Best Day Ever
Best Day Ever
“Paging Dr. Fitzpatrick. Dr. Fitzpatrick, please report to the triage station.”
“Code blue! Code blue! Out of the way! This guy is crashing! Code blue!”
“There’s been a motor vehicle collision on the southbound highway. ETA is seven minutes.”
Sirens blared from the ambulance bay. The footsteps of doctors, nurses, and maintenance staff pounded in the hallways. Some patients screamed in pain, while others screamed to block out the sound of vomiting from curtain four. Doctors barked orders to their subsidiaries. Rain pelted against the sides of the Kendall County Hospital building as thunder and lightning pulsed through the sky. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Dr. Katelyn Corliss couldn’t help but sway her hips to the music she heard in her head. As she scrubbed beneath her fingernails with the surgical brush, she felt a tingle in her hands and wiggled her fingers. When she realized the whistling that filled the room was coming from her lips, she laughed out loud to herself. It may have been a freezing, rainy day, but Dr. Corliss was due to perform open-heart surgery in less than five minutes. It was the surgical opportunity of a lifetime, and Dr. Corliss was only twenty-seven years old. That the chief of surgery had entrusted her with such a complicated and enviable mission was the greatest honor she could have asked for. This was the best day ever. Besides, it was her birthday.
Meanwhile, psychiatric nurse Zoe Philipstein and optometrist Gerald Kenney found themselves alone together in an elevator headed to the fifth floor of the hospital. Dr. Kenney shifted nervously as Zoe yawned. Ever since Zoe had started working at the hospital, Dr. Kenney had been trying to muster the nerve to ask her on a date. Zoe, it seemed, was completely oblivious. Dr. Kenney had to laugh. For a woman practicing psychotherapy, she was awfully unperceptive.
Dr. Corliss had cut into her patient’s heart as the four other doctors and nurses watched her in wonder. She made the procedure look so easy. Jenny, an eager medical student who was holding the surgical clamp, cleared her throat three times before speaking.
“Dr. Corliss?"
Katelyn looked at Jenny. “Yes?”
“Where did you go to medical school?” Katelyn was about to respond with her one-word answer of “Harvard” when the unimaginable happened.
Dr. Kenney was finally ready. The elevator rose slowly, as did his nerves, but he could think of no better opportunity to say what was on his mind. He cleared his throat three times before speaking.
“Zoe, I’ve been thinking--” He was about to continue the sentence with “ever since you started working here I’ve thought you were beautiful and incredibly talented. Would you like to get some coffee with me sometime?” when the unimaginable happened.
The lights went out.
The elevator stopped.
The heart monitor in the operating room went silent. Dr. Kenney was sure his heart stopped.
“Shit.” Katelyn paused, scalpel in midair. Jenny stared at her, wide-eyed.
“Dr. Corliss?”
“What, Jenny?”
“What do we do now?”
Dr. Kenney cleared his throat again. Zoe leaned forward and pressed several buttons at the same time. “I’m claustrophobic,” the mental health professional admitted.
“Oh,” said Dr. Kenney. “Don’t worry. This, uh, happens all the time. Well, you know, not all the time, but it’s happened before. We’ll be fine.” Zoe made an uncertain giggling noise with her mouth closed.
“This is nothing to worry about,” Dr. Corliss told her room full of doctors, nurses, and Jenny, even though she was speaking more to herself. “Carl, hand me that flashlight.” The nurse named Carl handed Dr. Corliss the flashlight. She switched it on and presented it like a flaming torch to Jenny. “Jenny, hold this still. And I mean still.” Jenny nodded, eager to help in any way she could. She took the flashlight and held it over the patient’s heart. “Okay. Here goes.” Dr. Corliss re-positioned her scalpel and removed the infected heart valve. Jenny stared in awe. She couldn’t actually see Dr. Corliss’s face in the dark, but she pictured a stoic-looking woman with her brow furrowed in consternation, smiling triumphantly underneath her surgical mask.
“I can’t stand this!” Zoe wailed. “I can’t stand this! I’m going to die here! I’m going to die alone here!”
“You’re not alone,” Dr. Kenney countered. “I’m here. Don’t worry. No one is going to die.” In a swift and completely unexpected motion, Zoe lunged toward Dr. Kenney, pinning him against the wall and kissing him hard. Dr. Kenney’s eyes widened as he resisted grinning against Zoe’s mouth. A beautiful woman was kissing him in a jammed elevator in the dark, and he hadn’t had to do any work. This was the best day ever.
Just as Dr. Corliss finished suturing the heart, the amazing happened.
The heart monitor resumed beeping.
The elevator continued on its path.
The lights came on.
“Wow,” Jenny whispered.
“Wow,” said Dr. Kenney.
The elevator dinged and opened. Zoe detached herself from Dr. Kenney and stepped out into the hallway.
“Say, Zoe,” Dr. Kenney called after her. “Would you like to get a cup of coffee sometime?” Zoe smiled at him and continued on her way.
Cardiac patient successfully sewn up, Dr. Katelyn Corliss set her scalpel and scissors down on the side table and let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Her hands tingled. There was a tune she couldn’t get out of her head. She giggled to herself.
“That was amazing,” Jenny said, still whispering.
Dr. Corliss peeled off her latex gloves and stepped out of the operating room.
“Dr. Corliss?” Jenny called after her.
“Yes, Jenny?”
“Happy birthday.”
Best day ever.
