by Barbara Ebel
“Dr. Tilson, the sequel’s not only started but it’s finished.” He grinned mischievously, drawing attention to his missing tooth from his boxing days.
Although Danny’s eyebrows arched up in surprise, he realized Varg also had a sense of humor. There was no way a book could be written in about a week, much less a sequel to the infamous Moby Dick.
“I’m thrilled that recuperating from your benign meningioma surgery was such a snap,” Danny kidded him back. “I’ve never before had a patient get so industrious after intracranial surgery. But I’m not surprised it’s you.”
“My recuperation was as magical as the first snowfall of a season only because I had the crème de la crème of all neurosurgeons.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Obviously, I did not really write a book.” Varg shook his head which made his ponytail dance. “I have never written a book, but there is some truth to the matter. I believe I could write a damn good one. So what I’ve done in this last week, especially since I couldn’t go to the gym or resume work, was outline the entire sequel.”
Struck with amazement, Danny said, “From his grave, Herman Melville may be pleased. I think you may do it justice.”
Varg smiled while Danny began examining him, sat on his stool, and jotted an old-fashioned SOAP note into his chart. ‘A’ stood for ‘assessment.’ He wrote down “no problems, fine recovery.” As Danny finished, Varg broached his next subject.
“I have given your possible real estate needs extra thought, Doc. I have some beauties to show you on Center Hill Lake. Repaying you doesn’t just translate into dollars. It translates into sharing each other’s skill and expertise, just like the American Indians used to barter. Or the fact that my Norwegian heritage is based on a farm culture with scarce resources and a harsh climate. My ancestors were dependent on honesty, sharing, trading, and hard work. You’ve done your part for me, now I’ll do my part for you.”
“You have given me some ideas, Mr. Dagmar, and I’m not overlooking them. My ex-wife and I are in a transitional process so I’ll mention it to her.” He rolled forward a few inches. “Now, the important part that you’re waiting for,” he said. “You may resume your real estate activities, but please take it easy as much as possible this week. That also goes with your resumption of health activities.”
“I can go to the gym?”
“No heavy weights. Don’t go over ten pounds this week,” Danny said, to which Varg rolled his eyes. “No, no kidding. And do only about half the time and resistance of any cardiac workout such as running on a treadmill.”
“Okay, Doc. That’s a promise.”
Danny hesitated. There was one more thing but his patient may not be amenable. “Would you agree to see a psychologist by the name of Marlene Bowen for a battery of tests? It would be a substantial method for me to correlate my surgical findings as well as the angiogram?”
“Sure, Dr. Tilson. You are the second most important person when it comes to what’s inside my head.”
With a sigh of relief, Danny exited the room and went straight to X-ray where he pulled up Varg’s post-op angiogram. It still perplexed him as much as his dream after the tornado.
“Hey,” Jeffrey said, poking his head in the room. “How’s your morning going?”
“In this field we’ve chosen, there’s never a dull moment. Wait until the years start stacking up on you and you’ll be saying the same thing as me. ‘Just when you think you’ve seen it all…’”
As he pointed to the screen, Danny said, “Take a look.”
Jeffrey only took a step in his soft sneakers and immediately took his ‘stance,’ as Danny thought of it. He rested an elbow on his other hand and put his hand near his mouth as he instantly recognized the peculiarity of the radiograph.
“All that extra left temporal circulation? Who have you got here? A Martian?”
Chapter 11
Overhead, the Knoxville sky was a canvas of wispy white clouds sprinkled amidst the blue as Evan Parks bounded up the county jail steps to pay Leo Ramsey a call. He loved nice weather, especially on a Monday morning, and it boosted his attitude for what he had in mind.
Inside, he stopped at the front desk. “Evan Parks,” he said, hoping his full uniform would give him a pass. “I was one of the officers who did a search at Leo Ramsey’s place and arrested him last week. I’d like to have a few words with him.”
