babump. babump.
a heart beat. the sign of life. a comfort in a mothers arms, a beacon in a hospital room. a heart beat can mean so much. it's the thing we all have in common, no matter our skin type, hair colour, weight, religion or history, we all have a heart beat. and when that heart beat stops... so do our lives.
this was a new way to do this type of surgery and Mika kind of liked being able to see what the doctor was doing. he was learning how to do this important surgery because the doctor would be retiring soon, and Mika was hoping for his job. Mika looked down at his patient and smiled to comfort her. this was her first time having this surgery and she was scared. it was better for her to be awake, this wouldn't take very long anyway. just another routine surgery.
Mika moved the sonogram machine to get a better view of the tumor that was to be removed. the doctor was fussing around, getting his instruments in order as Mika continued to sooth the young woman, reminding her that this was only a tumor, it would be over soon and she could go on living her life. to distract her he asked her whether she was from the city.
she shook her head, "i live outside of town. my family has a farm."
"oh really? do you have animals?
she nodded looking down nervously.
"what kind?"
"cattle."
Mika carried on the conversation that way until the doctor was ready and had put his gloves on. the elderly man pulled on his gloves and smiled at the young woman, putting his hand on her knee.
"now sweetheart, how old did you say you were?" he asked, his voice was gentle, but clinical.
"i'm 15." she whispered, she felt her leg shake under his latex touch. she was beginning to get really nervous.
"allright dear." he crooned, "just let me take a quick look here and this will be over in five minutes."
she nodded and looked up, blinking back tears. she recited in her head 'you are brave, this is the right thing. you'll get your life back.' over and over.
the old man sat down in his doctors swivel chair that Mika remembered wanting to sit on when he'd visited the doctor as a kid. "i have the laminaria in place and the betadine injection has begun to kick in."Mika said.
"very good Mika." the doctor said with a wink. he inspected the entry point of his instrument to make sure it was clean and prepared. he nodded his approval and looked over at his tray of instruments. he'd decided after looking at her chart what kind of procedure this would be, quick and simple.
he spread the laminaria a little farther to dilate the opening and slowly inserted his instrument. the teen gasped and bit her lip. it didn't hurt, but it was definately uncomfortable. the elderly doctor stared up at the screen to more specifically locate his target. he positioned and moved his instruments accordingly. Mika watched the instruments approach the small bulge and was surprised to see that when the tong like instrument touched it, it moved. as if it were running away. the doctor didn't falter. but Mika was very surprised. he watched as the doctor cornered it and got a good hold of the appropriate area and applied pressure. the bulb burst. Mika stared at the screen. the doctor retracted his instrument and reached for his second instrument, he inserted it, positioned it, and flipped the switch. the fragments wouldn't fit. he sighed and again reached for his tong-like instrument. he re-inserted it and continued to break up fragments until they all fit in the vacuum tube. when all of the fragments had successfully been evacuated he retracted all of his instruments, including the laminaria and swabbed the entry point until he found it was clean. he packed up his instruments, handed the young lady a script for a pain prescription and then left the room for Mika to tidy up. Mika still had the sonogram pointed at the spot the 'tumor' had once been. the young woman had fainted, which was normal. he turned off the machine and set down the wand. he picked up the girls legs and took them out of the stirrups and gently put on her underwear and shorts. he did these things mindlessly, he'd done them so many times he didn't even notice. he laid her legs flat and began to attempt to wake her.
when her eyes opened she was startled to remember where she was. her eyes grew soft red "is it over?" she whispered, gripping his hand.
she was shaking and he tried to hold her arm steady, "it's done. you can go home now."
he helped her sit up and she grimaced. 'here, this is for your pain. you should avoid heavy activity or lifting for five days. do no use tampons, douche, or have sex for one week..." he recited these things as he always had. but this time, it was different. it occurred to him that maybe what had happened wasn't right. once she was safely out of the room and handed over to a female nurse for a short counceling session he began to collect the paper off of the surgical bed and cleaning and sanitizing everything. just another day. just another surgery. just another life.
