Chapter 3 The Specialists
Dr. David Gates did not like being woken up early in the morning. Especially when he was on vacation. So he was not happy when his phone rang at eleven in the morning.
"Damnit," said David, getting out bed. He stubbed his toe on the way to the kitchen, where the phone was ringing.
"Son of a bitch," said David. He was furious by the time he reached the phone.
"What?" asked David, answering.
"Good morning, sunshine," said the caller. David sighed.
"Steve, I'm on vacation," said David, walking over to the fridge.
"I've got a sick kid who needs your help," said Steven.
"Call Julia," said David, grabbing a milk carton out of the fridge.
"I'm going to. I need both of you," said Steven. David took a sip from the milk carton. He gagged. It was spoiled. David checked the expiration date. It had expired two days earlier.
"Why do you need both of us?" asked David, throwing the milk away.
"This kid is really sick. He's got fluid in his lungs and there's blood in his urine," said Steven.
"How old is he?" asked David.
"Eleven," said Steven. David sighed.
"Fine. I'll be there in an hour," said David.
"See you then," said Steven. He hung up. David groaned.
"My first vacation in a year and I only get three days off. Perfect."
Jake was off the respirator by the time David and his partner, Julia Harris, arrived. But he was still very sick. Steven took David and Julia to meet the Bakers. They were all in a waiting room.
"I'd like you all to meet Drs. David Gates and Julia Harris. They work for the CDC," said Steven.
"The what?" asked Henry.
"The Center for Disease Control," said Kim and Jessica in unison.
"Say what?" asked Mike, he still didn't get it
"You're a moron," Sarah answered
"These guys are Jake's best hopes," said Steven. David and Julia were looking over the results of tests Steven had run on Jake. They weren't really paying attention to Steven. David and Julia gave each other a look when they read Kate's report on what had happened.
"Where was this canal he was thrown into?" asked David.
"It's be a new skate park that just opened," said Kate.
"You want to check the boy out and I'll go see what I can dig up about the canal?" asked David.
"Sure," said Julia. David pulled Steven aside while Julia talked to the Bakers.
"Julia is going to examine and I can tell you right now she's going to want you to open him up and see if there's any other damage," said David.
"OK," said Steven.
"I'm ordering a CAT scan. See if his brain is functioning," said David. Steven nodded. David left to go check out the canal.
Julia first ordered a CAT scan on Jake. She and David were thinking the same thing. The scan showed that Jake's head was fine. Next Julia gave Jake a quick physical.
"Okay, open your mouth for me" Julia said to Jake
"Ahhhhhh" Jake did what he always did when a doctor checked his throat.
"Okay… now turn" Julia directed. She looked in one ear and then the other,
"Okay! Time for your eyes" Julia shined the light in each of Jake's eyes
"Ow how ow ow my eyes!" Jake yelled
"Sorry pal, you gotta hold still" Julia told him. Jake blinked his eyes, than opened them wide to try to make them feel better.
"Okay," Julia started, "now I'm going check your glands." she reached for Jake's neck, but he pulled back
"What are glands?" Jake asked. Julia pointed to where her own glands were to show Jake it was okay.
"They're these things right here". Julia finished checking him from the neck up. She took Jake's blood pressure and listened to his heart. All things considered, he seemed pretty normal.
"Alright, now I'm gonna check your stomach, you tell me if anything feels even the slightest bit funny"
"Okay" Jake agreed. Julia started pressing on his stomach. She started to get close to his bellybutton when Jake let out a yelp.
"What hurts?" Julia asked, she sounded concerned
"What's wrong?" Jake asked, he had heard the concern in her voice
"Nothing, nothing, what hurts" she needed this question answered. His answer could help determine her diagnosis.
"My bellybutton. When you push on it, it hurts" Jake answered
Oh no Julia thought He may have bleeding in his stomach. This could be serious. But Julia put her worries behind her and smiled for Jake
"Okay!" she said cheerfully, "All done!"
Julia met with Jake, Kate, and Steven in the examining room to let them now what was going to happen. Jake was lying on the table. Kate was rubbing his arm.
"I'm sorry to have to do this but I need to how bad the extent of the damage is. I'm ordering surgery on his stomach," said Julia. Steven nodded. Jake sat up.
"What? No, come on," said Jake.
"Um, he's never had surgery before," said Kate.
"It's the only way," said Steven.
Jake shared a tearful goodbye with his family. Julia met with Steven after Jake was fully prepped. Steven was just getting ready to cut Jake open.
"Steven, wait," said Julia. She was in OR scrubs.
"You want to help?" asked Steven.
"No. I'll watch. The boy's abdomen is weak. It's not firm. Be careful about cutting," said Julia.
"OK. Why? What are you thinking?" asked Steven. Julia sighed.
"David caught it right away. The boy may have ingested toxic waste," said Julia.