Mitch headed back to his office. He pulled up Meghan’s MRI report again and reached for the phone. He dialed the hospital operator and was transferred over to Kevin Meyers’ phone, fully expecting it to go to voicemail. He was surprised, however, when the resident answered the phone.

Dr. Meyers speaking. How can I help you?

“Hello, Dr. Meyers. This is Mitch Branston. How are you today?”

The voice on the other end perked up. Mitch! Good to hear from you! How’s Kelsey? We heard there was an accident.

“She had an accident with a knife and it did a number to her right wrist and hand. She’s still admitted up on 8.”

That’s a tough place to get hurt. I’ll let the staff know if anyone wants to go see her.

“Thanks, Kevin. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.” Mitch switched gears. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about a surgical referral.”

Dr. Meyers became very professional. Sure thing. What have you got?

“I’ve got a 28-year-old female who has been having right-sided lower abdominal pain for a few months. She had an MRI a couple of days ago that show a dermoid cyst that’s about 8.3 cm in diameter. It’s causing her a lot of pain.”

Yes, that’s large enough to be causing a good amount of pain. I typically remove anything over 5 cm. Can you give me the patient’s name so I can access her chart? I assume the MRI was done here.

Mitch affirmed that it was and gave him Meghan’s name and patient number. He waited while Meyers looked through Meghan’s chart.

Well, I’d say this cyst definitely needs to come out soon, but I’m a touch concerned about the timing since she had the tibia repair just a couple of weeks ago. Let me reach out to Dr. Brant and one of the anesthesia guys, and get their assessments on her condition. I’m happy to do the surgery, just don’t want to cause adverse effects from short-window repeats of anesthesia.

Mitch nodded. “I know, and I agree. How soon would you like to see her for a consult?”

I’ll patch you over to the scheduler, but let’s shoot for about a week out. That’ll give me time to consult with the others, and for her to work your patient into the schedule.

“Sounds good. We’ll get it scheduled. Thanks, I appreciate it.” Mitch was expecting to be transferred when Dr. Meyers spoke again.

I’ll send you over to Brenda. Keep us posted on Kelsey, if you would. And let us know if y’all need anything!

“Will do,” Mitch promised and listened as the phone call was transferred to the scheduling desk. He was surprised to hear a message about how the scheduler was out of the office until Monday. He glanced at the calendar on his desk. Oh, no wonder! It’s Saturday!

Chuckling to himself, he made a note for himself to call on Monday to schedule an appointment. He then turned his attention to a few other urgent matters.

**********

A quarter till eleven found Meghan and Mitch on their way to the hospital. The trip was quick and quiet. Mitch glanced over at Meghan. “I wanted to let you know that I’ve gotten your MRI results back, and it is a large cyst. I’ve spoken with a surgeon, and we’ll get you scheduled for a consult appointment within the next week.”

Meghan nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

Mitch glanced at her again but said nothing. Once at the hospital, they stopped by the gift shop for some flowers and a couple of cards at Meghan’s insistence. “Nothing is more depressing than a bare hospital room,” she declared.

So it was Mitch who got the full force of Kelsey’s smile when she saw the flowers as he carried them in. “Ooh, are these for me?”

“Absolutely! Meghan said these would be perfect for you.” He gave Meghan a wink as he set the vase down on a nearby table.

**********

They stayed and chatted through early afternoon, Mitch and Meghan going down to the cafeteria and bringing back lunch for all of them. Close to three that afternoon, a knock sounded on Kelsey’s door. A young man peeked his head through the door. “Mind a visitor?”

Kelsey perked up a bit. “Kevin! Get yourself in here!”

He entered and gave her a ginger hug, minding her arm and all of the tubes and wires. “I wasn’t about to let my favorite nurse languish in this hospital without a visit! I’m glad Mitch told me where you were hiding!” Mitch pushed a chair close and gestured for the man to sit. Kevin did and noticed Meghan sitting across the bed.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Kevin Meyers. I’m one of Kelsey’s coworkers on the Gyn Surgery team.” He smiled at her. “And I’m assuming you’re a friend or relative that I haven’t met yet.”

Meghan was secretly giving Kevin the eye. He was young, handsome, and his scrubs really set off his tan. She smiled. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Meyers. I’m Meghan, Kelsey’s sister.”

“And both sisters are now officially banged up, I see. You’re going to have your hands full, Mitch,” Kevin joked.

“Tell me about it!” Mitch replied, laughing.

“Well, I can’t stay long, but wanted to swing by and let you know we’re thinking of you. If you need anything, let us know. And stop by when you can to visit.” Kevin got to his feet.

Kelsey nodded. “I’ll do that, and I’ll take any visitors who want to drop in. I’m starting to count ceiling tiles!”

Kevin said his goodbyes and left the room. Mitch excused himself to chat for a moment, leaving the sisters alone.

Kelsey looked over at her sister. “He’s good looking, isn’t he?”

“Sis!” But Meghan couldn’t hide the blush.

