Thicker than Water

Room 304

Author's Note

Hi everyone!  I'm a new writer here on Wattpad, and intend to publish a new chapter every week or every other week.  PLZ comment!  Even though I might not take your suggestions : ) I would love to hear from all you readers.  Readers = happiness.  Enjoy! 

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Elana

Dr. Elana Russo strode through the corridors of Chicago General Hospital. She despised Mondays, but weirdly found comfort in the rhythmic sounds of the hospital's monitors, the place she began to see as a second home.

"Hey, sunshine! You look tired," a voice chirped behind her.

Elana turned around to see her best friend, Dr. Sarah Davis. Sarah was an orthopedic surgeon and her best friend since residency. Tall, blond and striking, the former college athlete was extroverted and direct, and in her private life, never without romantic interests. A contrast to Elana, who was more introverted and guarded with her heart.

"You gotta tell me about your date yesterday. The one with the guy I set you up with."

Sarah put a hot latte, Elana's favorite, by her side. Elana turned around to thank her friend, but the blond had already whizzed by, too busy with her workday to stop and catch up.

Elana smiled. The perk of working with her best friend was that they completely understood each other's jobs. It was unspoken that mornings were precious times to set the rest of the week up, so it wasn't a good time to stop and chat. With other friends, Elana knew her not looking up from her files or Sarah not even stopping to say a little bit more could have been deemed to be rude. But between two doctors who had such hectic schedules, small gestures meant everything.

Elana's light brown eyes turned back to scanning her medical charts and files. As she approached the nurse's station to log new notes from her analysis, Dr. Rodriguez, a young resident, intercepted her with a new chart.

Elana liked Edward Rodriguez, even though he was a bit of a puppy. Rodriguez was one of the rising star residents at Chicago General Hospital, and because he wanted to specialize in cardio, he was trying to get any opportunity to work on her cases as possible. He was a bit much sometimes, but Elana respected his drive – she was the same way as a resident too.

"Dr. Russo, a new patient for you," Dr. Rodriguez stated.

Elana sat at the computer, logging her notes about ongoing patients. Luckily, after years of training, her multi-tasking abilities were unusually good.

"New patient? What's the case?"

Dr. Rodriguez put the chart beside her. "Mr. Alexander Lavano, chronic heart condition. Patient was admitted last night because he felt pains in his chest, so much so that he passed out from shortness of breath. Has had these pains for over a year, but never went to the hospital because he refused to get himself checked up. Needs to be evaluated."

"Okay Dr. Rodriguez, you're on the case," Elana knew Rodriguez was just dying to work on cardio cases, and even better for him was if the patient needed heart surgery.

"Mr. Lavano is in Room 304. Head there first, and I'll meet you there in 10 minutes," Elana said as she flipped through the rest of her patients' charts. 

* * * * * *

When Elana got to Room 304, Dr. Rodriguez had just finished up Mr. Lavano's basic monitoring and metrics check.

"Mr. Lavano, Dr. Russo is here," he announced. "Dr. Russo, meet your new patient, Mr. Alexander Lavano. Alexander Lavano, age 74. Mr. Lavano has had heart tremors for over a year now, and the patient stated that he has felt heartburn since last May but this remained unreported until now. Last night, the patient felt severe pains in his chest and couldn't breathe, so he called 911. We need to understand Mr. Lavano's heart condition better before proceeding with further action."

"Mr. Lavano, I'm Dr. Russo, your cardiologist. We'll be taking good care of you," Elana smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Dr. Russo, pleased to meet you. You don't look like a typical heart surgeon," the frail man responded with his eyes twinkling. "And I'm feeling okay, much better now that you're here."

Elana raised an eyebrow, amused. "What does a heart surgeon usually look like?"

"Definitely not as radiant as you, my child," he responded.

Elana laughed. She knew Mr. Lavano's type well, having been around family friends who were just like him. He had a thick Chicago accent and was clearly wealthy, confident and very old-school. His charming compliments were meant to be fun, not uncomfortable, so she took his charisma in stride.

"Now, let's talk about your heart," she went back to Mr. Lavano's charts. "Because there's no record of your medical condition, we'll need to start running tests to understand the severity of your condition. We'll start with an echocardiogram to get a clear picture of your heart's structure and function. Then, we'll move on to a stress test to see how your heart responds under pressure. And, of course, we'll throw in a few basic scans for good measure, looking at your heart but also your brain activity in case you were suffering from early signs of a stroke."

Elana looked at the checklist on the patient's file and nodded to Rodriguez. "Dr. Rodriguez, let's get started on the prep work for Mr. Lavano's scans ASAP."

"Right away, Dr. Russo," Dr. Rodriguez said while leaving the room.

Mr. Lavano chuckled, "Now Doc, do I get a prize if I survive all these tests?"

Elana grinned, playing along with the animated patient. "How about a gold star for every step you complete? Collect enough, and we'll upgrade you to VIP status."

Mr. Lavano laughed, the sound filling the room with unexpected warmth. "Doc, you've got a deal. I'm used to living the VIP life, so I can't stop now. Now, let's get this heart party started." He winked at her, as she closed the door with a smile.

Elana skipped a little bit in her step for the whole day after the banter with Mr. Lavano. It was energizing serving patients with a good sense of humor and a light attitude towards the morbidity of life. The job could be so depressing during certain sprints, and she definitely needed all the cheering up she could get. Lately, she had too many family members' terrible news that their loved ones would not make it after surgery.

She knew already – Mr. Alexander Lavano was going to be a real riot.