“So I’m going to go with…” My mother paused, tapping her fingers on the handle of her cane now. “Six or seven. Average.”
“Mom,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair.
“Oh, my son would like me to never be in pain,” she said with a slight smile and a nod.
“And, that’s what we’d all like,” Heidi offered. “I see from your chart that you got all of your records from your last doctor sent over to us,” she added.
My mom thumbed toward me. “He did. He’s a good boy.”
Heidi’s brows hitched up. “Oh, well, that’s nice.”
“My son’s not a standard man. He takes care of records, notes, appointments, and the like,” my mom piped up.
I nodded. “She taught me how to do that. I do understand, in our world, that might not be the norm.”
“Well, all credit to you, Claudia,” Heidi offered with a brow waggle.
I chuckled. “That’s where it should go.”
“Back to your pain, you’ve pretty much tried everything we could offer from my review of your chart,” Heidi said. “I’m sure you know most pain medications aren’t good to use long-term. There are a few things we could do with physical therapy. Would you like to try that?”
“Please. It does help,” my mother said.
“All right. I’ll set up that referral.” Heidi’s gaze arced toward me. “I understand your son is a hotshot firefighter. So what’s your plan for transportation when he’s not available?”
“I’ll figure it out. I’m very good at making friends.” My mom’s tone was firm and confident. She was the kind of person who made friends everywhere she went and still stayed in touch with people she’d met on trips.
Heidi laughed softly. “I’m sure you are. We’ll get that referral set up. It usually takes a week or two after we make the referral before someone will call you to schedule. It’ll come from one of the numbers for Willow Brook Hospital. If you have unknown callers silenced, maybe just put in their main number. That should make sure it comes through. Or you can always just wait for the message and call back.”
“I can handle that,” my mom said.
“No doubt,” Heidi said, her gaze sobering for a beat. “So, Dr. Charlie’s going to come in. She’ll review everything. Thanks for getting your bloodwork taken care of ahead of time.”
“Always. I don’t love needles, but I’m used to them,” my mom said with a dismissive wave.
“Anything else we should know about?” Heidi prompted.
“I’m doing as well as could be expected,” my mother said, her chin lifting slightly.
“Fair enough.”
After a moment, there was a light knock at the door while the med assistant was entering a few things into the laptop. “Here she is,” Heidi said, gesturing toward the woman who entered. “Dr. Charlie.”
My mom smiled up at her. “Hello, hello.” She thrust a hand out.
Dr. Charlie and I had met at my mom’s first appointment a few weeks ago. So far, I liked her. The doctor smiled, pushing her glasses up on her nose. “And, how are we today, Claudia?” Dr. Charlie asked.
“We are well, and you?”
“Same. I would say, after reviewing everything, things look copacetic.”
“Ooh, I love that word,” my mom enthused.
“Do you now?” the doctor teased lightly.
“It’s a good word.” My mom nodded firmly.
“We’re going to make a referral for physical therapy to hopefully help with her pain. She doesn’t like any of the pain medication options,” Heidi chimed in.
