Free Code Blue by Richard L. Mabry Page B

clicked to make the awful connection. Self-assured, larger than life, someone she could depend on. And they'd let her down. Every one of them.
    She looked up at Josh, and it was as though he could read her mind—see the way she'd connected the dots.
    He uncrossed his legs and stood. "Think about that. I'll see you next week."
     

     
    Cathy was surprised at the name on the chart of the next patient. Could this be Dr. Gladstone's wife? Cathy always got a bit antsy when treating the family of another doctor.There was a saying in medicine: complications only happen to nice patients and doctors' families. She hoped it wouldn't hold true here. She took a deep breath and opened the door to the treatment room. "Mrs. Gladstone, it's a pleasure to meet you. How may I help you?"
    The older woman sitting in the patient chair beside the examination table was plainly but neatly dressed. Her silver hair was perfectly styled. The lenses of her rimless glasses had a slight pink tint, but that didn't hide the worry in her eyes.
    "I've been having some female problems. Dr. Baker has been my doctor for years, but he doesn't do any gynecology.Besides that . . . " She managed to look both demure and embarrassed. "Besides that, I've always thought I'd be more comfortable with a woman doctor."
    Cathy was a bit unsettled that her gender apparently had figured into the decision more than her professional abilities.Nevertheless, she simply nodded and began taking Mrs.Gladstone's history. "Why don't you tell me specifically what symptoms you've been having and when they started?"
    Just then, Jane tapped on the open door. "Excuse me, Doctor, but you have an emergency call."
    Cathy excused herself and hurried to her office. She punched the blinking button on her phone. "Dr. Sewell."
    "Doctor, this is Glenna Dunn in the ER. Your patient, Milton Nix, is here. He's complaining of weakness and nausea.His pulse is irregular, and his blood pressure is all over the place."
    Cathy's mind kicked into full diagnostic mode. This could represent any one of several things, some of them extremely serious. "Draw blood for electrolytes, sugar, BUN. And get a digitalis level. Do an EKG. I'm on my way."
    On her way back to the exam room, Cathy asked Jane to get Milton Nix's chart for her. "Mrs. Gladstone, I'm terribly sorry. I have an emergency. Would you like to wait, or can we reschedule your visit?"
    "It's all right. I quite understand about emergencies. You'll never know how many dinners I've eaten alone because of them. It will be fine to—"
    "Jane," Cathy called. "Would you schedule Mrs. Gladstone back as soon as possible? Tomorrow if it works for her. A new patient exam including a pelvic. I have to go."
    In less than five minutes, Cathy strode into the ER of Summers County General Hospital. A nurse intercepted her and introduced herself as Glenna Dunn. "He's in here," she said, directing Cathy into Treatment Room One. Cathy hesitated at the door, recalling the last time she'd been in this room. But this time she was in charge.
    Milton Nix lay sweating on a gurney, his shirt off. An IV ran in his right arm, and a blood pressure cuffencircled his left. A cardiac monitor above his head showed a green line of complexes racing across the screen.
    A buxom bottle-blonde, presumably Nix's wife, leaned over him, fanning him with a magazine. She was younger than her husband, but makeup and expensive clothes made it difficult for Cathy to tell just how much. She guessed there'd been a number of nips and tucks in the woman's past.
    "Mr. Nix, tell me about it." Cathy took the clipboard from Glenna and scanned the scant information. "When did you get sick? What are you feeling?"
    Mrs. Nix opened her mouth, but Nix silenced her with a look. "I've been offmy feed for a week or so," he said. "No appetite. Food didn't taste good. Today I vomited several times. And I seem to be getting weaker all the time."
    "Anything else?"
    "It's sort of funny, but my eyes have been acting