--March 2007
“Paging Dr. Fitzpatrick. Dr. Fitzpatrick, please report to the triage station.”
“Code blue! Code blue! Out of the way! This guy is crashing! Code blue!”
“There’s been a motor vehicle collision on the southbound highway. ETA is seven minutes.”
Sirens blared from the ambulance bay. The footsteps of doctors, nurses, and maintenance staff pounded in the hallways. Some patients screamed in pain, while others screamed to block out the sound of vomiting from curtain four. Doctors barked orders to their subsidiaries. Rain pelted against the sides of the Kendall County Hospital building as thunder and lightning pulsed through the sky. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Dr. Katelyn Corliss couldn’t help but sway her hips to the music she heard in her head. As she scrubbed beneath her fingernails with the surgical brush, she felt a tingle in her hands and wiggled her fingers. When she realized the whistling that filled the room was coming from her lips, she laughed out loud to herself. It may have been a freezing, rainy day, but Dr. Corliss was due to perform open-heart surgery in less than five minutes. It was the surgical opportunity of a lifetime, and Dr. Corliss was only twenty-seven years old. That the chief of surgery had entrusted her with such a complicated and enviable mission was the greatest honor she could have asked for. This was the best day ever. Besides, it was her birthday.
Meanwhile, psychiatric nurse Zoe Philipstein and optometrist Gerald Kenney found themselves alone together in an elevator headed to the fifth floor of the hospital. Dr. Kenney shifted nervously as Zoe yawned. Ever since Zoe had started working at the hospital, Dr. Kenney had been trying to muster the nerve to ask her on a date. Zoe, it seemed, was completely oblivious. Dr. Kenney had to laugh. For a woman practicing psychotherapy, she was awfully unperceptive.
Dr. Corliss had cut into her patient’s heart as the four other doctors and nurses watched her in wonder. She made the procedure look so easy. Jenny, an eager medical student who was holding the surgical clamp, cleared her throat three times before speaking.
“Dr. Corliss?"
Katelyn looked at Jenny. “Yes?”
“Where did you go to medical school?” Katelyn was about to respond with her one-word answer of “Harvard” when the unimaginable happened.
Dr. Kenney was finally ready. The elevator rose slowly, as did his nerves, but he could think of no better opportunity to say what was on his mind. He cleared his throat three times before speaking.
“Zoe, I’ve been thinking--” He was about to continue the sentence with “ever since you started working here I’ve thought you were beautiful and incredibly talented. Would you like to get some coffee with me sometime?” when the unimaginable happened.
The lights went out.
The elevator stopped.
The heart monitor in the operating room went silent. Dr. Kenney was sure his heart stopped.
“Shit.” Katelyn paused, scalpel in midair. Jenny stared at her, wide-eyed.
“Dr. Corliss?”
“What, Jenny?”
“What do we do now?”
Dr. Kenney cleared his throat again. Zoe leaned forward and pressed several buttons at the same time. “I’m claustrophobic,” the mental health professional admitted.
“Oh,” said Dr. Kenney. “Don’t worry. This, uh, happens all the time. Well, you know, not all the time, but it’s happened before. We’ll be fine.” Zoe made an uncertain giggling noise with her mouth closed.
“This is nothing to worry about,” Dr. Corliss told her room full of doctors, nurses, and Jenny, even though she was speaking more to herself. “Carl, hand me that flashlight.” The nurse named Carl handed Dr. Corliss the flashlight. She switched it on and presented it like a flaming torch to Jenny. “Jenny, hold this still. And I mean still.” Jenny nodded, eager to help in any way she could. She took the flashlight and held it over the patient’s heart. “Okay. Here goes.” Dr. Corliss re-positioned her scalpel and removed the infected heart valve. Jenny stared in awe. She couldn’t actually see Dr. Corliss’s face in the dark, but she pictured a stoic-looking woman with her brow furrowed in consternation, smiling triumphantly underneath her surgical mask.
“I can’t stand this!” Zoe wailed. “I can’t stand this! I’m going to die here! I’m going to die alone here!”
“You’re not alone,” Dr. Kenney countered. “I’m here. Don’t worry. No one is going to die.” In a swift and completely unexpected motion, Zoe lunged toward Dr. Kenney, pinning him against the wall and kissing him hard. Dr. Kenney’s eyes widened as he resisted grinning against Zoe’s mouth. A beautiful woman was kissing him in a jammed elevator in the dark, and he hadn’t had to do any work. This was the best day ever.
Just as Dr. Corliss finished suturing the heart, the amazing happened.
The heart monitor resumed beeping.
The elevator continued on its path.
The lights came on.
“Wow,” Jenny whispered.
“Wow,” said Dr. Kenney.
The elevator dinged and opened. Zoe detached herself from Dr. Kenney and stepped out into the hallway.
“Say, Zoe,” Dr. Kenney called after her. “Would you like to get a cup of coffee sometime?” Zoe smiled at him and continued on her way.
Cardiac patient successfully sewn up, Dr. Katelyn Corliss set her scalpel and scissors down on the side table and let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Her hands tingled. There was a tune she couldn’t get out of her head. She giggled to herself.
“That was amazing,” Jenny said, still whispering.
Dr. Corliss peeled off her latex gloves and stepped out of the operating room.
“Dr. Corliss?” Jenny called after her.
“Yes, Jenny?”
“Happy birthday.”
Best day ever.
--March 2007