“No problem. The prosecuting attorney is in that room over there,” he pointed. “He just had a few words with him, too.”
Evan stroked his mustache and thought about it. “I’ll go speak to the attorney first.”
Evan went over to the small cubicle. “Officer Parks,” he said extending his hand. “I arrested the defendant.”
“Kirk Thompson,” the stout attorney responded.
“Based on what you have so far, what kind of outcome are you looking at for Leo Ramsey?”
“Short and to the point,” he said dryly. “I like that, Officer. I think I’m on the winning side.”
As the attorney shoved papers into his briefcase, Evan continued. “In case you need this information, I know someone who recently dated the accused. Perhaps there is some unusual dating history with her that you can fish for but there’s more which may help substantiate the guy’s despicable character. You may even consider separate charges.”
Kirk’s interest piqued and he stopped fiddling with papers. “Such as?”
“This woman was living with him for a while and she had an infant from a previous romantic entanglement. It seems the baby ended up getting cigarette burns and broken bones from being in Mr. Ramsey’s care while the mother went to work.”
“The plot thickens,” Kirk said. “I can use that or work it in because, more than likely, this woman you’re talking about will have to testify or be subpoenaed, especially if I determine there is something incriminating regarding date rape or drugs which she can add to the case.”
Evan nodded, reached into his pocket and handed Kirk his card. He also wrote down Rachel’s name and number. The two men walked out.
“I’m glad you caught me,” Kirk said. “The defense attorney is getting ready to go before a judge and try to get Ramsey out on bond. This guy may be walking the streets any day.”
They shook hands again and went their separate ways. But within five minutes and after a strong request, Evan was inside the jail cell with Leo. The officer who let him in walked quickly outside and waited at the water cooler.
Even inside jail, Leo’s thinning hair was slicked over with a water-soluble product. Realizing that Rachel must pick out men with decent looks and physiques, Evan noted Leo’s toned body and chiseled features. But he’d think more about Rachel’s issues later. Right now, his primary reason for being there was retribution for an innocent baby as it may be the only payback Leo Ramsey gets for what he did to Julia.
Evan didn’t want Leo to be left with any facial evidence: no broken nose, no black eye, and no purple discoloration. With one deep breath and without so much as a ‘hello,’ Evan caught Ramsey unprepared.
He wheeled the hardest right-fisted blow possible into the man’s crotch, turned around, clinked the cell door closed and rubbed his knuckles.
-----
It hardly seemed possible that Danny was entering the surgical preop area where Rachel awaited surgery. “Can I come in?” he announced himself on the other side of the drapes.
“It would be my pleasure,” came Rachel’s voice, though not as smooth and sweet as normal. Danny knew her tone was merely a result of her mouth and jaw injuries but he noted that she was turning on the charm before he even opened the curtain. Was she trying to subterfuge him?
An anesthesia nurse was just leaving as Danny walked in.
“Dr. Tilson, I am so glad you’re here. Would you please tell her to give me as much pain medicine as possible now so it’ll be working when I wake up from surgery?” Danny let the remark slide as the nurse rolled her eyes and left.
&nb
sp; Rachel’s face looked more beat up now than it did at first so he tried not to have a dismayed expression as he pulled a chair alongside her stretcher.
“You went ahead and had me sent here,” she said angrily. “I was an emergent trauma patient and they’ve already taken twenty-four hours to get me to surgery.”
“You should have some insight, Rachel. The bones to be fixed aren’t causing a life-threatening problem right now and the slowing down of the bleeding is a good thing. And it’s worth it to wait for this particular doctor.”
“Is my daughter okay today?” she asked in a more civil tone.
“I’m sure of it. And, just so you know, you are fortunate to have this surgeon. Many times they wire patients’ mouths shut after this type of operation but he doesn’t do that. Imagine, if for the next month, you could only drink liquids through a straw?”
She gave him a piercing look, blotting blood from her mouth into a towel. “Like that little comfort is supposed to make me feel better? I can’t believe this has happened. It’s like one thing led to another.”
