Testing…1, 2, 3, Testing
Two male orderlies rolled a gurney into House's room late in the afternoon. Greg was a little wary. The last time to big guys took him anywhere, he had to be restrained by their bodies. He was so distracted by the goons, he missed the short, muscular woman who followed close behind.
"Hey there, Greg. Got an MRI available, so we thought we'd stick you in and see what we can see." Cindy removed the monitoring gear from his chest and arms.
"Dr. Radcliffe never mentioned an MRI. What are you looking for?"
"Hmm. We want to rule out any possible disc issues, spinal stenosis, stuff like that."
"Why, what did you see in the X-rays?" Greg was getting nervous.
"It's what you can't see in an X-ray that causes a need for an MRI," Cindy stated matter-of-factly.
"I've had dozens of MRIs since the infarction. Nobody's looked at my back or joints. Just the thigh muscles," Greg tried to sound indignant.
"Well they were looking for different things. Ready?" She shoved the consent form in front of him.
Greg signed without further ado and was transferred for his ride down to Radiology.
As he lay in the tube listening to it knock and rumble, he felt a pang of loneliness. He missed Wilson's presence since he was usually the one who talked House into a scan of his thigh when the pain was worsening. It was Wilson who gave him the results as well. Now he'd be given a glossed over version by the tech and would have to wait to speak to a real doctor to get the true results.
"How ya doin' in there?" She had the patient's face on the screen. He was starting to look uncomfortable.
"Hanging in there."
"This is going to take about another ten minutes or so. Are you up for it?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Always." Cindy powered down the machine. She entered the main room and hit the button that would slide the table out.
"Thought you needed ten more minutes."
"You looked like you needed a break. Besides, I think we've got a pretty good look at what we need. I'm going to get the films to the doc, and I'll be up to talk to ya shortly after that."
"Social visit?" Concern was creeping up on Greg.
"If you want. Got lots of questions for ya," she waggled her eyebrows.
He managed a weak smile, but his mind was elsewhere. Did they find something? What kind of questions? House thought it might be a good time to have a friend around.