answered. Looking back at the new doctor, she sounded insistent. “He was in my car, holding something on my arm, and he smelled like alcohol. I'm sure of it.”
Dr. Sherman started to step forward, but Dr. Stone stopped him. “Nick, let's step outside a minute.” He turned back to Kara a moment first. “I'll be back in a few minutes, Kara, and we'll talk.”
Once they were out of the room, and out of hearing range, Dr. Sherman addressed his colleague. “Phil, why didn't you want me to talk to her? I'm sure she's just confused. She did see me at the scene, and she's had a head injury, so —”
Dr. Stone interrupted him. “Nick, relax. I'm sure, too, her confusion is because of her head injury. She's simply confused. Your car is obviously not damaged, so I'm sure no one will accuse you of being the driver that caused the accident. And although you said the police did a sobriety test on the other driver and arrested him for DUI, if Kara keeps insisting she smelled alcohol on your breath it could cause a problem. There's nothing to say you couldn't have had a couple of drinks, as well. You weren't at the hospital or your office, after all.
“True, but I was on call, so I didn't have anything at all to drink.”
“I believe you completely. I'm just a little concerned about your insurance. If I were you I would go downstairs to the lab and have blood drawn to prove you don't have any alcohol in your system. We can talk to the chief of staff about this if you want, but since she made that statement once she may repeat it. Especially since the nurse that heard her say it is the biggest gossip in the hospital. If anything ever comes of it a blood test taken right now would put an end to it real quick.”
“But it's been well over two hours since the accident,” Nick said. He thought a minute, then sighed and agreed. “But you're right. If I was even close to the legal limit then, a blood test would still show at least a small amount four hours later.” He sighed and shook his head. “Miss Kara Kerrington and I are going to have a talk about her part in my day off once she's feeling better.”
Dr. Stone laughed. “You were off today?”
“I didn't have any office hours today because I'd planned on going to the Continuing Education seminar today and tomorrow. When that was canceled yesterday, I told Dr. Smith I'd cover for him as the orthopedic surgeon on call today so he could spend more time with his wife and their new baby. I was hoping it would be quiet and I'd actually have a few days off. When I saw her foot, though, I knew she needed surgery, and I knew I'd be the one they called, so I went from the scene of the accident straight here.”
Dr. Stone smiled as he nodded. “And you're still here because? We both know the nurses could take care of her after the surgery, and they'd call you if there was a problem.”
Nick actually blushed a bit, but answered honestly. “I'm not sure exactly. I just felt like I needed to stay here with her for a little while.”
Dr. Stone just chuckled. “She is pretty, Nick. I hope it works out for you. Now go get that blood test just in case, while I talk to Miss Kerrington.”
Nick shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, she is pretty. I guess we'll see what happens.” He was shaking his head as he headed to the hospital lab.
Dr. Stone went back in to talk to Kara. He was concerned when he saw her and the nurse whispering. He knew that nurse liked to gossip. He quickly stepped over to the bed, effectively interrupting their conversation. “Okay, Kara, let's talk about how you're feeling.”
“My head hurts,” she said, “and if I move it much I get dizzy.”
“Anything else that hurts?”
“My leg or foot, but it's not bad. I'm confused, though, Doctor. Could you answer some questions for me?”
“Sure, if I can. What would you like to know?”
“That guy that was just here, the one that hit me; is he a doctor?”
“Kara, that man is a doctor, but we'll talk about him in a minute. Let me tell you what's happened the last few hours first. How much of the accident do you remember?”
“I remember seeing him in a Mustang, blowing through a stop sign. Then he was at my window asking if I was all right. Then I saw him in the car with me and he was holding something on my arm.”
Dr. Stone glanced over at the nurse, who was paying close attention to what Kara was saying. He was glad Nick was getting the blood test. It was the quickest and easiest way to put any gossip to rest. He looked back at Kara and tried to put the issue to rest for now. “I can tell your head's hurting, so don't worry about that now. We can talk more about it when your head feels better. Dr. Sherman is the man that was in here, Kara. And yes, he is a doctor. As a matter of fact, he's the orthopedic surgeon that operated on your foot just a little while ago.”
“He operated on me?”
“He did,” Dr. Stone confirmed. “You had four broken bones in your foot. Two of them were misaligned and needed surgery, and as luck would have it, Dr. Sherman is the orthopedic surgeon on call today in the emergency room. You're lucky, Kara, because Dr. Sherman is an excellent surgeon.”
“But he'd been drinking! He operated on me drunk!” She tried to sit up, but immediately grabbed her head.
Dr. Stone gently laid her back down on the pillow. “Calm down, Kara. It's okay. Dr. Sherman was not drunk when he operated on you.”
“How do you know? He was at the accident.”
She again tried to sit up, but Dr. Stone stopped her. “Kara, calm down. Listen to me a minute. You banged your head in the accident and you have a concussion. That's why your head hurts, and why you're getting dizzy and nauseous when you move much.”
“A concussion,” she said, as if trying to understand.
“Yes,” Dr. Stone confirmed. “A concussion is a head injury and it can cause confusion. It can make you remember things differently. That's not your fault; it's from the concussion.”
“But I know I saw him. He was at my window asking if I was okay.”
Dr. Stone sighed, a bit frustrated. “Kara, you'll have to talk to Dr. Sherman about what happened out there, but please try to keep an open mind about this. From what I'm told, he called 9-1-1 and the police came to investigate the accident. There was a man there that said he was driving the other vehicle that was smashed up and had obviously hit your car, and that car was registered in his name. My understanding is that man had been drinking, and the police took him to jail. Dr. Sherman was a witness to the accident and went to your car right after it happened to see if you were okay, and he says he stayed with you until the ambulance brought you here.”
Kara looked at the doctor, and he could tell she was considering his words. “For right now,” he suggested, “why don't you just keep an open mind. I'm sure as your concussion starts to heal you'll remember things a little differently. Some things will be clearer to you. Some things you'll remember the same way, some things differently. That doesn't really matter, though. I'm more concerned about you and how you're doing right now. I'd like to do a few simple tests to see how your eyesight is, and your coordination. Is that okay?”
He waited until she agreed before taking a flashlight from his pocket. “For starters, I want you to follow this light with your eyes.” She cooperated while he did a few simple tests. Afterward, he relayed his results.
