"Right. And forgive me for saying, but you look a little pale. Is that your normal coloring?"
"Not really, I…" She sighed. "I know I'm paler than usual and have been for a while."
"And coming back to the fatigue—how would you describe that? Feeling tired? Sleepy? Or do you mean fatigue in a physical sense, that you get fatigued easily? Any breathlessness on exertion?"
"All of them, really. I fall asleep a lot—even when I'm not supposed to. I'm always tired, every day, and sometimes I get breathless." When he smiled, she added, "Maybe once a week again?"
"Okay. And your monthly cycle—has that been affected? Are your periods heavier or lighter? Regular?"
"They've been heavier. Quite a bit heavier." That was one of the things that worried her the most.
"Right. And have you had any infections? More than usual?"
She made a face. "I have. Zia and I seem to have caught every cold and bug that's been going. Although we've been doing better for a month or two now. Zia’s my daughter."
"And the fatigue—is it getting worse?"
"I don't think so, not really. But then…" She should probably tell him that life had been a little different for her these last few weeks—since she and Zia had been staying with Charles.
He raised his eyebrows and waited.
"I haven't been working as much lately. I… we're staying with some friends, and they've been taking care of us."
He smiled. "That brings me to my next question, about your diet."
She finally relaxed a little. "I've been eating much better recently. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Good food." She nodded to herself. Faye had been making sure that she ate well.
Dr. Ambrose smiled. "That's good to hear. And your daughter—how old is she?"
"She's six."
"That's a wonderful age."
"She's a wonderful little person."
"Okay, well. Do you want to hop up on there, so that I can give you a look over?"
She went and perched on the edge of the exam table, gripping the edge of it tightly as he approached.
"There's no need to be nervous. All I'm going to do is check your eyes, take a look at your nails. I'd like to feel your abdomen. And then we'll see. How does that sound?"
She nodded mutely.
"Want to pull down your lower eyelid for me, so I can take a peek in there?"
She did as he asked.
"And your nails?"
She held her hands out, and he examined her fingernails. She didn't know what that was about.
"Thank you. And I need to check your abdomen."
She sat up a little straighter as he gently pressed against her stomach. She watched his face, but it didn't give anything away.
"Thank you. And now I'd like to check your neck."
She closed her eyes and tensed as he felt her neck, checking her lymph nodes. Her heart rate picked up when he asked her to raise her arms so that he could check her armpits too. Next, he felt along her collarbone.
