Dr. Price

“Dr. Spiegel. I’m Dr. Price.”

Jim Spiegel looked up from the stack of medical charts into the eyes of a very pretty, well-dressed lady. She was extending her hand to him. Instinctively, he shook her hand and said, “Dr. Price. I have a patient with the same last name. Any chance you’re related?”

“Tom Price,” she said. “He’s my father. How’s he doing?”

“Frankly, he’s lucky to be alive, but I think he’ll be fine. He has a nasty contusion on the crown of his head, the radius and ulna in each arm is broken, and he broke the tibia in his left leg. Dr. Krieger, our on-call orthopod worked on him right after the accident and reported that the surgery went well. Come on and I’ll show you.”

As they walked toward the large flat-screen computer monitor in the back of the ICU, Rhianna Price, MD asked, “Any LOC?”

“Oh, yes,” Dr. Spiegel replied. “The EMT said he was out cold. From what we can tell from their report, the truck crossed the centerline and hit your father head on. His airbag deployed and broke both his arms. Apparently, he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, so he went over the top of the airbag and struck his head on the windshield frame. The engine collapsed the fire wall and smashed his leg. As I was saying, he’s lucky to be alive.”

Rhianna shook her head and said, “Maybe now he’ll start wearing his seatbelt. I’ve been on him for years. Did you do a head CT?”

By way of reply, Dr. Spiegel pulled up the CT scan image on the monitor. “No signs of intracranial bleeding, but we’ll keep him in the ICU for at least 24-hours.” He then pulled up the pre- and post-operative x-rays of his arms and leg for her to observe.

“Damn”, She said.

“Yep”, Dr. Spiegel responded. He looked at her closely. She looked as tired as he felt. She had dark blue eyes that made him wonder if they were actually that color, or if she was wearing tinted contact lenses. Her straight dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail but would have fallen to the middle of her back had she worn it loose. She had thin lips that turned up at the corners so that she appeared to be smiling and a small, cute cleft in her chin. She was immaculately dressed in a black dress that fell to just above her knees. The dress had a deep V-neck and she was wearing a beige blouse with frills around the collar. She appeared to have large breasts, although it was difficult for him to tell. Over the dress she wore a fitted red coat that ended at the same length as her dress and that enhanced the length of her body. He thought she was probably about 5′ 4” and shapely. “Did you fly in today?”

“Uh huh,” she said nodding her head. “I was in New York at a conference when I got the call. I jumped on the first flight I could catch. As you might imagine, I didn’t sleep on the plane.”

“Well, I’m on duty until 7 tomorrow morning, so why don’t you head…home? Try to get some sleep.”

She smiled brightly at him. She had a dazzling smile, with high cheekbones and small creases around her mouth that gave away her age. He correctly guessed she was in her early 30s. “I live in Atlanta,” she said, “but I can go stay at my dad’s house. I’ll leave my cell phone number with the charge nurse. Please do call me if there is a change.”

He returned her smile and said, “Will do.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “He’ll be fine.”

“Do you mind if I look in on him quickly before I go?”

“Not at all. He’s on a lot of pain meds so he’s out and will be until the morning.”

When she looked in on him both of his arms were in casts that ran from just above his elbows to enclose his hands completely. There were pillows on either side of him and the casts were resting on those pillows. His left leg was in a cast that extended to just above his knee and his leg was elevated. He was sleeping soundly, and the EKG looked normal. She smiled and touched his cheek with the back of her hands. “Hi, Dad,” she whispered. She kissed him lightly and headed out of the ICU.

Rhianna Price was the only child of Tom and Sue Ellen Price. Sue Ellen had died when Rhianna was in grade school, so Tom had raised her on his own. This had generated an incredibly close bond between the two of them that continued to this day. He was her best friend. When Rhianna had graduated from high school, she entered a B.S.N nursing program and had worked as an ICU nurse for two years before she decided to go to medical school. Now as a physician, she worked as a hospitalist in the intensive care unit at one of the large hospitals in the Atlanta area. Seeing her own Dad in the ICU had been a bit of a shock, which surprised her. She had seen almost everything in her short career.

She let herself into her dad’s house and headed straight up the stairs to the spare bedroom that had been her room when she was a child. She threw her coat onto the bed and then plopped down next to it, exhausted. She began to cry, which was caused more by the release of exhaustion and stress than fear. Her Dad had been lucky. After a good cry, she dug out her cell phone and called the hospital HR department to let them know that she was going to have to take a leave of absence to help care for her father for at least 6 weeks or until the casts came off his arms. Until then, he’d be helpless.

She started to create a mental checklist of things she’d have to do. She would need to get a hospital bed delivered to his house, as well as several other pieces of equipment. She was glad for her nursing background, which would help with the care he was going to need. She decided to take a shower first, and then write down her thoughts.

Her phone startled her awake when it rang. “Hello,” she said, trying to hide that she had been sleeping.

“Dr. Price, this is Dr. Spiegel. I’m sorry to wake you.”

Now, she was wide awake. “How’s my dad?” she asked with a bit of panic in her voice.

“He’s fine. In fact, he did so well last night I’m transferring him to the floor today.”

She sighed and began to breathe again. “That’s great news. Thanks.”

“No worries,” he said, “and sorry to have scared you like that. She fell back asleep, and woke up a couple hours later. She showered, dressed, and headed to the hospital.

“Hey, Dad,” she said as she walked into his room.

“Hi, Pumpkin,” he replied quietly with a feeble smile on his face. “I feel like I got run over by a truck. They tell me I’m lucky to be alive.”

She shook her head as she crossed the room to his bed. She carefully leaned across his broken right arm and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “We’ll talk about seatbelt use later, mister.”

