Kelley then asked both consults what form of treatment they thought should be given to Jonathan Eakins.
“Purely symptomatic,” Dr. Mieslich said. He looked at Dr. Hasselbaum.
“That would be my recommendation as well,” Dr. Hasselbaum said.
“You both have also seen the long list of diagnostic tests that have been ordered by Dr. Wilson,” Kelley said. “Do you think any of these tests are crucial at this time?”
Dr. Mieslich and Dr. Hasselbaum exchanged glances. Dr. Hasselbaum was first to speak: “If it were my case I’d hold off and see what happened. The patient could be normal by morning.”
“I agree,” Dr. Mieslich said.
“Well then,” Kelley said, “I think we all agree. What do you say, Dr. Wilson?”
The meeting broke up amid smiles, handshakes, and apparent amity. But David felt confused and humiliated, even depressed. He walked back to the nurses’ station and canceled most of the orders he had written for Jonathan. Then he went in to see Jonathan himself.
“Thanks for having so many people come and examine me,” Jonathan said.
“How do you feel?” David asked.
“I don’t know,” Jonathan said. “Maybe a little better.”
When David got back to the autopsy room, Angela was just cleaning up. David’s timing had been good. He helped return Mary Ann’s body to the morgue. David noticed that Angela wasn’t eager to talk about her findings. He practically had to grill her for answers.
“I didn’t find much,” Angela admitted.
“Nothing in the brain?” David asked.
“It was clean grossly,” Angela said. “But we’ll have to see what the microscopic shows.”
“Any tumor?” David asked.
“I think there was a tiny bit in the abdomen,” Angela said. “Again, I’ll have to wait for the microscopic to be sure.”
“So nothing jumped out at you as a cause of death?” David asked.
“She did have pneumonia,” Angela said.
David nodded. He already knew that.
“I’m sorry I didn’t find more,” Angela said.
“I appreciate that you tried,” David said.
As they drove home, Angela could tell that David was depressed. He’d only been answering questions in monosyllables.
“I suppose you’re upset because I didn’t find much on the autopsy,” Angela said, pausing before she got out of the car.
David sighed. “That’s just part of it,” he said.
“David, you are a wonderful, talented doctor,” Angela said. “Please stop being so hard on yourself.”
David then told her about being hauled before the tribunal by Kelley. Angela was livid. “The nerve,” she said. “Hospital administrators should not become involved in treatment.”
“I don’t know,” David said with a sigh. “In some ways they’re right. The cost of medical care is a problem. But it’s so confusing when you get down to specifics with an individual patient. But the consults did side with the administrators.”
At dinner, David discovered he wasn’t hungry; he merely pushed his food around the plate. To make matters worse, Nikki complained that she didn’t feel well.
By eight o’clock, Nikki started to sound congested and Angela took her upstairs for her respiratory therapy. When it was over, Angela found David sitting in the family room. The television was on but David wasn’t watching; he was staring into the fire.
“It might be best to keep Nikki home from school tomorrow,” Angela said. David didn’t answer. Angela studied his face. For the moment she didn’t know who she was more concerned about: Nikki or David.