Love I Can No Longer Touch Chapter 07
Now that I’d decided to leave, Ashley was going to feel every ounce of pain she ever put me through. It was payback in full, as far as I was concerned. And if all I had to do was leave her with a few choice words to keep her up at night, then I’d be a fool not to.
Once Norman was certain I had no intention of getting back together with Ashley, he finally relaxed.
“Oh, by the way, I had Tina look into some options for your hand.”
Norman’s wife, Tina Wright, was an attending physician at a major hospital.
Their story didn’t have the dramatic, earth-shattering intensity of what Ashley and I shared. However, it was steady, peaceful, and happy.
Ever since they’d learned my hand had been left permanently damaged, both of them had made it their mission to find me a good doctor.
I, however, had no way to repay them.
“The hospital’s about to bring in an orthopedic specialist who just got back from overseas. Tina saved you an appointment slot. Go see them on Saturday.”
I kept my head down, instinctively wanting to refuse this kindness. After all, right now, I had nothing to my name or anything to offer in return.
Yet, these two hands were the only things I had left that were worth anything. If fixing them meant I might one day be able to repay Norman and Tina for everything they’d done, then I had to try.
So, I nodded.
Norman had originally planned to go with me on Monday. But that morning, his kid got into a fight at school, and the parents were called in, so Norman had no choice but to deal with that instead.
He’d asked Tina to take me, but she got pulled into an emergency surgery at the last minute. So, I ended up going alone.
I hadn’t wanted to impose on them too much anyway, so this worked out just fine.
Following the hospital signs, I found my way to the orthopedic specialist’s office.
I knocked and stepped inside. There was only one person in the room-a bespectacled young intern, sitting primly before a computer. She seemed to be writing up a medical report.
“Do you know when Dr. Powell will be back?” I asked.
She looked up at me. The name badge hanging from her chest slipped into view from behind the computer monitor. It read, “Susan Powell”.
She smiled and said, “I’m Dr. Powell.”
I immediately felt embarrassed.
“Sorry, I assumed-”
“Assumed I’d be some old man?”
Susan stood up and gave the patient’s chair a little tug, motioning for me to come over.
I walked over and sat down, still feeling rather awkward.
Before I could explain myself, Susan jumped in with a bit of self-deprecation.“Let’s be honest, everyone operates under the assumption that the older the doctor, the more capable they are… Most of the patients who come in for orthopedic issues are elderly, and they all think I don’t know what I’m doing. Every single time, they’d ask who my mentor was.”
Perhaps her time overseas had loosened her tongue, because slie was far more gregarious than the first quiet, bookish impression had suggested.
The conversation flowed easily, and she even cracked a few harmless jokes along the way.
In fact, before I even realized what was happening, she had already finished the physical examination of my hand. I only caught on when a sharp stab of pain brought me back to the present.
Susan set my hand back down and said, “The damage to your bone is quite severe, and there are issues with the tendons as well. I’ll need a more comprehensive scan to know the full extent of it.”
This was far from the first time a doctor had said something like that about my hand. Although Norman had told me that Susan was a renowned orthopedic specialist, I hadn’t let myself get my hopes up.
I nodded at Susan and rose to my feet.
“Than-” I was just about to thank her when she had already swiftly written up the test order forms and handed
them to me.
“But for me, these are all minor issues.” She gave me a quick wink and ushered me toward the examination room.
The entire way there, Susan laid out her treatment plan for me. Medical jargon flew left and right, and to be honest, I didn’t understand a single word.
In the end, the only thing that stuck with me was when she said, “Leave it to me. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Susan’s confidence put me profoundly at ease, and I actually started looking forward to seeing these hands become functional again.
By the time I finished the tests, it was already noon.
Susan offered to take me out for lunch and go over the treatment plan while we were at it.
