Timothy
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Beep, beep, beep… Damn it, and I just fell asleep. My hospital pager is going off, and I roll over. My phone starts to ring, and I finally get my ass up to answer it. I know it must be important.
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“Orozco,” I answer as I rub my eyes.
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“Dr. Orozco, it’s Penny,” she says. Fuck if she’s calling me to hook up again. I’m going to be pissed.
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“What’s up Penny?”
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“We have a patient en route with a mitral valve defect from Southern California. He coded twice.”78Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTXiQZnDbF
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“How old is the baby?”
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“He’s four years old,” She says. My eyes go wide because these issues are detected at birth.
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“Four! They just now found this?”
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“That’s what they are telling us,” she says. “I’m going to send you the chart to go over it. We have an OR booked already, so we can prep him for surgery once the patient gets here. Go over the chart and let me know if we need to do anything special for the case.”
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“Thanks, Pen.” See you soon.”
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“Thanks, Timothy,” she says. “Hey, Timmy?”
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“Penny, let’s keep this professional, please.”
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“Yes, sorry, Dr. Orozco.”
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I get up and jump in the shower, and once I’m done, I grab my IPAD, and I read the chart of Noah Villa. There is no family history of heart issues on the maternal side, but the paternal side is unknown as the father is not in his life. That makes me sick to think a man would do that to his flesh and blood—what a piece of shit. I noticed that he has a blood type of AB, which is rare. I grab my phone and call Penny.
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“Hi, Dr. Orozco,” she says.
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“Penny, check the stock of AB blood products, please,”
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“Hold on, let me call downstairs.” She says. As I wait, I brush my teeth, look at myself in the mirror, and see the faint silverly scar that runs the center of my chest. “Dr. Orzoco, the lab says they have none, but they can ask Oakland Children’s Hospital.”
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“Shit, okay, I’m leaving now. Tell the lab to expect me so I can donate blood.”
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“Will do! See you in a few minutes.”
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I enter my parking garage and jump into my black two-seater, Maserati. The newest model and boy, it’s a beauty. I get to the hospital quickly, and I’m glad I have my parking spot. All the heads of departments have one. I’m the youngest department head at the age of thirty-one years old. I walk into the hospital and run into the lab. They are all prepped and ready for me.
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“Dr. Orozco, you are such a gem for donating blood to patients. Not a lot of the docs do that.” Morgan, the head lab tech, says with a smile.
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“Well, that’s a shame,” I say, sitting down. She preps me and gives me a blue squeezy ball to squeeze. I put in my earbuds, and I listen to music. The earbuds alert me to a phone call from my brother Toby. “Toby, what’s up.”
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“Hey Timmy, are you on the Villa case?” He asks.
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“Yeah, why?”
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“I will be doing the physical therapy post-operatively.”
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“Good, I need someone that will be on the same page as me.”
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“Talk to you later, Hermano,” Toby says.
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“Later, gator,” I say, hanging up. I’m finished donating blood in about thirty minutes. Morgan gives me some cookies and juice. “Thank you, Morgan. I will have my scrub nurse call for the blood when we are ready.”
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“I already have a sample from the patient, and we will do the necessary testing on your blood, per hospital guidelines. But it shouldn’t be a problem.”
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I head to the locker room, changing into my surgical scrubs and Power Ranger surgical cap, and I get in the elevator and head up to the baby nursery. My tradition before every surgery I do. I stare and the tiny babies and smile. It gives me peace, but today it makes me feel like something is missing. I stand there and sigh.
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“Wow, that was a deep sigh,” I turn and see Tatiana. My baby sister. “You okay, Hermano?”
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“Hey, sissy, I’m okay. I'm just thinking about when I’ll find the one to settle down with and start a family.”
“What about Penny?” she asks.
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“Penny? What about her?”
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“I thought you were together.”
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“What, no, who told you that?”
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“She did.”
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“What the fuck? We hooked up twice, and I told her I just wanted to be friends.”
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“Are you sure she understood?”
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“Tati, I reminded her again this morning. I have to go. I need to scrub in for surgery. Is one of these new babies your patient?”
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“Yup, good luck on your surgery Timmy. One day you’ll find your person.”
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“Thanks, Tati,” I say and fist-bump her. I make my way over to the surgical floor and see Penny. I peek into my patient's room, and he’s alone—poor little guy. “How long until his family is here?” I ask, and she shrugs. I hate when she does that.
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“About four hours.” A male nurse says. I’ve never seen him before. “I’m Anthony, and I was his transport nurse on the flight.”
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“Nice to meet you, Anthony. What department do you work in?”
“Pediatric Cardiology in Los Angeles Children’s Hospital under Dr. Galli,” Joseph says. “I’m Dr. Galli’s scrub nurse.”
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“How would you like to scrub in today. You know the patient and understand what is going on, which can be very beneficial to me.”
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“What?” Penny complains. “I’m your scrub nurse.”
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“I promised the family that I would keep them updated,” Anthony says. “I don’t want to step on anyone's toes.”
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“Penny can do that. Penny, you’re an excellent scrub nurse, no doubt, but today I need Anthony in there with me.” I say. She nods but rolls her eyes when she thinks I’m not looking at her. I hear faint crying, and I realize it’s my patient. I go into the room near the side of the bed and touch his light brown hair. “Hi, buddy.”
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“Mama, mama,” he cries.
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“I know, bud, you’ll see mama as soon as we make you all better,” I say. I notice him looking at my Power Rangers scrub cap. “You like the Power Rangers?” He nods slowly. “Which one do you like?”
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“The wed one,” he says quietly.
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“The red one! Me too! He’s so cool!” I smile broadly at him. he finally gives me a tiny smile. “Anthony, can you please take my new pal to the OR for me?”
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“Sure thing Dr. Orzoco,” Anthony says.
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“I see, Mama?” Noah asks as his lip trembles.
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“Not yet, buddy. We’ll give you some medicine to help you take a nap. I’ll fix your sick heart; you’ll see Mama after that. Anthony, give me fifteen minutes, and I’ll be down there.”
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I go down the hall into an empty room, put in my Airpods, and push play on my phone. The sounds of AC/DC’s Back in Black and start doing arm and neck stretches. I finish my little jumping up and down ritual, leave the room, nod my head to the music, and take the elevator down to the OR. I wash my hands, and Penny takes the Airpods out of my ears when I nod that the song is over. I put my feet into the sterile booties as I walk into the OR. I put my hands up and put sterile gloves and gowns on by Anthony.
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“Thank you, everyone, for being here today; it looks like we’re in for a long one,” I say. My surgical team nods at me. “Let’s do this!”
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