Lesson 10 Is there a doctor in the house?

I put my head out between the curtains. It wasn’t slowing down any. Every bay of the ED was full and out in the waiting room was half of the city. That’s how it felt anyway.

‘Doctor, can you help in Bay 11? I’m having trouble suturing this flap.’
I looked at my colleague. Seriously, do I look like I can help in Bay 11. I checked my head lac in the bed and said, ‘Do you think you can keep the pressure on there for a bit? I won’t be long.’

‘Sure, doc. I’m good. You go,’ he smiled, blood staining his face from the fine vessel that made it look much worse than it was.

When I got back to my patient, the nurse was doing a set of obs and the bleeding had finally stopped. I stepped in for a closer look.

‘I think you might get away with just some steri-strips on that one. Nurse? Would you mind? And then he needs to go for an x-ray. I think the hand is probably fractured.’

With a moment to breathe, I headed back to write up my notes. My head was down, focused, when a voice echoed through the unit.

‘Where is Doctor Fraser? I want them now.’

I looked up to see a familiar face at the triage window. Familiar, but not welcome.

‘Doctor fucking Fraser! I want them here… now!’

Security were closing in. I stood up and walked toward the triage bay. Signalled them to hold back.

‘What do you want, Adam? You know you’re not even meant to come on the grounds.’

Adam, a promising ED nurse until I witnessed him injecting the morphine meant for a patient, into his own body. Adam who blamed me for his dismissal. He might have been able to redeem himself, had he accepted the hospital’s offer for a drug rehabilitation program. But Adam was not here for redemption. Nor was he here sober.

‘You…you Doctor fucking Fraser… I want you to come out here and talk to me,’ he slurred.

The security guard behind him, looked to me, waiting for instruction. I didn’t want to make things worse for Adam, but as I scanned the people in the waiting room, I knew I had to do something. A mother pulled her child closer to her, an elderly couple looked anxious and a young guy with a lot of energy, looked itching to get involved.

I stepped out into the waiting room.

‘Ok Adam, here I am.’

I didn’t believe Adam was a danger to anyone but himself. Even so, my voice revealed a little trepidation.

‘You… why you? You ruined my fucking life.’

‘Listen, Adam. I am really needed inside. But why don’t you let me get you an Uber and I promise we can talk about things, at a better time.’

I meant it. I could see he was in pain. And he was spiralling.

‘Oh yeah, doctor big shot…needed inside,’ he responded, loud enough for the security guys to move in closer, but this wasn’t how I wanted him to leave. I stepped forward and threw my arms around him. It took him by surprise. He pulled back for a moment to look me in the eyes.

‘I’ll see you at home, OK?’ I said. ‘Please, Adam –just go now and we can talk when I’m back home.’

He nodded, remorseful for now. Until the next time. The security guards helped my son to the exit and would wait until his car arrived. I went back into the unit to help the patients I could help. My son needed a doctor of a different kind… and it broke my heart to know this.