“Yeah, I kind of get it now. I don’t think they’ll be a lot to talk about. I’m definitely a convert.”

She smiled and walked to the foot of the bed. She pulled the chart and quickly read through the notes. After replacing the chart, she walked to the IV pump and carefully read the stickers on the fluid bags. She then pulled the otoscope from its holder on the wall behind his bed and shined it into his eyes. “Look left…look right…up…down. Good. Now hold your head still and follow my finger with your eyes. Good. Now, can you wiggle your fingers on your left hand? Good. Now your right. Good. How about your toes? No, smarty pants, on your broken leg. Good. Have you had any blurriness of vision, headaches, loss of consciousness?”

“You know,” he said, “I’ve been through all of this once this morning with Dr. what’s his name?”

“I’m sure you have. Answer the question.”

“No, no, and how would I know if I had lost consciousness?”

“You’d know. So, I’ll take that as a no.”

“Yes, Dr. Price. Thank you, Dr. Price. How much do I owe you, Dr. Price?”

She smiled.

“How long do you think they’ll keep me here?”

“Well, if you continue to do well and there are no complications from the head injury or from the orthopedic surgery, probably around a week.” She sat in the chair next to his bed. “I’ve already arranged for home health to send over a bed, a toilet, and some other equipment we’ll need for a bit. I called the hospital and have taken a leave of absence. I’ll be here to get you back on your feet; but until then, I’ll be Nurse Price to you.”

He started to protest but she held up her hand and gave him the “not a word out of you” look. He shut his mouth, closed his eyes, and nodded off to sleep.

After a week, Tom was released from the hospital. Tom had been released from the hospital, and the ambulance had just delivered him to his house.

“How’s that? Comfy?” she asked as she pulled the light sheet and cover up over his chest. Rhianna had set up the leased hospital bed in her dad’s living room on the first floor of his house. Her plans were to sleep on the couch in the same room for a few days and then decide from there when she would move to her old room upstairs.

“Good. I’m going to rest my eyes now,” he said, falling asleep almost immediately.

She watched him carefully and did a quick check of his vitals. At 52-years-old, he was healing well, but would still need a lot of rest to recuperate.

She took a deep breath and thought, “Time to switch from daughter mode to nurse mode.” She quietly climbed the stairs and went into her bedroom. She pulled her T-shirt off over her head and then dropped her jeans to the floor. Although she was 32 years old, she had the body of a curvy 22-year-old. She ate right and exercised at the gym at least 5 days per week. She eyed herself in the mirror as she slipped her bra off. Her large breasts assumed their natural shape and she was pleased to see that there was not a hint of sag in them. She had large dark nipples that matched her large breasts nicely. She pulled a sports bra out of her chest-of-drawers and pulled it on. She then put a new pair of scrubs on. She pulled her dark hair into a ponytail. “Ready. You can do this.” She exhaled and went back downstairs to find her dad sleeping soundly.

She pulled out her computer and began to catch up on some of her work e-mails. After several hours of quiet, she heard her Dad croak, “Rhianna. Could I get some water please?”

“Sure, Dad.” She had placed a pitcher of water next to his bed along with the cup she had brought home from the hospital. Of course, since both of his hands were in casts, he was helpless. “Here you go,” she said as she placed the bent straw to his lips.

He took a very long draw. “Thanks.” He looked at her and then frowned.

“What is it?” she asked. “Are you in pain?”

“Well, kind of.” He shut his eyes, sighed, and then opened them to look at her again. “We might as well get this over with. I’ve got to pee.”

“Ah, yes. I know it’s embarrassing, Dad, but just remember I was a nurse before I was a doctor, and I’ve seen everything!”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t seen mine.”

She smiled at him and then went to retrieve the urinal and some antiseptic wipes. She pulled the covers down to his knees and unbuttoned the fly to his pajamas. “Just relax, Dad. This won’t take long.” She reached into his pajamas and felt for his penis. She was surprised when her hands wrapped around his quite large penis. As she pulled his flaccid penis out of his pajamas, she saw that it appeared to be quite long and was definitely thick. “Holy shit,” she thought, “Dad’s hung like a horse!” She kept her face as passive as she could. Typically, she would place the head of her patient’s penis into the urinal and then avert her eyes while the patient urinated, but her Dad’s penis was…beautiful. That was the only word for it: beautiful. “Ok, Dad, go ahead and urinate,” she said.

“I’m trying, Pumpkin, but this is harder than I thought it would be.”

“It’s okay, Dad. Close your eyes and do multiplication problems.”

“What?”

She smiled at him. “Just do it. I swear it works. Do a hard one. Do 235 times 13.”

He closed his eyes and frowned. After about five seconds, she heard a stream of urine pour into the plastic urinal. He really had to pee, and it took him about 45 seconds to finish. “Done?”

“Yes. I think so.”

She used her fingers to jiggle his penis just a tad to shake that last little dribble out. She snapped the cover on the urinal into place and then set it aside. She picked up the wipes and then cleaned the corona of his penis. The sensation for him was strange; a beautiful woman, which happened to be his one and only daughter, was playing with his cock. It had been a long time since someone else had touched him there, and he thought, “I hope she doesn’t make me hard doing that.” About that time, he became aware that blood was starting to swell into his dick. “Oh shit!” he thought to himself. When she had cleaned his penis, she started cleaning his scrotum and especially the space between the scrotum and his legs. She placed his penis and scrotum back into his pajamas and snapped them shut. She replaced the covers and said, “Now, that wasn’t too bad, was it?”

“No. I guess not. Goodnight.” He fell back asleep almost immediately.

She noted the amount of urine, carefully logged his water intake and urine output in her log, and then went to the bathroom to empty and clean the urinal.