Not Perfect(42)

“Fern Brewer,” Tabitha said to the smiling receptionist.

“Birth date?”

“May eighth,” she said.

“What’s the problem?” she asked.

“Her knee is really bothering her. She’s having a hard time walking on it. Also, it’s hot and looks red in the back.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“About two weeks, no, maybe three weeks,” Tabitha said, quickly and quietly.

The receptionist looked up from the keyboard. Tabitha waited for her to tell them this was not what walk-in hour was intended for and that they would have to make an appointment and come back. But then the receptionist looked at Fern, and Tabitha hoped she was thinking she should give them a break. She sighed and looked back at her keyboard.

“Any injuries?”

“Not that we’re aware of,” Tabitha said with relief.

“Any recent illnesses?”

“She had a fever and a stomach bug recently, but I can’t imagine this is related to that.”

“Okay, you have a twenty-dollar co-pay for today, and I can see you have a previous balance that hasn’t been paid yet.”

Tabitha handed over her credit card and held her breath.

The receptionist took it and swiped it before handing it back, then pushed a receipt toward Tabitha to sign. She had been charged sixty-eight dollars. She signed the flimsy slip of paper.

“Okay, please take a seat,” the receptionist said, not looking up. Tabitha wanted her to look. Not only did she want to be allowed to misuse the walk-in hour but she also wanted the receptionist to not be mad at her.

Fern hobbled over to a seat. Tabitha wondered why her knee suddenly seemed so much worse than it did before. Was it that she was being given permission to let it be bad? Or did she feel she had to prove to the receptionist that they really did have a situation? Tabitha followed her and took the seat next to her, scooping her arm around her.

“Fern?” the nurse called.

“That’s us,” Tabitha said, trying to smile.

They headed back, and Fern was weighed. Tabitha thought she’d lost a few pounds, but she couldn’t remember exactly how much she weighed last time, so she tried not to worry about it. They waited about twenty minutes before the doctor came in. It wasn’t their usual person, but she was young and nice and seemed gentle.

“So it just started hurting out of the blue?” the doctor asked Fern.

“Pretty much,” she answered, looking the doctor in the eyes, which made Tabitha proud.

“And it feels hot?”

“Very.”

“And sensitive when people touch it?”

“Yes.”

Tabitha wanted to give Fern a look that said, Really? Why didn’t you tell me any of that? But she didn’t. She knew this was way more on her than it was on Fern. The doctor felt around, then stopped and thought, like she was trying to get an image of the inside of a knee in her mind. She kept checking Fern’s knee and stopping and thinking.

“Oh, and the back of her knee looked a little funny to me,” Tabitha said.

The doctor gently turned Fern’s leg over and studied the smooth backside of her knee. It was definitely red.

“To tell you the truth, I’m totally stumped,” the doctor said. “Some of the symptoms point to a possible torn or injured muscle, but other symptoms aren’t consistent with that. Since it’s been going on so long, and since Fern is clearly in pain, I’m going to send you for some tests.”

“But that will take so long, and I hate to put her through that. Do you think there’s anything simple we can try? Ice or heat? Which is better in this situation? Or both?”

“Sure, you can try heat if you want, but if there’s something going on in there, we should really find out. I’d like to begin with an X-ray, and then we’ll take it from there. I’ll write you a script, and you should have it done at CHOP.” Tabitha nodded her agreement. CHOP was the city’s children’s hospital and was highly respected throughout the region. “I’d like to have this done in the next week or so, at the latest.”

“Okay,” she said, waiting while the doctor typed something into the computer.

“Oh, and you can give her Advil,” the doctor said.

“Thanks.”



Tabitha was walking away from school after dropping Fern off when her phone rang. It was Kaye. She thought about not answering, but she had always liked Kaye.

“Hello?”

“Tabitha, I’m so glad to reach you. I feel just awful about yesterday. I am so sorry. Things haven’t been so easy around here lately. Hugo is working so much, and, well, he’s worried it’s all for nothing. He isn’t sure he’s going to have a job at the end of the month.” She lowered her voice when she said the last part.

“Oh, Kaye, I’m so sorry,” Tabitha said.

“And I was just in a really bad mood. I mean, I was worried about Fern, but I had intended to call and talk to you nicely. I don’t even know what happened.”

“Well, we just left the doctor,” Tabitha said, glad she had that to offer. “And they have no idea what’s causing it. She has to have an X-ray.”

“Poor girl,” Kaye said. “But at least you’ll get to the bottom of it soon.”