As the Doctor walked towards them, the two anxious people in the waiting room rose tentatively and waited. From what he was wearing, he had obviously just come from the operating room.
“Mr. and Mrs. Rose?” the Doctor asked.
“Yes, Doctor, we’re here waiting for news about our Aunt, Jane Williams,” the man said.
“Well, she’s out of the OR and resting comfortably now. The procedure went very well, considering her age and condition. She’s in room 444F if you want to see her in about an hour,” the Doctor went on, “We’ll hold her until tomorrow morning, and then if her chart looks good, you can pick her up sometime mid-morning.”
“Wait, Doctor, did you say she could leave as early as tomorrow morning?” the woman asked, amazed.
“Oh, yes, these arthroscopic knee procedures are quite routine. If your Aunt Jane were twenty years younger, she could have walked out of here tonight,” the Doctor proudly announced.
“Knee surgery? Doctor, our Aunt Jane was in here for a heart bypass operation. Her cardiologist said she had to have the surgery or she wouldn’t last much longer? Are you sure we’re talking about the same patient, Doctor? Our Aunt Jane is eighty-seven years old, reddish blue hair, about five-three and thin. Was that who you operated on tonight, Doctor or was it someone else?” the man asked, clearly concerned.
The Doctor looked quickly at his chart and then responded to the two, “Look, I never met this patient. I just do the operations. I just review MRI’s. And as far as what the patient looked like, well, all I can say for sure was that it was an older woman. But my chart says Jane Williams, arthroscopic knee surgery. It’s possible there could be two Jane Williams in the hospital.”
Just then the intercom blared out “Code Team 6, Code Blue, room 444F! Code Team 6, Code Blue, room 444F!”
The Doctor’s face went white as he turned and raced for the double doors leading back into the hospital proper.
As the Doctor disappeared amid a rush of activity in the hallways, the two just stood there for a moment until things calmed down. Then he took her hand, squeezed it, and asked, “Code Blue. That’s cardiac arrest, isn’t it, honey?”
Squeezing his hand in return, she looked up to him, her face now betraying a smile as she answered, “Oh, yes, my love. Let’s just sit down for a bit and see what happens, okay. After all, it’s the least we can do for our sweet, rich old sickly Aunt Jane.”
End