Twinkle by SJ Parkinson Excerpt
Twinkle by SJ Parkinson Excerpt
Doctor Linda Krause looked into the mirror on her locker door. Her shoulder-length dirty blond hair had not been combed that morning. She grabbed a brush from the top shelf and spent a minute to make it presentable.
As she brushed her hair, she smiled subtly to herself. The Harborview Medical Center in Seattle had offered her a position just after her residency ended in Kansas City. Moving had been a royal pain and involved a painful breakup, but she had found Seattle to be a wonderfully relaxing city. Her new paycheck certainly helped, and her years of medical school, long hours as an intern, and sleepless nights became distant memories.
Satisfied with her hair, she replaced the brush and closed the locker door, placing her combination lock into the hasp. Krause walked up the hallway to the nurses’ station while adjusting the collar of her lab coat.
“Evening, Doctor Krause,” said the duty nurse.
“Evening, Carla. Can you pass me Mrs. Paulson’s chart, please? How are you?”
Carla handed over the requested clipboard. “Great! I’m going to be a mom.”
“Wow, that’s wonderful news. When are you due?” Krause lost interest in the chart for the moment.
“February. It’s my first, so I’m told he’ll be late.” Carla beamed.
“‘He?’ You’re that sure this soon?” Krause asked.
“Must be. The big disruptions in my life are usually caused by men.”
The two women chuckled at that. Krause looked at the chart in her hand. Several pages had been updated through the night. “Looks like we are ‘go’ for her Keratoprosthesis. Can you confirm the operating theater? I’ll check in on Mister Herbert in the meantime.”
“Of course, Doctor.”
Krause walked down the hall, passing several hospital rooms. She read through the chart in detail. She knew the case very well, but reinforcing things in her own mind was part of her process. She entered the room with her patient. “Good evening, Mister Herbert. How are you feeling today?”
The older man in the bed turned to face her. The side of his head had a thick bandage taped in place. He smiled broadly. “Hey, Doc. I’m doin’ good. I woke up without my double vision. Thought I was dreaming.”
“Good to hear. I just need to check your eyes.” Krause pulled the monocular direct ophthalmoscope from her coat pocket and switched on the small light. “Just lay back, look straight ahead, and relax.” She moved in close and checked his eyes without the instrument. They looked normal. He’d been admitted with severe strabismus. His right eye always pointed to the right, causing double vision. Krause had performed a tenectomy early that morning to correct the condition.
Using the ophthalmoscope, she examined his eyes closely. No signs of bleeding, swelling, or other distress from the surgery, she was glad to see. She snapped off the light and stood, replacing the instrument in her pocket. “Well, it’s looking good. I’ll check in with you a couple more times, just to make sure everything is fine, and we should be able to release you tomorrow. You’ll need to follow up with your own physician in about a week for a follow-up assessment, but as I said, I see nothing wrong at this point.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
Krause left the room, making notes on his chart. By the time she got back to the nurses’ station, everything was updated, and she dropped it into the proper slot.
“Carla, I’m going for a coffee. Want one? My treat.”
“I’m going to try and avoid caffeine, but I’ll take an herbal tea if they have it.”
“Of course. I’ll be right back.” Krause headed for the break room.
About SJ Parkinson:
Mr. Parkinson was an Air Force avionics technician, a decorated veteran of the Persian Gulf War, and several United Nations peacekeeping missions. He has lived overseas in numerous countries and travels extensively. His novels have been praised for their realism and sold in fourteen countries, winning multiple international awards.
Awards: Three “Outstanding in Genre” Gold Seal awards from Red Adept Publishing and Kindle Book of the Month award Oct 2013 by the People’s Choice Book Awards.
Website: http://sjparkinson.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SJ_Parkinson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SJ-Parkinson/228716213898027
Google+: https://plus.google.com/104993789048415208166/posts
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