Chapter 2: Jack
My feet pounded on the pavement as I made my way down the street for my morning run. With it being early January, the weather was cold, the wind brisk, and there was snow piled up along the edges of the sidewalk. It wasn't my favorite weather, but I was at least glad to be outside in the fresh air instead of stuck inside on the treadmill. I used this quiet time alone in the mornings to reflect and prepare for the day ahead. It could be mentally gruelly working as a pediatric oncologist but I couldn't imagine working in any other speciality. My morning run and lifting session were an outlet for all the stress that came with the job.
Getting lost in my music I rounded the corner and turned onto Main Street. The Starbuck's came into view and I couldn't help but think back to the run-in I had there a few days ago.
While waiting for my coffee, I got a call from my nurse asking for help with one of my patients that was struggling with nausea and vomiting. After giving her orders for a new medication, I heard Ned shout out "Order for Jake!". I had known Ned for years now and he thought it was funny to mess with me by calling out different names. Still looking at my phone, I shook my head and chuckled. I pocketed my phone and started to head towards the counter only for someone to turn around and bump directly into my chest. I quickly grabbed onto the woman's upper arms to keep her from falling.
"Ah I am so, so sorry. Are you ok?" I asked as I looked up and got a better look at the woman. My breath hitched. The woman before me was absolutely beautiful. With her long auburn hair that fell in soft waves around her face and her piercing blue eyes. But what stood out the most was the distinct feeling that I somehow knew this woman. I knew I had never met her before, but I felt an instant connection.
"I.. uh.." She appeared flustered. Damn, this woman was cute with her cheeks stained pink and clearly at a loss for words. She finally shook her head composing herself. "Yes, I am fine. I'm sorry about that too. It was my fault."
"Well yeah it kinda was, but I wasn't going to call you out of it." I couldn't help but give her a hard time. It had been a long time since a woman had truly caught my attention, and this one definitely had.
"Thank you for letting me hold on to my pride like that. I.. I should go'' she said and started heading towards the door.
I wanted to keep talking to this woman. Get her name. Get her number.
"Hey wait!" I called out. But then Ned was calling my "name" again and my phone started ringing. I knew it was the hospital and most likely was urgent if they were calling my cell. Next thing I knew she was out the door.
I shook my head pulling myself out of the memory that had been running through my head in my down time over the past two days. I picked up my pace as I headed back towards home.
It had been about six months since I finished my pediatric oncology fellowship and moved to Hope Valley. It was slow at first building up my own patient load but the past couple of months I had seen a steady increase in patients. Between hours in the clinic, rounding at the hospital, and getting settled into my new townhome, I'd been keeping myself busy. I took a left at the next block and my home came into view.
Out of breath, I opened the front door and pulled my sweaty Under Armour shirt off. I grabbed some water and chugged it down. Glancing at the clock, I had an hour before my first patient. I flipped my coffee pot on and headed up to shower. Glancing at my phone I saw a text from my brother Tom.
Tom:You will never guess what happened to me last night
Jack: You met a hot chick and you want to brag about it
Tom: Lucky guess. How's it going bro?
Jack: Good. Busy. Just getting ready and then heading into clinic. How about you?
Tom: Lame. But in all seriousness I'm thinking about coming to visit in a couple months if you're up for it
Jack: Yea dude just let me know when so I can sure to clear my schedule
Tom: Sounds good man. I will let you know the details when I have them hammered down. Now go save some lives!
Jack: Ha I'll try. Have a good one. Don't do anything dumb
Tom: You know I will
I just shook my head. Tom was a wild one but he had a good heart. It had been awhile since I'd seen him and it would be fun to have him visit.
I quickly hopped in the shower and threw on scrubs knowing I would have to some spend time at the hospital today. I ran downstairs, grabbed my coffee and was out the door.
"Ok Annie so like I said things are looking really good. Keep being brave with your treatments and I will see you back in a month."
"Ok Dr. Thornton!" the sweet 4 year old girl responded and gave me a high give when I held my hand up.
"Call if you need anything" I said to her mother before exiting the exam room.
It had been a busy, but good day in clinic so far that morning. It was always more enjoyable when all the patients seemed to be doing well. I stopped in the break room to grab some lunch before heading to my office to work on some charting.
I was in the middle of some notes when there was a knock on the door. "Hey, Dr. Thornton. Got a second?"
Turning from my computer I scowled. "Not if you keep calling me Dr. Thornton".
"Sorry, Jack. Trying to keep it professional at work."
"You have literally known me since the day I was born." Abigail just laughed. Abigail has been my mom's best friend since college. Our families spent a lot of time together growing up, and now I had the pleasure of working with her in clinic. She was one of my best nurses. Always on top of situations and the kids responded so well to her.
"I just wanted to check in to see how Phillip is doing?" Phillip, one of the nicest young boys I have ever met, had made an impression on all of us. He was diagnosed awhile back with a rare form of leukemia. I took over his care a few months ago. He had been doing well, but then took a turn for the worse about a week ago. I ended up admitting him to the hospital and his first days there had not gone as smoothly as any of us had hoped.
