Ally takes a seat in the empty waiting room, and Nilesh leads me down the hall to an exam room.
“Good news,” he says, sitting down in front of the computer. “Your MRI looks totally normal to me. You want to see it?”
I’m speechless with relief, so I just nod. Nilesh pulls up the scan on the computer and scrolls slowly through the images. No tumors. No vascular problems. No white matter lesions to suggest multiple sclerosis. Just normal, healthy brain.
“Normal,” I finally mutter.
Nilesh grins. “Yeah. I thought we should get that out of the way first. The radiologist still has to read it, and I’ll let you know if they see anything different, but?—”
“It looks normal,” I repeat.
Nilesh’s smile broadens. “Yeah. You want to tell me a bit more about your symptoms?”
I’d given him the short version on the phone, but now I give him the details. All about the insomnia and the tremor, and wondering if I was imagining it. About giving up alcohol and caffeine, and not knowing if it helped. About going for a check-up for the first time in years, and being told my blood pressure was high.
Then I tell him that for the past few weeks, things have seemed better. I’ve been getting more sleep, and I can’t remember when I last noticed the tremor.
I don’t share Ally’s theory about sugar, sleep, trashy TV and sex. But there’s no doubt that I felt better when I started getting more of those things.
Nilesh checks my blood pressure next, and today, that’s normal too. The neurological exam comes next, and I’d forgotten how thorough neurologists are. He shines a light in my eyes, tests the strength in my limbs, and watches me walk a straight line. Pokes me with a pin to test sensation.
When he’s finished, he sits across from me and looks me in the eye. “Your examination is normal too,” he says. “And the bloodwork you forwarded all looked fine. My guess is you’ve been working too hard. It’s burnout, Drew.”
I’m hit with a wave of relief. “You’re sure?”
Nilesh shrugs. “Pretty sure, yeah. Knowing you, you’re probably still working stupid hours. Did I hear you’re the chief of surgery in Somerset now?”
I nod. “Yeah. But I’m not working as much as I was as a resident?—”
“You’re also not twenty-five anymore,” Nilesh says bluntly. “You need to slow down, or you really will get sick.”
“I know,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll try.”
He grins. “Take Ally to the beach for a week, and turn off your phone.”
“I wish I could,” I reply, imagining a week on a beach with Ally. I’ve always wanted to try windsurfing, and I bet Ally knows how. Even if she doesn’t, I’m sure she’d be a natural. And I’m sure she’d look stunning in a bathing suit.
I look up and see Nilesh watching me with a grin. “You guys are serious, eh?”
“Pretty serious,” I admit. There’s no point denying it; Nilesh knows you don’t bring a casual date to this kind of appointment.
“Good for you, man,” he says. “You should go relieve her mind.”
It takes me a second to realize what he means. “You think Ally’s worried?”
Nilesh looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Of course she is, Drew. She was trying to hide it, but it was pretty obvious.”
“Hmm.” I stand and shake his hand. “Right. Thanks, Nilesh.”
“Anytime. Is your family doctor the guy who ordered the lab work? Do you want me to send him a report?”
I open my mouth to say no, then change my mind. “Dr. Barrett. Yeah. Sure. Thanks again.”
Nilesh nods and turns back to his computer to finish his report. I walk down the hall to find Ally, who jumps to her feet as soon as she sees me coming.
Nilesh was right. She was worried.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly, and some of the tension leaves her face.
