Coffee

Part Eighty Five: The Job I Had To Do

***Tuesday, July 30th***

I have not heard from Max since Saturday morning.

I gave him time- which was more for me than him- and I gave him space.

Walking into work this morning, I'm not surprised when I don't see him at all. He isn't waiting to pop out of the woodwork and call my name. After setting my things down in my office, Valentina comes in and looks smug.

"I have a buyer for the proton beam laser. They are offering us $40 million dollars..." She happily says.

"What? No."

"It would give us the money we need to keep funding my trial..." I interrupt her again.

"You mean our trial."

"Yes, our trial. You know what I mean. Proton beam laser therapy is obsolete..."

"You want me to get rid of the only Proton Laser in a 700 radius so you can fund a trial? What about all the patients who need it now?"

"All 6 of them?" She growls.

"We're not selling it. End of discussion." I get a page from the ED that one of my patients is back. Going downstairs as fast as I can, I take the stairs and hustle my way down there. Jogging down the hallway, I go to enter the ED just as Max is coming out of it. He seems in a hurry and doesn't appear to see me- or maybe he does and just decides against communicating.

I certainly wouldn't blame him.

Going over to Lauren, she hands me a file- Shayna Davis. She's one of my patients who has terrible pain left over from her cancer.

"Friends dropped her off. She OD on Heroin. She's in bay 3." As I walk over to her, she looks away and I can tell she's embarrassed.

"Shayna...want to tell me what's going on?"

"They won't give me anything for pain. I'm in so much pain all the time. I ran out of the Percocet  you gave me and they won't refill it for another two weeks." She's obviously shaking and I know exactly what the matter is. She's become addicted and yet we would only be enabling her.

"Shayna, I understand you're in a lot of pain, but why not come back and see me? Why use heroin?"

"Well, I can't stand the pain. I needed something to take it away and nothing worked. I looked on the street for a dealer who had Percocet and it was too expensive. Heroin is cheaper. I rather spend my time at the Dalton than live in this pain one more second. Please can I have something?"

"We can't give you anything until your tox screen comes back. We want to make sure the heroin you took wasn't laced with anything." She lays back in bed, crushed and pained. "Let me go check with the lab. You stay here and try to think passed the pain until I get back."

I walk off towards the lab and wonder if there's anything I can do to help her. If she's been using for a long time now- then unfortunately, rehab may be her only option. But very few people can overcome heroin abuse when they have pain such as Shayna's. As I get to the lab, I walk in to see Madge- the quirky redhead, who honestly reminds me of Merida from brave, but without the accent and she wears thick black framed glasses.

"Madge, anything on Shayna Davis' tox screen?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"No, I'm still running it through. It's gonna take me a bit."

"Alright...let me know ASAP." Walking out, I head back towards the ED and I find Max passing with a pregnant woman, who's in tears and Max seems just as upset. "Max..."

"Can't talk now, Sharpe." Short. He's most definitely angry with me. Sighing, I get back into the ED and Casey approaches me.

"Hey, Dr. Sharpe- did you discharge Shayna Davis?"