a heart beat. the sign of life. a comfort in a mothers arms, a beacon in a hospital room. a heart beat can mean so much. it's the thing we all have in common, no matter our skin type, hair colour, weight, religion or history, we all have a heart beat. and when that heart beat stops... so do our lives.
this was a new way to do this type of surgery and Mika kind of liked being able to see what the doctor was doing. he was learning how to do this important surgery because the doctor would be retiring soon, and Mika was hoping for his job. Mika looked down at his patient and smiled to comfort her. this was her first time having this surgery and she was scared. it was better for her to be awake, this wouldn't take very long anyway. just another routine surgery.
Mika moved the sonogram machine to get a better view of the tumor that was to be removed. the doctor was fussing around, getting his instruments in order as Mika continued to sooth the young woman, reminding her that this was only a tumor, it would be over soon and she could go on living her life. to distract her he asked her whether she was from the city.
she shook her head, "i live outside of town. my family has a farm."
"oh really? do you have animals?
she nodded looking down nervously.
"what kind?"
"cattle."
Mika carried on the conversation that way until the doctor was ready and had put his gloves on. the elderly man pulled on his gloves and smiled at the young woman, putting his hand on her knee.
"now sweetheart, how old did you say you were?" he asked, his voice was gentle, but clinical.
"i'm 15." she whispered, she felt her leg shake under his latex touch. she was beginning to get really nervous.
"allright dear." he crooned, "just let me take a quick look here and this will be over in five minutes."
she nodded and looked up, blinking back tears. she recited in her head 'you are brave, this is the right thing. you'll get your life back.' over and over.
the old man sat down in his doctors swivel chair that Mika remembered wanting to sit on when he'd visited the doctor as a kid. "i have the laminaria in place and the betadine injection has begun to kick in."Mika said.
"very good Mika." the doctor said with a wink. he inspected the entry point of his instrument to make sure it was clean and prepared. he nodded his approval and looked over at his tray of instruments. he'd decided after looking at her chart what kind of procedure this would be, quick and simple.
he spread the laminaria a little farther to dilate the opening and slowly inserted his instrument. the teen gasped and bit her lip. it didn't hurt, but it was definately uncomfortable. the elderly doctor stared up at the screen to more specifically locate his target. he positioned and moved his instruments accordingly. Mika watched the instruments approach the small bulge and was surprised to see that when the tong like instrument touched it, it moved. as if it were running away. the doctor didn't falter. but Mika was very surprised. he watched as the doctor cornered it and got a good hold of the appropriate area and applied pressure. the bulb burst. Mika stared at the screen. the doctor retracted his instrument and reached for his second instrument, he inserted it, positioned it, and flipped the switch. the fragments wouldn't fit. he sighed and again reached for his tong-like instrument. he re-inserted it and continued to break up fragments until they all fit in the vacuum tube. when all of the fragments had successfully been evacuated he retracted all of his instruments, including the laminaria and swabbed the entry point until he found it was clean. he packed up his instruments, handed the young lady a script for a pain prescription and then left the room for Mika to tidy up. Mika still had the sonogram pointed at the spot the 'tumor' had once been. the young woman had fainted, which was normal. he turned off the machine and set down the wand. he picked up the girls legs and took them out of the stirrups and gently put on her underwear and shorts. he did these things mindlessly, he'd done them so many times he didn't even notice. he laid her legs flat and began to attempt to wake her.
when her eyes opened she was startled to remember where she was. her eyes grew soft red "is it over?" she whispered, gripping his hand.
she was shaking and he tried to hold her arm steady, "it's done. you can go home now."
he helped her sit up and she grimaced. 'here, this is for your pain. you should avoid heavy activity or lifting for five days. do no use tampons, douche, or have sex for one week..." he recited these things as he always had. but this time, it was different. it occurred to him that maybe what had happened wasn't right. once she was safely out of the room and handed over to a female nurse for a short counceling session he began to collect the paper off of the surgical bed and cleaning and sanitizing everything. just another day. just another surgery. just another life.
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