“It’s called a domino effect. I am skilled in it.”
Rachel waved his comment off, the IV tubing going with her. “What would you know? Anyway, for your information, I never got so much as a phone call from Evan Parks today.”
“I can’t help you there. My focus is on our daughter. You should have told me what happened.”
“Ha! I not only got paid off by Leo but he’s going to get his own form of date rape when he’s convicted and behind bars,” she smirked as if Danny wasn’t even there.
The curtain parted; attendants came in and wheeled Rachel away. Danny sat an extra moment and buried his head in his hands, concentrating. He wanted to learn how to pray spontaneously but how was he supposed to converse with a higher power?
In a world of thieves, con men, and liars, Rachel would come out on top. Perhaps, he prayed, You could give her extra attention and mold her into a better person?
-----
On the way home, Danny called to tell everyone he was bringing a treat, which qualified as a bribe. So maybe it would guarantee he’d see them all before they went to bed.
He stopped at an ice cream parlor which featured eighteen homemade flavors and asked for five pints ranging from mint chocolate chip to summer wild berry.
At home, he wasn’t sure if his family was happier to see him or the content of the containers. They spooned out samples of each flavor into bowls and gathered around the cocktail table in the great room. As Danny sat on the ottoman leaning forward, he let Dakota sample some from his fingertips.
“I’ll let you lick the bowl when I’m finished, Dakota. I’ll even leave you some, you are such a good boy.”
“I’ll vouch for the pistachio almond,” Casey said. “So, did you stay until Rachel got out of surgery?”
Danny nodded. “And I talked to the surgeon. He put three titanium plates vertically along her maxilla. Two on one side and one on the other. The orbital fractures he couldn’t do anything about and they’ll heal on their own.”
Sara sat in the leather chair behind Danny. “How exactly did he get the metal on the bone?”
“He went from inside her mouth through the upper lip. She’ll be bruised and banged up for a few weeks. However, since she’s stable as a rock, now she’s treated almost like a surgical outpatient and he anticipates discharging her tomorrow after morning rounds.”
“The whole thing sounds gross,” Nancy said, waving her plastic spoon.
Casey made a fist and playfully targeted her upper arm. “That’s why you’re not going to let something like that happen to you.”
“I don’t plan on it, especially if Mom and Dad are going to let me start dating this year.” She let the statement hang like a question and picked a spoonful of dark chocolate.
“I’m sure that will be fine,” Sara said, rubbing Danny’s shoulder.
“Casey and I have been discussing something the last few days and it would be a good time to bring it up,” Mary said. “We know Sara’s getting the house repairs completed and the two of you have considered building something new. But we have a suggestion.”
Finishing his ice cream, Danny put the empty bowl on the carpet for Dakota and held it in place as he looked up at his sister and Casey.
“Do you know it’s becoming more popular,” Mary asked, “for extended families to live together; to even add on other living arrangements like a mother-in-law residence? We know you can afford building a new house so the money’s not an issue. However, Mom and Dad only had the two of us and we’re really close.” Her eyes twinkled as she continued.
“Look, the downstairs of this house isn’t even used,” she said. “It’s huge and it wouldn’t take much to convert it into a total living area for you and Sara. The girls, too, if they don’t want a bedroom upstairs. We can get rid of the pool table down there. There’s a great big bedroom and two other rooms. One of the smaller rooms can become a bedroom and the other one a work or computer room. There’s enough of a kitchen, but you can add to it if needed.” She looked at Casey, hoping he’d pitch in.
“A contractor could easily make a separate entrance to the downstairs,” Casey agreed. “And, practically speaking, we can all mostly use this main floor as we see fit. You two could add a flat screen TV down there. Anyway, I think you get our drift.”
Danny replied, “You two have obviously given this a lot of consideration. Any initial thoughts?” he asked Sara.
