Charlie was so close to the end she could taste it. After almost 8 years, she would finally be a Doctor of Medicine. All the hours of study, volunteering and internships had led to this final semester. She had finished her first year's residency at the UoC SF medical centre, then a two year residency at Stockton's St Joseph's Hospital, which also involved two shifts a week at the state prison. Three more months here at Mercy General in Sacramento and then she could go wherever she wanted. Help the people who needed help, not just the ones who could afford it.
Charlie followed her supervising doctor around the paediatric ward. Dr Holmes had given her the lead care of the patient and stepped back to let her diagnose the child. The senior doctor had noticed Charlie was meticulous in her care and took the time to build rapport with the child, gaining her trust. It was endearing to see that level of kindness in a student.
Charlie read the initial report of when the child was brought in and the stomach pains she had been complaining about. Immediately, her mind found its way to Gregory and his cries as he clutched his tummy. She read the list of symptoms and found the similarities and unconsciously wrote off the unconnected ones.
Her own memory created a preconceived idea of what was wrong and like Alice she chased that white rabbit. She ordered tests, scans and biopsies for the poor child. Dr Holmes hadn't said a word, instead he had trusted Charlie and her explanation of the symptoms and left her to it because like most hospitals, they were understaffed.
It wasn't until sepsis ravaged the young child's body that Charlie realised how wrong she had been. It wasn't pancreatic cancer. Not every child with a sore stomach was Gregory. A simple dose of antibiotics early on and keyhole surgery repair the tear in her lower intestine would have seen that child healthy in no time.
Charlie believed she had killed Irene Beard. The 8 year old girl who had a sore stomach. She was ready to drop her plan of being a doctor because the guilt ate at her. This was different to Jeremy, her first patient to die. There was no one else to blame, no insurance, no policy just her error.
Charlie had faced the parents alone as she gave them the news. The parents cried and Charlie did too. When the hospital said they weren't liable for the death Charlie had donated a lump sum to the family herself. It didn't ease the guilt but she had to try something, she couldn't go back to where she was three years ago.
Charlie had left work early and sat at the dive bar she impulsively pulled into. She held a glass of Jameson on the rocks in her hand, swirling the golden liquid around and around. Every swirl sent the sweet aroma of the whiskey into her face as she struggled to put the glass down before it touched her lips. With a shaking hand she placed it down and pulled the bronze two year sobriety chip out of her pocket.
With a strength she didn't know she had, she left the bar and drove to the closest AA meeting. She slipped into the back pew of the church and listened to the other addicts stories. The stories were so different to her own yet they all had the same shared struggle. The struggle to stay sober, to say no. She felt better after the session, even if she did not partake. Just hearing others winning their battle helped her.
She went home to her apartment she was renting and read over and over the child's folder. She read it until she no longer saw Gregory's symptoms but Irene's. She read it until she saw what she should have seen and knew she wouldn't make the same mistake again.
She took the black notebook that she used to write grocery lists and scribbled her name down. She needed to remember the cost of her mistakes. She tore the page out and started again.
Gregory Adams
June Adams
Thomas Adams
Jeremy Sykes
Irene Beard
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Chance Encounters
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] Everyone has grand plans for their life and Charlie was no different. She didn't know how those plans derailed so fast her head still spins. That's a lie, it all came down to one moment, a chance encounter. After that, nothing was the sa...
