"Ouch...that's a nasty cut, Carly", Abby said as carefully observed the open laceration on the girl's index finger.
"My Mom made me wash the dishes," the 13 year old said. 'I was washing a glass and it just popped in my hand."
" Well, it's a little deep. I think we are going to have to take a couple of stitches to help it close properly," Abby said as she pulled a rolling tray table between the girl and herself. 'Dori, can you get me a suture kit, please?" Abby looked up at the girl's white face and deep blue eyes. She smiled and her brown eyes twinkled.
"Looks like you will have to take a few days off from doing dishes," she said. Dori returned with a suture kit and placed it on the table.
"She'll just find something else for me to do instead," Carly shrugged. "Do I have to watch?"
'Oh no, sweetie" Abby said, "Dori is just going to wash the cut out and numb it a little bit. I'll be right back and you can just lay back and close your eyes." Abby jotted a note on the girl's chart.
"Dori, give it a wash with chlorhexidine gluconate and then I'll order some lidocaine," she said. " I need to check on a patient in in exam 3 and I will be right back." She smiled at Carly and patted her knee.
"Then I am going to have a talk with your Mom about resting that hand for a few days," she said.
"You can try ," Carly sighed. Abby laughed and made her way through the Suture Room doors. Carly's mother was in a chair in the hall filling out insurance paperwork. She looked up with a worried frown.
"A couple of stitches," Abby said. "She'll be fine. The glass missed the tendons."
"Carly is a harpist," her mother said. "She needs those fingers. Thank you, Dr. Lockhart."
"I'm going to give the lidocaine a chance to set in and I will be right back to suture the cut," she replied. "You can go in and wait with her. I think she is a little nervous." Carly's mother nodded. Abby turned and headed toward the exam room area. She pressed a hand to the small of her back and sighed. It had been a long, long shift. It seemed like she had seen every small cut and laceration in Chicago. Oh, and there was the sprained ankle she treated at noon. And the runner with leg cramps. It had been a strange day. She felt as if some unknown force were picking and choosing her patients for her.
"Abby, I need your help in here", Luka called as she passed an open door. Abby grimaced as she caught the blood curdling screams coming from the bed. Luka was holding a writhing little boy in place while his very young mother watched from a corner.
"Hold him!" Luka ordered and Abby moved to the other side of the bed to help restrain the child in place.
"This is Bailey Miller," Luka said over the screams. 'He is five years old and was brought in with minor epistaxis, very bad breath and pain in his nasal cavity. I scoped him and there is an obstruction. I put five drops of Otrivin in his nose...which he did not like." Abby chuckled. Obviously. Luka winked at her and then suddenly let go of the boy. Bailey stopped moving immediately and looked at Luka. With a flourish, Luka pulled something invisible out of thin air. The little boy watched as Luka pantomimed caressing a feather. He stuck it jauntily behind his ear and Bailey chuckled. Luka tossed the invisible feather into the air and pretended to blow it to keep it from falling. He gestured to Bailey and the little boy smiled and blew lightly at the invisible feather. Abby gently released her hands and watched their play. Luka blew the 'feather' at her and she whisked it back into the air over Bailey. Bailey blew harder. Luka reached over and held one of the child's nostrils closed as Bailey blew.
"Again, Bailey," Luka said. "Get it higher!" Chuny hurried into the room and handed Luka a pair of bayonet forceps. Luka quickly grasped the tiniest corner of something in the boy's nose and pulled a tightly wadded mass from the nostril. It was bloody and mucousy and Luka laid it on the instrument table. Chuny busied herself wiping Bailey's nose while the rest of them leaned over the table. Luka carefully began to unfold the piece of paper that was the mess.
"Bailey...you little freak!" his mother cried. 'That's my missing child support check!"
"Daddy told me not to lose it!" Bailey began to cry. Luka exchanged laughing glances with Abby and examined the boy's nose. Dori came to the door.
"Dr. Lockhart," she said. "Carly is ready." Luka nodded and Abby walked to the door.
"Chuny, I never made it to exam 3..." She said.
"Dr. Morris is there," Chuny said. "It's the kid with the rash, right?"
"Morris..." Abby mouthed as she shook her head.
A half an hour later Carly was stitched up and bandaged and released to her mother's care. She was smiling broadly as Abby outlined that she was not to get the finger wet for at least 48 hours and should have limited use of it for the rest of the week. Abby finished her chart at the desk and then picked up another file. She arched her back again and sighed.
"Tough day?" Chuny asked. Abby shook her head.
" Not really," she said. "Stitches and stitches and stitches...a sprained ankle...running cramps and more stitches. I'd like a little more variety, I think."
"Dr. Kovac asked us to keep you out of curtains," Chuny said. "We have had three cases of chicken pox and one roseola all from the same daycare. Dr. Morris is with a possible measles right now."
"Dr. Morris has been handling all of the rashes today," Frank said from the computer station. "A regular kamikaze of infectious diseases." Chuny chuckled and nodded.
"Maybe he will catch something fun!" she said. Abby frowned at her in disbelief.
"Oh, Chuny," she said shaking her head. "Someone needs to talk to Sam about you and Haleh working the same shift. You two are SO bad together."
"Wouldn't do any good," Chuny grinned. "We have something called 'seniority'...which YOU gave up to become the kick ass doc that you are!"
"Excuse me," said someone at the desk. "I'm looking for Dr. Kovac? Dr. Luka Kovac?" Abby and Chuny turned to see a woman standing at the desk. She was looking around and smiled broadly when she saw Luka approaching.
"Luka!" she called and ran to him.
"Gillian?" he said. Gillian ran to him and threw herself into his arms. Luka was stunned as she reached up and kissed him soundly. Frank's mouth dropped open.
"Gillian?" Chuny asked, not taking her eyes off the scene.
"From Montreal..." Abby said watching them. "Oh...and Kisagani...in Africa." Abby sighed.
"That's my guy," she said. "A girl in every port!"