Delusions

“Paging Dr. Scott.  Paging Dr. Scott.  Dr. Scott needed in bay five.”  A woman’s voice sounded over the intercom waking me from my slumber.  I wiped the slobber form my chin on my scrubs and sat up.   My neck and shoulders ached and I tried to rub them out as best I could.  Standing onto my feet, I scrambled to grab my stethoscope off the counter and rushed out the door of my office.

               My shoes squeaked across the tile floor and wind rushed through my blonde ponytail.  I was bursting with a sudden sensation of excitement as a newfound energy coursed through my body.  There was nothing in the world like the rush of adrenaline before I tackled my next big case.  It caused my fingers to tingle with anticipation when I scooped up the clipboard at the nurse station.

               “What do we got this time?”

               Suzy, a chubby nurse wearing pink scrubs and her black hair tied in a neat bun, gave me a mischievous grin.  “A Caucasian male who looks to be about in his mid-thirties complaining of wrist pain and scratch marks.  Looks like it’ll be a fun one.”  She turned back to the computer and I patiently tapped my fingers waiting for her to continue.  When she did not, I sighed and rolled my eyes.

               “That’s it?”  The irritation was clear in my voice.  Why was someone wasting valuable hospital resources if they were just scratched up a little?  I mean, yeah the night had been quiet with not many patients passing through, but still.  That was no excuse.

               Shrugging her shoulders, Suzy shook her head.  “That’s all he told me.  But trust me,” she raised an eyebrow and stared right into my eyes.  “He definitely needs to be admitted.”

               Though I was still skeptical, her words gave me pause.  Needs to be admitted…but why if nothing was wrong with him?  I got the feeling that Suzy was not being one hundred percent forthcoming with her information.  I contemplated handing this case off to someone else and just curling back up on the couch in my office.  However, my curiosity had been peaked enough to where I had to see this spectacle for myself.

               “Ok…” I wearily nodded and flipped the clipboard open.  Skimming the information, I quickly learned this man’s name was Scott Howard and that he lived in the area with his wife.  There appeared to be nothing listed in his medical record. Heck, he did not even give the name of his insurance company.  Straightening out my back, I strolled over to bay five and pulled open the curtain.

               Scott was a handsome man with healthy tan skin and wavy brown locks.  Muscles rippled down his bare chest and he was wearing nothing but his boxer shorts.  His green eyes darted around the room like he was watching a fly buzzing by.  Somehow, he managed to jam his large, tone body into the corner and curl up into a tight ball.  Shaking his head, he rocked back and forth with his thumb in his mouth.

               Suddenly, I could tell why good old nurse Suzy told me that Scott would have to be admitted.  In fact, I could diagnose him with one quick glance.  Mental illness; probably some form of paranoid schizophrenia.  However, it is my obligation and duty as a doctor to first confirm my diagnosis before sending him off to the psychology ward.  Great, I silently groaned.  This oughta be a fun case.

               I surveyed his body with my grey eyes.  Suzy was right; he did only have a few bruises and cuts. Nothing too far out of the ordinary except for his behavior.  And, he had yet to realize that I was standing in the doorway.  His eyes were fixated on the cabinet.

Clearing my throat, I saw his head jerk to face me.  Ripping his thumb out of his mouth, his eyes were widened and full of fear like a deer caught in the headlights.  Putting on a smile, I slowly outstretched my arm. “Hello Scott, I’m…”

               “How do you know my name?”  His shouts echoed in my ears and I quickly pulled back.  Guess I would have to gain his trust and take some time with this guy.

               Bending over, I crouched down and was sure to make eye contact with him.  I lowered the volume of my voice and tried my best to stifle the growing irritation in my voice.  Holding out the medical chart, I pointed to the top line.  “See that?”  I asked him.

               Slowly but surely, Scott craned his neck and stared at the paper.  As his hand was pressed against the tile floor, I noticed there were a few superficial wounds all over his arm.  His wrist, however, appeared to be completely fine.  But I needed to take a closer look before I could verify this was correct.

He pulled back into his tight ball and quickly nodded.  “Yes,” his voice was shaky like a high pitched whine.  “I see it.”

“I know your name because you wrote it down on the paper.  And I’m Doctor Scott.”  I tried once again to extend my arm.  This time, to my surprise, he took it and shook it vigorously.  The palms of his large hands were sweaty.

“Good, I can trust you then.”  Without warning, he stood on his bare feet and towered over me.  I pushed myself from the floor while he continued talking.  “I can always trust another Scott.”

Hearing his mumbling words, I did my best to reassure him.  “Yes you can trust me.”  I nervously approached the bed and patted the white blankets.  “Why don’t you have a seat and tell me what’s been bothering you and why you’re here?”

Easing his way onto the bed, his fingers tightly gripped the sheets.  He was constantly moving almost as though his fear had taken over and he could not stop.  Staring into the cameras all around him, he violently shook his head.  “No!  I can’t.  They might be here…watching and listening…just waiting to catch me.”  He stuttered.