“And he’s single, a few months from finishing residency. He’s originally from Pennsylvania, but says he likes it around here.” Kelsey winked at her sister. “Handsome and smart…”

“Oh, you!” But Meghan had to agree, based on the brief introduction. “Let’s just say that I wouldn’t say no to a dinner date if one was ever offered.”

Kelsey laughed. “You never know, sis. There’s a lot of good looking doctors who work here, and Mitch and I know quite a few!”

**********

Mitch caught up with Kevin Meyers. “Hey, Kevin! Wait up!”

Kevin slowed down for the other man to catch up. “Thanks for the info on Kelsey. It was good to see her, even with such extenuating circumstances. You should swing by the ward before she goes home. I’m sure everyone would appreciate a brief visit.”

Mitch nodded. “We’ll try to do that.” He smiled, then became serious. “I’m obviously all mixed up on days! It wasn’t until you switched me to your scheduler’s phone that I realized it is Saturday today. I’m surprised I reached you at all.”

Kevin smiled as they got on the elevator. “You happened to catch me trying to catch up on paperwork. I’m on call all weekend, so you did luck out. I haven’t had a chance to reach out to Dr. Brant yet, but I talked with Dr. Harper in Anesthesia, and he glanced at your patient’s anesthesia notes from her leg surgery. He thinks that with some pre-op antibiotics and a couple of rounds of corticosteroids for lung support, she should be fine for surgery within the next week, depending on scheduling, of course.” He glanced at Mitch as they got off on the 3rd floor. “Am I wrong in thinking that the patient we’re discussing is Kelsey’s sister?”

Mitch nodded. “Yes, Meghan.”

“I thought I recognized the name but didn’t want to follow up with a question for confidentiality reasons, of course.” He headed for the nurses’ desk and found the unit secretary at her desk. “Hi, Maureen. Could you do me a favor and look at the pre-op schedule for me? I need to find a slot for a new surgical case, and didn’t want to make Dr. Branston wait all weekend.”

Maureen gave him a good-natured look and turned to her computer. She started tapping keys and soon had the schedule pulled up. “I’m assuming you’re taking the case, Dr. Meyers?”

He nodded.

“It looks like your first available…. Hmmm…. Well, you have a few time slots available Monday or Wednesday. Do you,” she said, addressing Dr. Branston, “know what your patient’s schedule or preference would be, by chance?”

Dr. Branston thought for a minute. “Well, Kelsey’s supposed to be released on Monday and we’ll be here to visit until then, so why don’t you shoot for Monday, late morning or early afternoon.”

Maureen nodded and typed a bit more. “Okay, I’ve got a slot for 11:15 am on Monday. What is the patient’s name?”

Dr. Branston looked relieved that he was able to get Meghan in so quickly. “Patient is Meghan McCoy. Dr. Meyers already has her chart, and she is up-to-date with everything in the system, insurance and contact info are all correct.” He gave her Meghan’s birthdate, and she confirmed she had all of the important information. She wrote the appointment down on a slip of paper, handed that to Mitch, and reached into a file drawer to retrieve a piece of paper. “If you can, get the patient to fill this out and bring it with her to the appointment.”

“Thanks so much, Maureen, Dr. Meyers. I need to get back up to Kelsey, but I’ll be sure to pass along any updates.” He took the papers and shook Dr. Meyers’ hand.

“Dr. Branston, you send our regards to Kelsey, and let her know that we’re thinking about her. What’s her room number? I think a few people might want to visit,” Maureen asked.

“She’s on the Orthopedics unit up on 8. Room 808. She’ll take all the visitors she can get – lying in the bed is making her stir-crazy, I think.”

Mitch excused himself and made his way back to Kelsey’s room. He could see that a couple of cards had been added to the small display on one of the bedside tables and smiled.

“How are my gals? Behaving?” He asked, pushing the door open.

Kelsey smirked, and Meghan turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Behaving is no fun, Mitch! Besides, while the cat’s away, the mice will play.”

Mitch laughed. “I should have known better than to ask.” He sat down next to Kelsey’s bed, opposite of Meghan.

Meghan noticed the papers he was carrying. “What’re those, Mitch?”

“Some paperwork for you to fill out, and an appointment card. I’ve got you scheduled to see a surgeon about taking care of that cyst.”

Meghan was a little taken aback about this bit of news, but gamely took the paperwork and card he handed her. She read the card. “So the appointment is Monday? And at the clinic here at the hospital?” Mitch nodded. “I guess I can get this done when we come to visit Kelsey.”

Mitch nodded again. “I thought it might be easier to get the pre-op appointment done soon, and then they’ll schedule surgery after that.”

Kelsey looked at her sister before addressing her husband. “So I’m assuming you got the radiology reports from Meghan’s MRI.”

“Yes. She has a large cyst, and it will need to come out.”

Kelsey looked at her sister with sympathy. “Are you okay, sis?”

Meghan sighed and nodded. “I guess I wasn’t expecting a pre-op appointment so soon, and the thought of another surgery is kinda daunting, but I also know that this is the only thing to make the pain go away, so I guess I need to suck it up and get it over with.” She held up the appointment card. “Thanks, Mitch.”

He smiled kindly in her direction. “Just trying to take good care of you, Meghan. You’re welcome.”