"I am heading over to the hospital to check on him in a bit. I looked at his numbers in his chart this morning and they looked better. But I need to get an eye on him before I can really be sure." Abigail nodded her head knowingly. "I haven't gotten any calls on him though so that's another good sign."
"That is good. Well, I just wanted to check in about him. Everything else going well Jack?" she emphasized with a smirk.
"Yes, Abigail. All is well. Nothing new to really report."
"I know. I talked to your mother last night." She laughed while I just rolled my eyes. "I'm telling you. Let me set you up with the girl from my gym. I truly think she'd be perfect for you."
There it is. I knew it was coming. "And I'm telling you I'm not interested. I do NOT want to be set up. Especially by my mom's best friend who is basically like an aunt to me."
"Your loss Jack." she tossed over her shoulder with a wink as she headed back to work.
I turned back towards my computer to get back to charting. I had been on two other set-ups and they were both a disaster. One was ready to get married after finding out I was a doctor and the other's life goal was to be on a reality show. Hard pass.
I finished my charting from the morning and checked my email. With nothing else pressing to do at clinic I decided to head over to the hospital. Our building was connected to the hospital so it was a short walk over to the oncology unit. I made my way through the handful of patients I had admitted. Everyone was stable, and I put in discharge orders for one of my patients.
My last patient to see was Phillip. I stopped outside his room and logged onto the computer. With a quick scan of his chart everything was still looking good. As I was logging off, his nurse walked out of his room. "Hey Dr. Thornton! Good to see you."
"Hey Melissa. How's our patient in there?"
"He's doing good! He really seems to have turned a corner these past 24 hours. This is my third day with him and I've seen great improvement. His most recent labs should be in there."
"Yes, I was just looking at them. They are trending good"
"Oh good. I know he's anxious to get out of here. His mom is with him now. I think she's nervous about the chemo."
"Yes, I will have a talk to her about that. Thanks for the update."
"You bet. I have another patient to see, but page me if you need anything." With that she was off as I headed into another room.
"Knock, knock! How are we feeling in here?" I said as I headed to the sink to wash my hands.
"Hi, Dr Thornton! Feeling a lot better. Like so good I think I can go home now!" Philip stated with a giant smile on his face. One we had not seen a few days prior.
I just chuckled. "I know buddy. We are going to get you home as soon as it's safe." His coloring and demeanor really had improved over the past 72 hours. "And Mom?" I asked turning towards Mrs. Cantrell, Phillip's mother. "What do you think of our guy here?" Parents of patients could tell me a lot. They knew their kids better than anyone so I always listened closely to what they had to say.
"Hi, doctor," she said with a hesitant smile. I could tell this past week has taken its toll on her. Not only did these kids go through a lot, but so did their entire families. "Phillip really does seem to be doing better these past couple of days. I guess I am just unsure about where we go from here? This all started after his last round of chemo. I know he needs to keep up with the schedule but I also don't like seeing him having such severe reactions to it either."
I moved towards Phillip and started to do some physical assessments. "I hear what you are saying and those concerns are valid. I think some of the cause of the current issues was the fact Phillip was also suffering from a random infection. Unfortunately, what is just a cold to most people is more significant for Phillip. I think that plus the chemo was just more than his body could tolerate at the time." I smiled at Phillip as I continued to check various things. "Anything specifically hurting or bothering you right now bud?"
"Nope!" Phillip was nothing but smiles, clearly ready to get out of the hospital.
I patted his shoulder and disposed of my gloves. "So this is what I am thinking. He is due to start his next round of chemo tomorrow. How about we start it here in the hospital." Phillip groaned but I chose to ignore it and continue on. "If you do well with the first two infusions and your labs stay stable, you can go home not tomorrow but the next afternoon. Then you can finish up in the outpatient infusion clinic. How does that sound to everyone?"
"That sounds great to me" his mom smiled clearly feeling more positive than she did a bit ago.
"I would prefer to go home today, but I supposed this plan will work." Phillip grumbled. "I just really want to get back to school. We have the Third Grade Olympics coming up!"
"Third grade Olympics huh? That sounds fun," I smiled while putting some notes into his chart.
"Yes, my teacher is awesome this year! Miss Thatcher is the best!"
"Well, bud, let's get you back in time for the Olympics. I will put the orders in to start the chemo tomorrow. I will be by to check on you both tomorrow and the next day. Do not hesitate to use your call button if you need anything. And you nurse can get ahold of me if needed." I said to both him and his mom.
"Thanks, Doc!" Phillip said with a smile and pounded my fist when I held mine up.
"Thank you Dr. Thornton" his mom said as I shook her hand and left the room. Glancing at my watch I saw it was already 3pm.
I took out my phone and scrolled through various messages and emails as I headed back to clinic to grab my stuff to head home. There was a text from Carson saying pick up basketball tonight at 7. I was just getting ready to respond I would be there when I collided head on with someone.
"Oh my goodness I am so sorry" a woman said as she bent down to start picking up colorful pages that had flown all over the ground.
I bent down to help her. "No, I had my head buried in my phone. It was all my fault."
At that she looked up from the floor and a flash of recognition crossed her features. "Well yeah it kinda was, but I wasn't going to call you out of it."