No one deserves this...
My night was just beginning. First, a lady with classic appendicitis. You M.D.'s know what I'm talking about. So often we see "abdominal pain" that turns out to be…nothing…or at least nothing major, but this lady had classic periumbilical pain progressing to right lower quadrant pain, rebound pain, rosvig's sign, mild leukocytosis, tachycardia,..everything. OK, enough doctor talk.
After getting her squared away with the surgeon, the chest pain guy comes in. But this is not the everyday chest pain…nor is it the heart attack chest pain. This is the chest pain of a drunk who's blood alcohol level was greater than twice the legal limit although he says he hadn't had a drink in a few days. A guy who reeks of alcohol yet cannot understand why he passed out.
Then there's the person with a corneal abrasion (eye tear) and one with a nose bleed and a kid with an ear ache, etc.
But the one thing that…caught my attention and actually tugged at my heart in the midst of this ER night…was a girl. Seven years old. The nurses told me - victim of sexual assault - RAPE. Child Protective Services is there. Her mom is there and I can tell mom is holding back tears. Then I see her - a sweet, playful child who looks up at me and, in spite of her situation, she smiles at me. I introduce myself and I ask "What's your name?" She answers politely. She's only seven. Doing well in school. She didn't deserve this. No one deserves this…especially a young, helpless child who cannot defend herself. After examining her I ask, "So do you know what you want to be when you grow up?" "Yeah, I want to be a doctor just like you!"
Precious words form a sweet girl in a horrible situation.
(As always, details are omitted and some facts changed to protect identity.)
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