It was 11:30 am by the time Dana emerged from behind the exam room door.
"Mrs. O’Connell, the Dr. will see you know" Beth looked up from the Time Magazine she was reading.
"Oh—Great" Dana was holding the door open as Beth walked into exam area
"Sorry about the wait, but the Dr. got behind and didn’t expect to have to spend so much time with Mrs. Thompson."
"That’s ok, I was enjoying catching up on the latest gossip in People Magazine"
"Yea, I know what you mean. Now lets see, it looks like your going to be in exam room #3 this morning"
As Beth followed Dana into the examination room, she recognized it as being the same room she had been in last Friday.
"Please have a seat up on the exam table and the Dr. will be in shortly" Dana smiled and closed the door behind her.
Beth looked around and noticed a set of x-rays hanging against backlit screen which was turned off, she wondered if those were her x-rays.
Dr. Leemoore came in carrying a clipboard and wearing his usual friendly smile, almost like everything was going to be ok, almost.
"Good morning Beth, sorry you had to wait so long. So, how are you feeling?" Dr. Leemoore placed his hand on Beth’s shoulder and smiled slightly.
"Not too bad Dr., the pain got a little intense yesterday, but after a few pain pills, I felt fine"
Dr. Leemoore had begin undoing the Velcro on the sides of Beth’s Philadelphia Collar
"Well, lets have a look see now that we have gotten back the x-rays" Replied Dr. Leemore as he turned on the screen where the x-rays were hanging.
"I’ll need to have you to remove your blouse please," asked the Dr. as he took both half’s of the collar and placed them on the exam table.
"Oh yes, of course" replied Beth as she began unbuttoning her floral silk blouse, revealing only her navy colored bra which held her size 36 D breasts.
"Please turn your head to the right, only as far as you can" Beth tried but was only able to turn it a few inches
"Great, that’s fine. Now lets try it the other direction" as Beth moved her head from the left to the right, she began to feel an intense pain which she tried to hide from the Dr.
"Is that painful?" asked Dr. Leemoore
"No, not really" replied Beth, knowing full well she was lying through her teeth.
Dr. Leemoore performed a few more mobility tests and then grabbed his clipboard and began scratching down some more notes.
"Lets get you back in this collar --- OK"
"Sure, that’s fine" replied Beth, lifting her chin as the Dr. slid the front and back half of the Philadelphia Collar on, firmly fastening the sides with the velcro straps.
"Is everything OK" asked Beth in a concerned voice
"Well, let me explain why I called you in this morning" the Dr. pulled out a wooden pointer and touched it to the x-ray that was now illuminated.
"I found something on your x-rays this morning that concerned me and now after our physical examination, I have confirmed my suspicions" moving the pointer up the x-ray, he placed the tip on a section resembling the cervical spine.
"What we have here is a compression fracture of your cervical spine, specifically at C5 & C6"
The Dr. expression was almost poker faced as he moved his pointer along a small area of the x-ray.
"What does that mean Dr." Cried Beth in a slightly quivering voice.
"Well, in laymen’s terms, it means you’ve got a broken neck" Beth could feel her heart pound and jump in to her throat as she tried to take a deep breath and regain her composure.
"Now don’t panic Beth" replied Dr. Leemoore as he grasped her sweaty hands with his and looked straight into her eyes.
"Its not as serious as it sounds, in fact, judging by the x-rays and the physical exam, the break is very minor and should heal up just fine, with out any complications." The Dr.’s confident manner and soothing voice immediately put Beth a little more at ease and she could feel her heart beat begin to return to a normal pace.
"Well, that’s reassuring, I think," replied Beth, cracking a slight smile
"So I guess I won’t be shedding this collar any time soon?" asked Beth, putting her hand to her collar.
"Well, I’m afraid your wrong, you will be loosing the collar today" Beth looked at the Dr. with a slightly puzzled face.
"The bad news is you will be getting a new brace" the Dr. smiled and began writing what looked like a prescription on a small piece on yellow paper. As the Dr. was writing, Beth sat quietly, waiting for the Dr. to explain.
"With this type of injury, it is extremely important to keep the cervical and thoracic region of the spine as still and immobile as possible, which, unfortunately, can not be done with the collar you are now wearing" Beth listened intently as the Dr. again pointed to the x-rays
"What I am prescribing here is a brace that will give your neck and upper back more support than the Philadelphia Collar "
"How long will I have to wear this new brace Dr.," asked Beth, her voice now more serious than before.
"It’s hard to say, it really all depends on how fast you heal and how cooperative a patient you are, but were probably looking at a minimum of 6 - 8 weeks, possibly longer." Beth now could feel her heart pound faster than ever, her mind raced with thoughts of Jim, what would he think, what would he do, and what about her friends at the equestrian club, how would they react, would she ever be able to ride again—would she want to?
"Dr., you can’t be serious?" asked Beth, hoping that he would bust out laughing and tell her it was all a big joke
"I’m very serious, Beth, I told you this injury would heal up fine and that it was nothing to panic about, but it is something that needs to be taken seriously and treated seriously so that you can make a complete and speedy recovery." The Dr. was now looking directly at Beth with a stern look on his slightly tan face.
"I’m sorry Dr., I guess I’m just in a state of shock over this whole thing and a little scared"
"That’s totally understandable Beth, now let me treat you as I see fit and well all get through this thing together, ----OK?"
Dr. Leemoore put his hand on Beth’s bare shoulder and smiled, comforting her in a way only he could
"OK Dr., after all, you’ve always taken good care of me before" Beth smiled slightly, still panicked about what lye ahead.
