Paradise-Grey's Anatomy AU Book 8

Chapter Twenty Two

"Carpe diem. How annoying is carpe diem? How are you supposed to plan a life, a career, a family, if you're always carpe-ing the diem? If we all seized every moment of every day, there wouldn't be doctors. Who would sit through Med school? We'd all be too busy, living in the now. Whatever that means. I'll admit, the Romans had a point. You gotta live life. And living means that every morning, when you wake up, you have to choose. It means seizing what life offers in the moment and forging ahead, no matter the weather... or closing the curtains, and shutting out the day"

"the end is near, there's lots to fear"

Jackson met Cristina, April, Lucy and Meredith outside the hotel. "That was hell. Actual physical hell", Lucy said as Jackson joined them in sitting on the curb. "I think I went a tad overboard", Cristina said. "A lot overboard". "They took something from me", Meredith said. "Yeah, that wasn't an exam. That was an interrogation", Jackson said. "Like, way, way, overboard", Cristina continued. "The mind games", Lucy said. "Trick questions", April said. "It felt like al-Qaeda in there", Jackson said. "Next test is June", Meredith said. "June's not bad", Lucy said.

"2013"

"What's done is done", Jackson said. "Let's just not even talk about it anymore". "Anyone know how Alex did?" Lucy asked. "Anyone know if Alex made it?" April added. "Made it?" Cristina questioned. "What do you mean, "Made it"?" Meredith said.

Six Hours Earlier...

Session One

"Welcome to the American Medical Board of Surgery Certifying Examination", the examiner said. "We'll give you four separate scenarios in three 30-minute sessions, 10-minute breaks in between. To pass the test, you must pass two of the three sessions. Now, you can fail a session and still pass. But examiners are not permitted to indicate whether you passed or failed each session. You'll be rated on your ability to diagnose, manage treatment, handle the unexpected, basically, the strength of your constitution in crisis".

"So then, a 65 year old woman has a lisfranc fracture", the examiner said. "She's experiencing pain, swelling and tenderness. What is your course of treatment?" "Okay, so I would get a CT scan to confirm the symptoms and fractures", Lucy said. "And I would get her straight to surgery with a six to twelve week recovery. And a next day discharge".

"What are some potential complications from this surgery?"

"Nerve damage, arthritis, osteomyelitis and other internal damage"

"Like?"

"It can damage the area around the injury including your muscles, nerves, blood vessels, tendons and ligaments"

"What would be your at home recovery recommendations for this patient?"

"Icing the area, elevating the foot as often as possible and resting the foot to prevent further damage"

"What medications would you recommend the patient to be taking for this injury?"

"Over the counter pain medications such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen may reduce pain and swelling"

"Okay, moving on"

"Julia went all FSH on me this morning", Mark said to Derek.

"Is that a sexual term? Wait. You know what? I don't want to know"

"She wants a baby. She wants my baby"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. It's crazy. Until you think about it and realise it's kind of genius. I love Julia. I want Sofia to have some siblings to grow up with. Why wouldn't I do it?"

"Are you asking me if you should have a baby?"

"What, you think I shouldn't?"

"Have a baby or ask me if you should have a baby?"