“I love you all and, if we didn’t all get along like we do, I’d say no right off the bat. If Danny and I build somewhere else, we know we won’t see each other as much. As it is, all of us are gone most of the day except for you, Mary, since you work at home.”
“Julia would continue to have an extended family, too,” Danny said. “And I may have something to add to our discussion. A patient of mine has been giving me sales pitches to buy a place on a lake. What if I bought a lakefront property as a second home for all of us? It could be a getaway from Nashville.”
“Now we’re talking,” Casey said.
“Okay, we’ll discuss it more, but let’s consider it our present working plan.” Danny raised his eyebrows and looked around at each of them. Everyone nodded, even Nancy.
“By the way, tonight it was ice cream but tomorrow we’re going to the gym,” Casey said as Danny got up.
“I’m not on call,” Danny said, “so I can’t give you any excuses.”
He headed upstairs with Sara and Dakota close behind. Stopping in Julia’s room, he wished he’d had a chance to read her a book before she’d gone to sleep but her mother had come first.
-----
Danny didn’t interrupt Garret Archer as he walked into his room and watched him scarf down a folded piece of toast which was crammed with eggs.
“I’m glad to see you have an appetite,” Danny said.
Garret looked embarrassed and swallowed with a gulp. “Yesterday was the first day I started to eye the junk they bring in here. Today …,” he stopped, looking for his words. “I’m just desperate. I’m sure you wanted me to start eating because you’re sending me home, right?”
“Since Friday, you’ve done fine. I ordered that postoperative angiogram yesterday to make sure the surgical clip I inserted completely treated the aneurysm. It did.” Danny beamed.
Garret nodded’ he’d had faith in his surgeon and Dr. Tilson had delivered.
“You haven’t had any strange movements,” Danny continued, “like a focal seizure or a headache or a drastic problem with your speech since I saw you yesterday?”
“No,” he said pleadingly as if begging to leave.
Danny smiled. “I’ll be happy to write your orders and you’ll sleep in your own place tonight.”
“You don’t say,” Garret said. “So when can I …?” He seemed to lose his thought like pollen in a breeze.
Danny waited. He believed Garret’s thought process was the same preop as it was now postop. And if
he hadn’t had the surgery - if the aneurysm had ruptured - his mind would have been much worse; perhaps like a post-stroke victim with a very bad outcome.
Mr. Archer tapped his fork. “The most important two things. When can I ride my motorcycle again and when can I go to the gym?”
“Here’s the deal. I don’t want you to do either. Not yet, anyway, because I’m sending you to a neurologist for a work-up. Your preop radiology exams showed an irregularity. Don’t worry, your surgery went fine and I’m not hiding something like a diagnosis of cancer or anything like that. I want to consult her, that’s all. We’ll put our heads together and then I’ll see you back in my office.”
Garret made a face and pouted his lower lip as if he was twelve years old. “Jeez, doc, you’re taking away my art of living.”
-----
At the nurses’ station, Danny wrote discharge orders. He contemplated his next step because he missed the neurologist he had worked with for a long time; the old man had retired but had been a valuable member on Danny’s team regarding the awful organism responsible for a pandemic a year ago.
Making a decision, Danny called the operator to patch him through to the newest neurologist’s practice.
“This is Dr. Tilson,” he said when someone picked up. “May I speak to Dr. Banks?”
“She’s between patients so, hold on, I’ll hand her the portable phone.”
“Dr. Tilson,” said a perky voice with a slight Boston accent. “I’ve been here a few months and we’ve come and gone at meetings, but we haven’t had the opportunity to cross paths on patients.”
“So true,” Danny said after she left a quiet gap. “I think that’s about to end.”
Although he’d heard about her already as new doctors’ credentials always preceded them, they still had to prove themselves even if they’d done stellar work somewhere else. No newcomers were given a pass. Danny knew this was her second practice; she’d left the first because she’d asked the head partner for more money. Apparently, another male neurologist in the group was making more so, when they didn’t pay up, she left.