Just then Dana entered and smiled at Beth as she was putting her blouse back on.
"Mrs. O’Connell, I have made an appointment for you in 1 hour at Bay Orthotics, you will be seeing a lady by the name of Andrea, she will be doing the fitting of your new brace" Dana handed Beth two forms that were typed and co-signed by Dr. Leemoore.
"Here are your insurance forms, I have already filled them out, all you need to do is sign at the bottom and give them to Andera, along with the prescription, and you’ll be all set" Dana smiled and handed Beth a pen.
As Beth signed the two insurance forms, Dr. Leemoore was finishing up the prescription and handed one copy to Dana for her records and the other to Beth.
"Beth, just give this to Andrea and she take care of the rest, she already knows what your coming in for, so there shouldn’t be any problems, if there is, I’m sure she will call" Beth smiled and finished tucking in her blouse
"By the way, you’ll have to leave your car here and make arrangements to pick it up later, you will not be able to drive right away with this new brace" stated Dr Leemoore as he helped Beth off the exam table
"How am I going to get to the orthopedic shop and then home?" asked Beth
"We have already called the medical transport van to pick you up here, drop you off at Bay Orthotics and then take you home when you have finished with your appointment" Dr. Leemoore smiled proudly, basking in his efficiency.
"Wow, you guys are really on top of it" replied Beth, glancing over at Dana with a slight smile
"Well, I wish I could take all the credit but Dana is to thank for taking care of all the details, --- she’s the best" the Dr. looked over at Dana and winked as she slightly blushed.
The Dr. turned back to Beth and took firm hold of her hands
"Now don’t worry, everything will be fine, remember, you’re in good hands!" Beth smiled
"Thanks Dr., Ill try not to worry too much. All I need to do now is figure out how I am going to explain this whole thing to Jim" Beth reached up and put her hands to her neck.
"Try the truth, it always works for Me." replied the Dr., patting Beth on the hands and smiling
"Dana’s got a few more things to go over with you so I will leave you in her hands. Oh, I will want to see you later this week to check the fit of the brace and see how you are progressing. Lets shoot for Friday afternoon at 1:00" Doctor Leemoore shook Beth’s hand and disappeared through the exam room door, leaving Beth and Dana alone.
"The Dr. wanted me to go over a few things with you after you get fitted with your brace and return home" Dana had now put her librarian glasses on and was reading a clipboard that was hanging next to the x-rays.
"I’m all ears" replied Beth
"I am going to give you a few of these muscle relaxors and two codeine now, before you go over to Bay Orthotics. Andrea is the best at fitting and she will try to be as gentle as possible but you will be in some pain when she is done. These should help your neck muscles relax a bit and the codeine will help with the pain" Dana handed Beth four small pills and a glass of water. Beth put the pills in her mouth and took a large drink of the water, swallowing all four pills at once.
"Well, that should help, will these pills make me sleepy?" asked Beth as she looked up from the glass in her hand.
"They will relax you and the codeine will make you a little drowsy, so it will be easy for you to sleep when you get home" Dana replied, looking up from her clipboard.
"This is a check list that Dr. Leemoore wanted me to go over with you. First, after the fitting you will probably be a bit sore and tired after all the medication, so after the van drops you at home, the Doctor wants you in bed for the rest of the day. As for the rest of the week, bed rest is prescribed at least 16 hours a day. The brace will be a bit uncomfortable for the first week or so and sleeping will be a bit difficult, these should help." Dana reached into a locked cabinet and pulled out three small bottles of prescription drugs, one was codeine for pain, one was muscle relaxors and the other was a high strength sleeping pill.
"The pain pills are to be taken twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening or as needed, just don’t exceed four a day, the muscle relaxors are to be taken three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening. The sleeping pills should be taken prior to going to sleep. These should last you for a couple of weeks or so and hopefully buy then, you won’t need them anymore"
"Also, trying using a lot of pillows when setting up your bed, other patients have told me it helps when trying to sleep in a rigid neck brace"
"What about bathing, will I be able to get this new brace wet?" asked Beth
"Well, for the first week, you will have to sponge bath only, after that you will be able to shower as normal, with the aid of a special brace you can take in the shower and a traction set." Beth looked up at Dana with her big brown eyes and started to cry ever so slightly. Dana smiled charmingly and gently hugged her.
"I know this sounds a little scary but you’ll be fine, the first week will be the hardest, pretty soon you’ll hardly remember your hurt at all.
Beth wiped the tears from her eyes
"I feel silly crying like that, I know it will be ok, I’m just a little scared and overwhelmed by all of this"
Dana carefully patted Beth on her back
"Remember, you can call us any time you have a problem and you can call me at home if you have any questions or if you just want to talk." Dana reached over a grabbed a business card, writing her home phone number on the front.
"Well, you better get going, I think your ride is her" Dana opened the door of the exam room and walked Beth to the reception area where they were met by a tall, blonde haired man with piercing blue eyes and suntan skin.
"Good afternoon maim, I’m Larry and I will be your chauffeur for the afternoon" Larry extended his strong hand
"Oh, please call me Beth. It’s nice to meet you Larry" Beth’s hand met his hand and they shook gently.
Dana reached over and gently grabbed Larry’s forearm.
"Please make sure, when you drop Mrs. O’Connell off at home that you get her inside and set up in her bed before you leave"
"You can count on it maim" replied Larry, winking back to Dana
| New Stuff | Stories | CD's DVD's | Videos | Message Board | Home | Monthly Specials | Links | Members Only | Ads | Bulletin Board |
NBAK |