Close to Heaven

1

Miranda walked out of the attending’s lounge with her 8th cup of coffee and a handful of charts.

"Miranda, how long have you been here?" Webber asked, squinting his eyes at her.

"Uh, 23." She responded, rolling her eyes.

"23 hours. Miranda goes home." He said sternly.

"No, I'm fine, sir."

"Bailey, you have a son." Richard reminded her.

"My child is with his father, meaning I have a free weekend so I can do what I want to do, and what I want to do is surgeries. The more gruesome, the better."

"I'm taking you off today’s rotation as of right now."

"Would you tell that to Shepherd or Sloan? Or are you just telling me that. They have been here all day too. Hell, they're all fighting each other for your job." She sneered and then smiled hearing her pager. She looked down at it and waved her hand at him.

"Got to go. Emergency in the pit." Miranda informed jogging off.

"You're a surgical junky." He yelled.

"If I am, then what are you." She shouted back, laughing.

"Dr. Bailey bed three." Meredith nodded, and they walked over.

"Good morning. I'm Dr. Miranda Bailey... go ahead and present." Miranda instructed.

"Okay, this Jeremy Weaver, he is complaining of chest pains. His EKG is fine except for a little LVH, but his first Troponin is within normal limits, Cardio ruled out a dissection, but his belly is still a little tender."

Miranda nodded and put on gloves. She reached down and pressed his stomach, and he groaned loudly.

"It hurts there?"

"Yeah, but it's just heartburn."

She continued pressing and each time he groaned.

"I'm going to admit you for observation." She told him, and he nodded, laying back.  "Um, add LFT's, a second troponin, and an abdominal CT. Call me when you get those results."

"Dr. Bailey Mr. Weavers labs are back. His cholesterol is 300, blood sugar in the pre-diabetic stage, and the abdominal CT was clear."

"Ok, what do you suggest we do next?" Miranda questioned, taking the opportunity to teach.

"I would suggest a barium swallow test."

"And you would be correct, come and let's go inform him."

Miranda walked back into the room after knocking, and he sat up.

"Mr. Weaver your labs are not good. Your cholesterol is in the 300s. Your triglycerides are worse. Your BP is too high, and your blood sugar is in the pre-diabetic stage."

"Ok, but all that can be fixed?" He questioned.

"Yes, with a healthy diet and exercise... but first, we still want to figure out what's the cause of your pain and discomfort in your chest. Earlier you said you had trouble swallowing lately, so we want to do a Barium swallow test."

"A Barium swallow test?"

"It's just a fancy name for an esophagogram. It is an imaging test that checks for problems in your upper GI tract."

"How long does it usually take?" He asked.

"It takes about 10 to 15 minutes."

"Okay. I just need to call my wife first. I told her this morning it was heart burn."