I noticed his hands were twitching and he was breathing heavily.  His pulse must be beating so fast it might put a strain on his heart.  Instinctively, I placed my hand atop of his arm and-for some strange reason-that seemed to sooth him.  Tightened shoulders were relaxed as though my warm touch had melted away his anxiety.  He even managed a weak smile while I patted his shoulder.

“I promise no one is going to hurt you or come to get you to take you away all-righty?”  I patiently waited for him to agree.  Though he still appeared somewhat unconvinced, he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Okay,” he grumbled.  Sucking in a deep breath, he started weaving his tale of how he had ended up at this hospital.  “I was at home with my wife minding my own business when someone knocked on the door.  We weren’t really expecting anybody, so she decided to go and answer.  I heard her open the door, and that’s when she screamed…”

He had to pause; the nightmare probably was replaying in his head.  I squeezed his hand coaxing him to continue.  After rubbing his eyes, he did.  “There were scary voices of men coming from the other room.  So, I hid in the closet thinking I’d be safe in there.  But…”

“What happened next, Scott?”  I was on the edge of my seat.  His story, despite me knowing it was a complete work of fiction or a hallucination, was intriguing.  I pondered whether I needed to call the police to check on his wife while I listened to his words.

“They found me!”  Bowing his head, he sobbed while running his hands through his hair.  Even with snot dripping down his nose and puffy red eyes, he still remained handsome.  “They found me and bound me and gagged me and cut me and hit me!”  His lips quivered while he spoke.  “The government did everything imaginable to me until I used my knife to cut the tape and run out of my house.”

“Oh, it’s okay.”  I rubbed his shoulders and comforted him.  “You’re in a safe place now.  The government can’t get you here.”

“You sure?”  He sounded skeptical.  Raising his head back up, he narrowed his eyes.  “They’ve found me everywhere else I’ve gone.”

“I promise!”  My voice was stern, but encouraging.  It allowed him to instantly perk up and his grin returned.  Becoming more tranquil, he stopped wailing and

“I knew I could trust you.”

“Good, but now you know what we gotta do?”

“No…what?”

The next step was simple; I conducted a battery of tests to make sure I was absolutely certain his condition was psychological.  Each time was more of a hassle than the last.  This is my pee.  The CAT scan could identify me.  He threw out more excuses faster than I could shoot them down.  Luckily for me, I was able to negotiate with some cherry jello.  That, and he really did seem convinced he could trust me because of my last name.

Finally, I jogged over to Suzy and she handed me the blood work chart.  “Here’s all the results of the tests.  Everything’s come back normal; he is one hundred percent healthy.”

“Great!”  The relief melted onto my face as I sighed.  “Now I can turn him over to the psych ward with this proof and he’ll be there problem.”  Heading back toward the curtain, I paused a moment to twist back around.  “Oh, and Suzy?”

She shifted her gaze from the computer back to me.  I cupped my hand over my mouth to make sure that she heard what I was asking.  “Get Doctor Lyn on the line and tell her she’ll have a new patient shortly.”

“You got it.”  Punching the keys of the phone, Suzy tapped her fingernails against the counter while waiting for a response.

I, however, did not have the luxury of dillydallying.  Adjusting my green scrubs, I was about to enter through the veil when there came a commotion from the sliding doors.  “You can’t go back here!” A woman with a shrill voice was shouting.  Tilting my head back, I saw two guys stepping past a nurse while flashing their badges.

Both of them were gigantic in size with crocked noses and slicked back hair.  They wore matching black uniforms with crimson ties and earpieces.  Puffing out their chests, one of them pointed his finger at me.  “You the one treating Scott Howard?”  He grunted.

“Yes? Who’s asking?”  I crossed my arms and squinted my eyes.  Whoever these guys were, they definitely weren’t family.

“You just need to know that we’re government officials here to apprehend Scott.”  Without even waiting for my answer, they pushed me aside and entered bay five.

“No!  Please!  Leave me alone!  Don’t take me!”  Scott shouted. They ignored his pleas and waltzed out from behind the curtain with their giant hands gripping Scott’s arms.  He kicked and screamed and fought the whole way.  Eyes meeting mine, he begged me to stop them.  “We’re both Scott’s, remember?  I can trust you, right?”

I remained frozen in place in a state of shock.  There was nothing I could do; Scott was depending on me and I failed.   Heck, I even didn’t trust him and thought his story was fake.  How could I stand by and do nothing?  I had no choice, these men had badges and were from the government.

An aching feeling overcame my stomach.  Guilt?  A desire to do something?  I was unsure.  As I watched him disappear through the door into the unknown, the emergency room roared back to life.  I kept standing there dumbfounded until Suzy tapped me on the shoulder and plopped the clipboard next back in my hand.  “Here’s the next patient.  He’s waiting for you in bay four.”