Kim looked at his watch pinned to his scrub pants. “Damn, it’s five-thirty already, and I haven’t even made rounds. I wish I didn’t have to operate on Friday. Invariably it cuts into any weekend plans.”
“At least you get to have your cases run consecutively,” Tom said. “It’s sure not like it used to be when you ran the department over at the Samaritan.”
“Tell me about it,” Kim said. “With AmeriCare calling the shots and with the current status of the profession, I wonder if I’d even go into medicine if I had it all to do over again.”
“You and me both,” Tom said. “Especially with these new Medicare rates. Last night I stayed up and did some figuring. I’m afraid I’m not going to have any money left after I pay my office overhead. I mean, what kind of a situation is that? It’s gotten so bad Nancy and I are thinking of putting our house on the market.”
“Good luck,” Kim said. “Mine’s been on the market for five months, and I haven’t even had a serious offer.”
“I already had to pull my kids out of private school,” Tom said. “But hell. I went to public school myself.”
“How are you and Nancy getting along?” Kim asked.
“To be honest: not great,” Tom said. “There’ve been a lot of bad feelings.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kim said. “I sympathize since I’ve been through it, it’s a stressful time.”
“This is not how I expected things to be at this stage in my life,” Tom said with a sigh.
“Me neither,” Kim said.
The two men stopped just beyond the OR desk at the entrance to the recovery room.
“Hey, are you going to be around for the weekend?” Tom asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Kim said. “Why? What’s up?”
“I might have to go back in on that case you helped me with Tuesday,” Tom said. “There’s been some residual bleeding and unless it stops, my hand is forced. If that happens, I could use your assistance.”
“Just page me,” Kim said. “I’ll be available. My ex wanted the whole weekend. I think she’s seeing someone. Anyway, Becky and I will be hanging out together.”
“How is Becky doing after the divorce?” Tom asked.
“She’s doing fantastic,” Kim said. “Certainly better than I am. At this point she’s the only bright light in my life.”
“I guess kids are more resilient than we give them credit for,” Tom said.
“Apparently so,” Kim agreed. “Hey, thanks for helping today. Sorry that second case took so long.”
“No problem,” Tom said. “You handled it like a virtuoso. It was a learning experience. See you in the surgical locker room.”
Kim stepped into the recovery room. Hesitating just beyond the threshold, he scanned the beds for his patients. The first one he saw was Sheila Donlon. She’d been his immediately preceding case and had been particularly difficult. She’d needed two valves instead of only one.
Kim walked over to the bed. One of the recovery room nurses was busy changing an almost empty IV bottle. Kim’s experienced eye first checked the patient’s color and then glanced at the monitors. The cardiac rhythm was normal, as was the blood pressure and arterial oxygenation.
“Everything okay?” Kim asked as he lifted the recovery-room chart to glance at the grafts.
“No problems,” the nurse said without interrupting her efforts. “Everything’s stable and the patient’s content,”
Kim replaced the chart and moved alongside the bed. Gently he raised the sheet to glance at the dressing. Kim always instructed his residents to use minimal dressing. If there was unexpected bleeding, Kim wanted to know about it sooner rather than later.
Satisfied, Kim replaced the sheet before straightening up to look for his other patient. Only about half the beds were occupied, so it didn’t take long to scan them.
“Where’s Mr. Glick?” Kim asked. Ralph Glick had been Kim’s first case.
“Ask Mrs. Benson at the desk.” the nurse responded. She was preoccupied putting her stethoscope in her ears and inflating Sheila Donlon’s blood pressure cuff.
Mildly irritated at the lack of cooperation, Kim walked over to the central desk but found Mrs. Benson, the head nurse, equally preoccupied. She was giving detailed instructions to several housekeeping workers who were there to break down, clean, and change one of the beds.