased to find the drowsy Hispanic woman’s temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respirations normal. She checked the three tiny surgical incision sites on her right upper quadrant.
“Everything looks wonderful,” she explained in Spanish. Although not fluent, she had taken enough courses and listened to enough tapes while sitting with Gramps that she usually communicated without too many problems.
She made proper notations in the chart and explained that if everything remained well, Dr Cline would be by soon to write discharge orders. Surgery in the morning, home in the afternoon. Thank you, HMOs.
Adam. No, she wasn’t going to think about him right now. It had been two days since he’d left her sleeping. She’d wanted to call him, to demand to know what was going on, but she hadn’t.
Neither had he called her.
After making sure her patient was comfortable, Liz poked her head into May Probst’s room. “How are you doing, May? Is there anything I can get for you?”
May hadn’t been assigned to her this morning, but Liz knew the pleasant older woman well. She’d been a friend of her grandparents and often volunteered at the hospital through the women’s auxillary. May had likely been the only true friend of Gramps to attend his funeral.
Unfortunately May had been having nausea for months that she’d written off as a peptic ulcer despite antacids only giving minimal relief. A few weeks ago she’d begun having stomach pain. Her abdominal CT had shown a questionable mass and Dr Mills, a young general surgeon whose father ran the hospital board with an iron fist, had performed exploratory laparoscopy that morning. Liz didn’t like the arrogant young surgeon, but perhaps that was because he’d taken an instant dislike to Adam. Liz suspected it was a top-dog kind of thing. Dr Mills had a long way to go before he’d be the same caliber surgeon as Adam.
Cautiously scooting up in her bed, May gave a kind smile. “Kelly’s taking good care of me so I can’t complain.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?” Liz moved to beside the bed and automatically raised the safety rail. “How did your procedure go? I’ve been swamped this morning and haven’t had a chance to ask anyone.”
May clasped her hands in her lap. “Dr Mills found my problem.”
“I’m glad.” But May’s eyes held an odd light. “What exactly did he find?”
“The radiologist who read my CT scan was right. I do have a tumor.”
Was May purposely being vague?
“Dr Mills removed it?”
“No,” she softly denied. Too softly.
“No?” Liz asked. Something must have gone wrong for the surgeon not to have taken out the tumor. Generally, while the patient was already under anesthesia and on the operating table, the mass would have been excised. “Why not?”
May hesitated a few moments before lifting brave eyes to Liz. “Apparently, it’s wrapped around my colon, ureter, renal artery, and perhaps my abdominal aorta.”
“Oh, May.” Liz covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, child. It’s not your fault.”
“Dr Mills is going to schedule excision soon?”
Removing such a mass would be difficult, risky. Perhaps prior to proceeding the surgeon planned to consult with a vascular surgeon, perhaps a nephrologist, too.
May shook her head. “He says it’s inoperable. That I’d die on the table and leaving it alone is my best option.” She smoothed the crisp white sheet covering her. She wore a brave expression, but Liz didn’t buy it.
“Your best option?” Liz scowled. “Is the tumor so slow growing that he doesn’t think it’ll kill you?”
May winced and Liz regretted her blunt statement. “I’m sorry, May. Sometimes I just want more aggressive treatments than those doctors deem the best option. I think you should get a second opinion by a more experienced surgeon.”
May nodded. “That’s OK. John wants a second opinion, too.”
“Good. Get a second opinion. A third one, too, if necessary. I’m biased, but Dr Cline is an excellent surgeon.” Excellent at breaking hearts, too, but May didn’t need to know that. No matter what happened between her and Adam, he was by far the best surgeon in the area. “Perhaps you can schedule an appointment and let him look over your CT and Dr Mills’s notes.”
May nodded. “Dr Cline was my first choice, but he rescheduled my appointment first due to your grandfather and then again due to something personal. John didn’t want me to wait another week and I ended up seeing Dr Mills.”
Liz tried to hide her surprise. Adam had rescheduled appointments beyond the days he’d taken off with her following Gramps’s death? Why would he do that? Where had he gone? What had he done?
Who was he with?
“John wants me to go to a larger hospital,” May continued, oblivious to the turmoil rocketing through Liz. “One in Jackson.”
Liz doubted Jackson held a finer surgeon than Adam, but refrained from saying so. The thought of him rescheduling patients had her mind spinning.
“Just you get that second opinion,” she said firmly in an effort to hide her dismay.
“Enough about me.” The older woman waved her hand dismissively, as if her problems were no big deal. “How are you holding up?”
Maybe she hadn’t hidden her dismay so well.
For the briefest of moments Liz thought May was asking about the gaping hole in her chest, but no one knew about that. Fortunately Kelly had been spending quite a bit of time with Jason. Liz hadn’t seen her friend until that morning, by which time she’d sort of pulled herself together and hadn’t had to explain why her heart was so tattered. Kelly had asked, but they’d been interrupted and Liz hadn’t been forced to go into any details.
Until May’s revelation about Adam rescheduling appointments, she’d done a good job holding her act together.
May asked about her grandfather, though.
“As well as can be expected, I suppose.” Considering everything. “I miss Gramps, but am trying to remember the good times we shared and move on with my life.”
True. Regardless of what was going on with Adam, Liz would move forward with her life. For years she’d put her grandfather first, had planned to put Adam first for the rest of her life, but if he didn’t want her love, she’d still find happiness. Perhaps she’d travel, see a bit of the world as a traveling nurse.
May looked pleased. “It’s what he’d have wanted.”
“Yes.” Gramps had wanted great things for her. Great things like Adam.
She bit the inside of her lip and forced her thoughts elsewhere.
She chatted with May for a few more minutes, made sure she was comfortable, then went to check on her own patients.
Liz was pleased to find them all recovering as expected without complications. Two of her five patients were Adam’s, which meant she’d have to see him.
Her stomach lurched at the thought. God, she wished whatever was going on with her stomach would pass. She’d taken a handful of antacids yesterday and had obtained a little relief, but this morning her nausea had been right back. Truthfully, her stomach hadn’t been right since Gramps’s funeral. No wonder. She missed him so much. And then all this with Adam.
Stress definitely took its toll on a person’s body but hopefully her nausea would soon pass and her appetite would return.
Recalling