Review, Revision, Edit and Update
Although the flow of this Episode 112 was fairly consistent, I did find it necessary to do some revising. The first thing I noticed was a confusing timeline. The story in this Episode pre-dated The Wedding (Episode 111 - reviewed yesterday) without any explanation, thus the addition of the very first couple of sentences.
Checklist
Late in the day that Emelina had called him, waking him from his sleep drugged state, he found and opened his invitation to Martha and Digby’s wedding. He was ready to cry, having just clicked off from a phone conversation with Emelina. She wondered if he would be able to take some time off from the hospital and wouldn’t say why. “Only for a couple of weeks, Jeremy.” She said she wouldn’t give him any details until he could get the time off. Just like her in the old days. Ask for something without giving a reason. The only thing she would say is that “it will almost be like old times, Jeremy. When I still had Michael and you still had Elaine.” Not much to go on but Jeremy really needed - and seriously wanted - some time off from the craziness of the hospital. The fact that it would be with Emelina made it all the more attractive. He was nervous though. Were either of them over their spouses? Michael had died five years ago, Elaine four years ago. Both had been ill and their deaths were expected but there had been a lot of love in both marriages.
~~~~~
Jeremy set all of that aside when he went to work. In his typical doctor fashion, he looked at this like any difficult condition that may require surgery. He would investigate what had to be done, do what was needed and the results would be what they would be. Once the emotional baggage was out of the way, he took a stroll to ICU and to the Covid floors, ticking off his own mental check list. ICU - no Covid cases. The last had been three days previously. Then it was on to the two Covid floors: three recovering cases on one, last discharge from the other the day before his little stroll. Then he checked the Emergency Department and with the Admissions clerk. Both areas were still busy, but there was only one suspected Covid19 case in ER with no apparent co-morbid conditions.
He took his numbers to the little garden on the roof of the hospital, where only two people were allowed at any one time. So it was just him and one other person that stepped up to be allowed into this leafy sanctum. His second mental check list was a short one; a brief outline of his own plan to present to the Hospital Administrator and the Chief Surgeon. His goal: be granted three weeks off. Two weeks to self-isolate after working so closely with patients diagnosed with active Covid19. Then he would have one week to spend with Emelina for whatever she had planned.
Down in the locker room, he checked his scrubs and his white lab coat. Any unpleasant splashes, stains or missing buttons? No. He checked the mirror - yes he looked tired, but then so did everyone else that worked in the hospital. Jeremy’s hair was slightly dishevelled. He was tempted to give it a comb to get it neat, but decided it may help his case. At the last minute, he pulled his comb out and tidied himself up.
Looking in the bathroom shaving mirror at his tired eyes and drawn face, he straightened his shoulders, and said aloud “Ok, Dr. Crawford. You can do this. You’ve known the Administrator, Sherman Smart a long time, and the Chief Surgeon - you’ve worked with her for the last eight years. Tanya McCormick is tough, but fair.” Jeremy kept talking quietly to himself all the way into the elevator, back up to first floor and along the hallway.
His one sided conversation came to an abrupt halt when Dr. McCormick strode up beside him from another hallway “Tanya! I didn’t expect to see you! I'm on my way to Sherm’s office. Do you have a minute?” Jeremy’s stomach tightened as though he were about to enter the principle's office with the truant officer.
Tanya had always liked Jeremy, pleased when their schedules coincided. Their shifts always went smoothly, no matter how busy. She could always depend on him, and if Jeremy were asked, he could always depend on her. “For you, Jeremy, any time. I'm going Sherm's office, too! What’s up?” They walked side by side up to the Administrator’s office.
Jeremy held the big glass door to the Administrators office open for his colleague. He greeted the receptionist. “Hi Bonnie. How are you? Is Sherman in or is he busy?” Jeremy hoped that no one could see the perspiration that he was sure had soaked his scrubs and coat.
Bonnie glanced at her phone for red lights. “He’s just finished a telephone conference. Let me check if he'll be able to see you now?…………Mr. Smart, Dr. Crawford and Dr. McCormick are out here and would like to speak with you. Send them in? Thank you.” Bonnie hung up the phone and with a big beautiful smile told them to go on in.
Jeremy had barely stuttered his request out of his very dry mouth when Sherman said. “You want time off? How much and when do you want to start?” The administrator looked up at Tanya: “Is that all right with you?” She nodded without hesitation. Jeremy was about to protest, certain that he would have to go over all his research, sure that Tanya would already have him lined up for an important surgery. Then it sunk in. “Could you repeat that Sherman?”
A jovial man, Sherman laughed out loud. “You didn’t hear me the first time, Jeremy? Maybe you’d better get your hearing checked on your time off.”
~~~~~
Jeremy went home that very day and called Emelina to tell her the good news.
“Emmie, I have time off! Three weeks! But don’t get too excited. I’m going to self isolate for two weeks and then we can do or go wherever you want. Before I left work today, I was tested again for the virus - symptoms and a nasal swab.” Jeremy was excited and relieved. He could eat and sleep as much as he wanted. He could talk to Emelina every day. And the relief he felt. He felt like he had just taken a very, very heavy coat off and could finally breath.
“I won’t call you until tomorrow afternoon to give you time to get rested. After that, will it be Facetime or just the phone, Jeremy? We have plans to make.” If there was an equivalency measure for excitement, Emelina’s would have bested Jeremy’s but only by a hair.
“We are besieged by simple problems…Checklists can provide protection.”
~ Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
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