Old Me

24 - Cool Scar

"Hello?" a man's voice said before pulling back the curtain.

"Hello, Beatrice I'm Dr. Tambe," a tall man in a white coat and scrubs greeted.

"Oh, sorry Siena, were you taking vitals?" Dr. Tambe asked.

"Um, no," she said handing him my chart, "this is my cousin."

"Oh, okay. And you are?" He asked looking at Michael.

"Michael," he said shaking the doctor's hand.

"Nice to meet you. I hear you need some stitches," he said pulling up a rolling stool next to the bed, "Let's take a look."

He pulled a pair of gloves on and removed the bloody gauze from my arm.

"Hm, yes. Definitely going to need some stitches, but not to worry, it should heal quickly," he said inspecting the wound.

He removed the gloves and pulled out a little light from his pocket.

"Can you follow the light for me?" He asked flashing the light and moving it back and forth across my face.

"Good," he said putting it back in his pocket, "I'm just going to feel the back of your head since you fell, okay?"

I nodded and he moved his fingers down the base of my skull. I winced when he reached just above my ear and he asked me to turn my head so he could take a look.

"Can you stand up and follow the line in the flooring?" he asked, pushing the rolling chair back so that he was out of the way.

I nodded and successfully walked in a straight line.

"Well, your head looks fine, just a bump, and you don't have any other signs of a concussion so that's good. I'll just need to stitch up your arm. I do want to take some blood just to make sure everything is okay since you've been feeling dizzy often," he said as I returned to my seat and he grabbed another pair of gloves.

"Okay," I nodded.

"Siena, can you get me some sutures and an anesthetic?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said retrieving a few things from a cart in the corner of the room.

She placed it in the standing tray next to Dr. Tambe and put a pair of gloves on herself.

"Okay, Beatrice. I'm just going to have you place your arm right here," he said moving a small table with a cloth on top next to the bed, "and I'm going to numb the area so you don't feel anything. If you give Siena your other arm, she can get that blood drawn."

I placed my arm on the tray and I grabbed Michael's hand as Dr. Tambe stuck a needle in several times around the cut with numbing medication. He let it sit for a minute while he prepared the sutures.

"Bea," Si said catching my attention as she moved my arm to face her.

"Can you make a fist?" She asked after tying a band around my upper arm.

Michael released my hand and I made a fist. She wiped the crook of my arm with an alcohol pad and opened a needle.

"A quick pinch," she said as she placed the needle into my arm.

She collected the vile of blood and placed a label with my name and date of birth on it. She held a cotton ball on the place where she had pulled the needle out and wrapped my arm up.

"All done," she said turning and leaving.

I looked back over to my other arm to find that Dr. Tambe had already started stitching me up.