“Tummy?” I ask, tilting my head just slightly. I can’t help but smile when he lets out a small laugh.
“Sorry, my last patient was a much younger kiddo.”
“I’m not a kiddo,” I grumble, sounding exactly like a kid.
“Any abdominal pain? Feelings of needing to vomit or nausea?”
“My stomach is a little sore, but that might be from the lack of eating last night and the small bowl of cereal this morning.”
“Why didn’t you eat last night?” Brandt asks. He sounds halfway between doing his job and asking as a concerned friend.
“I got home late,” I lie. The reality isn’t important to what we’re discussing. Brandt doesn’t need to know that I was broken up with.
“Were you working late?” He puts on another pair of gloves and then starts pressing down on my stomach with gentle fingers. It’s a little tender, but that’s normal for me.
“I wasn’t,” I say. “Austin has us out of there by five every day now.”
“I can’t tell you how happy all of us were when he took over again. Not that you didn’t make a good cup of coffee or anything.”
I laugh, but there’s a pang in my lower back that makes me wince. Brandt moves to the other side of the bed, looking at me for permission, before he helps me roll onto my left side.
“Is this tender?” His fingers prod my back. It’s a dull pain, but it’s there. When I give the affirmative, I hear a low hum coming from him. A contemplative one that doesn’t seem like good news. He closes the gown back and helps me situate the blanket. “I’m going to go let the doctor know that you’re awake. He’ll want to come in and talk to you and we’ll draw some more blood to check your levels, okay?”
“Okay.” I look around again. “Do you know where my phone is?”
“All of your belongings are in the bag over here,” Brandt says. He drops the gloves into the trash and then walks across the room to grab the clear bag. “Do you need the whole thing?”
“I was just going to grab my phone.”
Brandt looks through the bag for me. From what I can tell it’s just my clothes, phone, and keys. He hands it over to me and I click it on to see that it’s almost nine AM. There are several texts from friends.
“I’m going to grab you some breakfast as well, okay?” Brandt is standing at the foot of my bed and he’s pinning me with an expression that screams I better not refuse. I nod quietly.
The room is quiet when he leaves. I look through the texts first. One is from Austin, asking for me to text back when I can and that he hopes I’m okay. Orion is pretty much the same. There’s one from Remington as well, if I need anything to let him know. My heart rate picks up a bit when I see one from Mark too.
He’s asking if I’m okay. I guess the news of our breakup hasn’t spread to the whole group yet. I’m sure someone called or texted him.
I text him back first, wanting to get it over with but also dispel any worry. I let him know I’m okay and that it’s nothing to worry about.
I send the same message to the others as well. Austin texts back immediately, excited that I’m awake. He asks if he and Orion can stop by later. They’re going to be closing at noon today.
I’m about to text back when the door opens again. This time it’s a different nurse and another guy that has a tray with a covered plate.
“We’re going to draw some new labs before we let you eat, okay?” The nurse says with a soft smile. I nod and let her do what she needs to. It’s only a minute before the bed is being propped up so I can eat.
I thank them and wait for both to walk out before I uncover the plate. It’s bland at best. A piece of toast, not buttered. A small lump of scrambled eggs. There is a salt and pepper packet next to it. I have a cup of water as well. It’s a boring meal, but having something in my stomach might help.
Chapter Two
IknowIhavea full case of patients today, but I keep checking on Tyler. It’s almost three in the afternoon and he’s supposed to be discharged soon. His friends from the coffee shop stopped by around one to see him. Austin and his partner, Remington, are going to take him home.
“Brandt.” Doctor Walker walks up to the nurse’s station. He leans his elbows on the counter and waits until I look up from the computer screen. “Room 406? You put in your notes that you suggest he might have Addison’s.”
Tyler’s room. The symptoms align and him fainting would have meant he went into a crisis, which is serious and scary. “I did. It’s just a suggestion, but the way he was saying he had pain in his lower back, and his levels when he first came in. Plusalways looking tired and like he’s one step away from getting sick when I see him in the coffee shop.”
“No, I think you might be right.” Doctor Walker smiles. He’s not an arrogant doctor, like some that work here. He listens to his nurses and patients. I wish we had more like him. “I ordered the testing for it and just got the last of the results back. The CT shows scarring and the stimulation test showed no changes either.”
I was hoping I was wrong. Addison’s disease is a tough one. It’s not common to begin with, which is probably why he hasn’t been officially diagnosed yet. The fact it took a crisis and him losing consciousness for us to diagnose it… I feel like I could have seen this earlier.
