The anatomy of a champion • I •

16.

Arriving at the circuit, I was out of breath seeing how big and extraordinary all looked. The sounds of the engines that made me flinch everytime, maybe I would eventually get used to it, the smell of the gas, the smell of rubber left on the asphalt flooded my lungs. The sound made by the gun machines while adjusting the tyres, the bustle of people walking hurriedly but at the same time genuinely smiling at the fact that a new season was about to begin.

After all, I could not believe how thriled I was feeling in that place. I thought only the hospital had these effects on me. Maybe Diana was right...maybe it was better to take this step and try something new.
In the meantime, while advancing towards the medical center that each circuit was required to have, Dr Roberts explained to us how almost all the paddocks were made up, although they had different layouts. "The paddock area is located behind the pit lane and in the middle, being the team garages. It is strictly limited for teams, sponsors, media, employees and the FIA, but for each circuit a limited number  of tickets are put up for sale for those who want to live this experience" I snorted hoping no one saw me, thinking that in fact they were tickets for influent people loaded with money because surely not everyone could afford such an expensive ticket. I continued to listen to Dr. Roberts who acted as a tourist guide

"On the other side we have the areas of hospitality from each team and below a common area for relaxation where you can find mini restaurants and bars." Probably i will hang out in my breaks over there. "On the right side we have the media pen, where you will see that the drivers will give interviews for different sports stations" he continued going forward "I know that everything now seems overwhelming, but you'll get used to it and you'll even start to love this place. Now that it's only pre-season testing, it's a little quieter, but during the week of the race, from thursday onwards, it will be chaotic around here"

In the end we arrived at the medical center, and dr Roberts gave us our robes with our name tag.
"Each of you will have a consultation office" opening the door from one of the office inviting us in. Everything smelled new in the medical offices. The rooms were equipped with an emergency trolley, a monitor to evaluate vital signs, an ecg and ultrasound machine. And of course a desk and a bed for consultations.

"For today you will have to consult the mechanics and some of the engineers. I have made a list for each of you with their names and the time at which they must come in. You'll have around 20 minutes per patient for standard procedures. Brief anamnesis, evaluation of the vital signs and an ecg. If you think that some of them need blood tests, don't hesitate to ask for them. We have an office for that and you will also find the nurses over there" I nodded approvingly at all the information "  wouldn't be better if the patients came to us directly with ecgs done by the nurses in another office, so we can focus more on the consultation?" I added thinking at the way we did the consultation at the hospital to make things go faster and more efficiently ."Excellent idea, that's what we'll do" Luckly Dr Roberts liked my proposal and dr Peter smiled as well.

"For the drivers, we will like a different aproach, therefore they will be consulted tomorrow. moreover the standard consultation an echocardiography and a stress test is requierd" hearing this, I looked around the room in the search for the treadmill or stationary bicyle and noticed a dividing panel probably behind it being one of the equipments.

It made sense why those extra evaluations were needed for the drivers, they are subjected to intense efforts during the races and we have to make sure that their heart is working properly. That there are no abnormalities of the heart walls, valves and large vessels connected to the heart, as well as the speed and direction of the blood through the valves.
And the cardiac stress test is usually performed on athelets. I was used to these procedures, they were in my area of ​​expertise and I couldn't wait to start the consults.

Dr Roberts left us to get ready but we still had a few minutes to spare until the first mechanics or engineers would come and Dr Peter started a small conversation. "please call me Irina, no need for us to be so formally" after all we will be spending some time together this year. Peter told me that Dr Roberts was one of his profesors in the medical school and he recieved a call from him 3 months ago to offer this job. He specializes in trauma surgery and was deployed to Afghanistan on the battlefield. As thrilling as that sounds, he returned after spending 2 years there with PTSD. Therapist's office was like his second home, yet i appreciated the sincerity with which he was speaking about his issues and luckly he didn't have any panic attacks in a while.
He is married and have a 3-year-old boy.

"when we have a break, maybe we can eat something in that relaxation area" Peter said to me and I responded affirmatively to his proposal.