At least she asked and didn’t simply assume.Too many people did.“A little.”He dug his phone out once more and tapped into his app.—We can use this to communicate.I don’t always understand everything from lip reading.It might be important for me to understand what the doctor is saying.—”
The woman laughed and held her hand out for his phone, then typed into it.—We usually use a video interpreter service, but it’s down today.If you’re okay using the phone, we can do that.Or we can call to see if there’s an interpreter who can come to the clinic.That could take a while.—
Evan waved the phone and smiled.
She sat at a rolling table and scrolled through a form, then showed it to him.Tapping on the REASON FOR VISIT line, she indicated he should answer on his phone.
—Accident at the construction site I work at.Someone messed with one of the drainage pipes when it was being moved on a chain.It swung around and I got clipped by it.Hit my hardhat and dented it pretty good.I landed near the backhoe and cut my arm.It was cleaned up a bit there.—
She typed away at her own computer, then showed him a few questions.—Dizzy?Nausea?Blurred vision?—
He nodded to all three, causing her to frown.She took his phone and tapped a short message.—The doctor will be in very soon to see you.We’ll clean your wound and see if you need stitches while you wait.—
Within the next five minutes, a medical assistant came in and cut the old bandage off.She spent far too much time, in Evan’s estimation, probing the wound and cleaning it out.It hurt like the dickens.
When the doctor finally arrived, Evan had decided he simply wanted to go home and sleep.He’d had enough of medical procedures for today.
The woman smiled at him and pointed to her name tag that read, Dr.Houseman.She took a penlight from her pocket and proceeded to shine it directly in his eyes.Ow.She then probed his head and neck, and he could tell exactly where he’d been hit by the pipe as soon as she touched it.He flinched and said, “Yeah, that’s where I was hit.”
Next, she motioned for him to stand up and had him balance on one foot and other things like that.For the next half hour, his reflexes were checked, he was asked questions, written down or typed, and he answered as best he could.Would they think he was dying because his reading level was low?
When she seemed satisfied, she wrote on her pad, “You have a concussion.A mild one, but you’ll need to rest your brain for a few days.”
His sisters would tease him that he rested his brain every day.Now he had permission to do so.
Next, he did indeed get stitches for the cut on his arm.Ten of them to be exact.He sat as still as he could and breathed deeply.They’d numbed the area with some sort of gel, but the cut itself still hurt.
When the doctor was done and her assistant had cleaned up the mess, a paper printed from the device on the counter.She handed it to him and tapped on some of the content.
*No driving for the next 48 hours.
*No screens (or minimal screens) for at least a week.
*Make an appointment with your primary care to have stitches removed in 10 - 14 days.
*Someone should stay with you tonight.
There were some other ones about things not to eat or drink, but he skimmed over them.He could read it all later.
She faced him and said, “Do you live alone?”
“I have a roommate.”
“Is he also Deaf?”
“No, she’s hearing.”
The doctor nodded and made a note on the laptop.Then she turned it to face him.—You’re all set to be released unless you have any more questions.—
Evan waved the paper she’d handed him and gave a thumbs up.
She made the motion of someone steering a car.“Do you have a ride home?”
He nodded, though he hadn’t made arrangements yet.He’d figure something out.The doctor shook his hand and left.Glancing around the room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, he wondered who to call for a ride.Carli worked in Boston, so definitely not her.He hated to worry either of his parents and make them leave work.Heck, he hated to be the cause of anyone to miss work.He could get an Uber.That meant he’d have to do some form of communication with a hearing person, and he didn’t have the stamina to deal with that right now.
His eyes scanned the room and landed on the large clock on the wall.It was almost three.He’d been here for way too long.Mercedes got out at four.Would she mind leaving a little early?He could check.
In the waiting room, he slumped into a chair in the corner near the window, away from most of the other people.Fatigue wrapped around him like a blanket, and his head throbbed.So did his arm, but at least he wasn’t dripping blood anymore.Closing his eyes, he took several slow, deep breaths to see if it helped at all.He’d been wired pretty tight since the accident.
