Page 127 of The Choices I've Made
Two Years Later
“IT’S A BREAK,” I ANNOUNCEDthe moment I entered the exam room.
Both mom and son were seated exactly as I remembered. The young boy, all of eight years old, was propped up on the exam table, his foot carefully on its side, while his mom sat beside him, both sets of eyes focused on me.
“Not only did you break it, but you also broke it in four different places,” I said, placing the laptop I’d brought in with me on the counter. Opening it up, I waited for the screen to boot up and then proceeded to show them the X-rays that had just been captured.
“There, you can see the metatarsal bones that run along the top of the foot,” I explained, pointing with the end of my pen.
Both mother and son nodded.
“See those three right there?”
“Yep,” the boy replied.
“Notice how they’re kind of wavy on the X-ray?”
He nodded. “They don’t line up.”
I smiled. He was a bright kid. Kind of clumsy but bright.
“Exactly. That’s where your fractures are. Well, three of them at least. The other is in your heel, and that’s the one that’s probably causing you the most amount of pain.”
His mom squeezed his hand.
“So, with four breaks in that one tiny foot, do you know what that means?” I asked, closing the laptop and turning toward him.
He looked up at me, his wide eyes focused on the name on my white coat, before he softly answered, “Cast.”
“Yeah,” I replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. “A temporary one for now. My nurse will hook you up.”
He looked nervous.
I knelt to his level. “I promise, it won’t hurt.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. And, hey, maybe you can get a couple of your friends to come over and decorate it before you have your appointment with the orthopedic doc next week.”
“Yeah? Like, with anything I want?”
I tossed a look in his mom’s direction. She nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Sweet.”
His spirits lifted after that as his mom and I went over last-minute directions. I gave her a referral for an excellent orthopedic doctor in the area and advice on how to manage the pain, as it would get worse over the next two days, and then I told her to call if they had any questions.
“Thank you, Dr. Jameson,” she said.
“Anytime. And, Tobby?” I said, calling out to the kid. “Maybe lay off the BMX biking for a while,” I suggested. “At least until the cast is off.”
He pouted a little but agreed, “Okay.”
His mom and I exchanged a knowing smile, and I left them to the capable hands of one of my nurses. Stepping into my office, I took a seat between seeing patients to quickly take some notes and update the kid’s chart.
As I was doing so, my phone began to vibrate.
