Mesut's Heartstrings

Chapter 2

Mindy walked down what seemed like an endless hallway to examination room five with Mesut following closely behind as if he were a duckling with flawless imprinting.  He had seemed to snap out of his mischievous and playful state of mind and was rather solemn and timid. While walking down the hallway, Mindy mused as to how she should break the ice with her patient. Mesut seemed almost as timid as she was and although she had hoped for an English speaking player, when Dr. Chavda called out the name "Mesut Ozil", Mindy knew immediately that she would be challenged with language barriers.

"Just introduce yourself before the moment passes", she bickered with herself as she strided silently.

The words could not come out. She was nauseated by the burden of her anxiety. As she reached the door of examination room five, she let out a deep breath. She was going to perform a basic physical, one of the first clinical tasks a medical student learns. One that Mindy had performed countless times on less high profile patients. At this moment, she felt incompetent as she was stunned by her nerves.

"Please, take a seat Mr. Ozil", she finally blurted out.

Mesut sat on the medical bench which was covered with sterile, white tissue paper. He peered at Mindy, wondering why she seemed so nervous for such a routine check up. Mindy took a moment to regain her composure at the sink and finally turned around to face her patient and start her exam.

"Mr. Mesut Ozil. It's quite nice to meet you. My name is Dr. Mindy Li and I will be performing your physical exam today. I'm aware that this is a routine occurrence for you, so I will try to be as thorough as I can, as quickly as I can"

Mindy extended out her hand to Mesut and he studied her for a brief moment. He seemed rather guarded and in those brief moments, Mindy's heart pounded in anticipation for him to return her handshake. She had always been overly sensitive to rejection. He finally took her hand and relieved Mindy's anxiety, as he responded in a heavy German accent, "Yes, thank you."

"Yes. So to start, do you have any complaints for your visit today?"

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"Good, then I'd like to take your blood pressure, check your heart rhythms and reflexes. May I take your arm for the blood pressure recording?" Mindy then motioned to Mesut's arm to which Mesut promptly offered it to her. Mindy started to gain some confidence as she got accustomed to Mesut's mannerisms, which although reserved, had a hint of vulnerability. As she finished up the exam, she had even felt comfortable enough to venture in small talk. Perhaps she should have shown more interest in him as a person before she started her procedures.

"So when did you arrive to play for the Arsenal team?"
"Arsenal is a great team. I'm lucky for to be here."

Mindy paused in confusion to his response. She sighed shallowly and realized that small talk was a challenge for her foreign patient.

"Surely. I am lucky to be here, too. Lucky to be your doctor."

She looked up from her charts and smiled at Mesut, who smiled back at her sheepishly. His large eyes seemed to share his own uncertainty and in the moment, Mindy felt a sudden sense of comfort and empathy for him. Their eyes lingered for a period that seemed to stop time, when Mindy abruptly looked back down her charts and nervously began recording her notes. When she was finished recording Mesut's physical parameters, she gave him as casual a pat on the shoulder as she could muster. He swung himself off the medical bench and followed her out of the examining room, back down the hallway which they came. She felt good. She felt relieved that her patient was so easy-going, calm, and nice. The hallway seemed shorter on the way out than in.

        Dr. Chavda was standing in the waiting room with a couple of medical interns. Mesut joined his other teammates and resumed his horseplay. Dr. Chavda, who had little patience for silliness, dismissed the footballers from the waiting room back onto the bus which would take them back to the training pitch. As Mesut filed out behind his teammates, he glanced at Mindy quickly before leaving out the door. Once Dr. Chavda had collected each of their charts, he finally dismissed his students. Mindy was glowing in pride for she had finished her first task as a medical professional in the Arsenal Sports Medicine center. She trailed behind her peers to the locker room to retrieve her belongings when Dr. Chavda called out to her name from the waiting room. Mindy turned around to see Dr. Chavda looking sternly at her.