One of Julia Epstein's ambitions was to buy a piano of her very own but as a lowly junior doctor with bills to pay, and a relatively small house to live in, she couldn't afford one so instead she would get to practice and perform at the Blue Velvet club, which was a short distance from where she lived. She was getting so good at tinkling the ivories that she would be asked by the management to perform on Sunday evenings which was a good way to add to her bank balance.
At the hospital Julia managed to have a brief catch up with her friends and colleagues, Francesca and Harper.
"It looks empty in here today" said Julia, looking around an unusually quiet lobby. "Where are the patients waiting to be admitted?"
"Admitted already" said Francesca.
"What have you got for me then?" Julia asked as she went through some medical files looking for a case to treat.
"Not much" replied Harper. "Most people admitted are being seen by one of the more senior doctors." Harper looked through a stack of case notes. "A-ha, here's one. Mrs Emmalyn Sanders, bay 5. She's complaining of itchy skin and shows signs of spots covering her body"
"I'll take it!" Said Julia. "Bay 5, Nurse Newell, lead on!"
Julia stepped into bay 5 where she found a very anxious and upset Mrs Sanders who had vivid red and magenta coloured spots and blotches all over her face and arms.
"Good morning, Mrs Sanders, I'm Dr Epstein. Yes, I can see what the problem is from here so let's get down to it by asking some questions about your health and whether you have any allergies..."
But before Julia could start writing anything down her boss, Dr Murakami, entered the room.
"Thank you Doctor Epstein but I'll be taking over this case" she said in a haughty manner.
"But..." stuttered Julia.
"Thank you, you may leave us now" the cold, clinical voice of Dr Murakami cut any protest from Julia off and the young doctor sheepishly exited the room.
"Damn that woman!" she thought. "Always snatching cases off of me!" Julia let out a sigh of frustration and asked Harper whether there was anything else she could do.
"Erm...help me make the beds?" offered Harper with an embarrassed shrug of the shoulders. Julia nodded and glumly accepted the task.
As she was going from room to room, she found a patient she had met and helped before: A child named Kirsty St Clair. Kirsty had diabetes and had to pay regular visits to the hospital. Her father, a busy working man, couldn't always stay with her during the times she was admitted into hospital.
"Kirsty, how are you? I don't know if you remember me but I'm Dr Epstein and I treated you the last time you came in"
"I remember you, Doctor!" said Kirsty, perking up a little when she saw Julia. "I like you the best of all the doctors here"
"That's very kind of you to say so and I'll confess....you're my favourite patient" said Julia with a smile.
She took Kirsty's temperature, checked her notes and enquired about her health in general.
"And how are you feeling at the moment?" Julia asked.
"Actually, I'm hungry" said the girl.
"It is coming up to lunchtime...I'll see what I can get you from our kitchen...if you're lucky it'll be roast day!"
A few minutes later Julia came back with a serving of roast chicken and vegetables with strawberry ice cream to follow. "You're real lucky today" she said. "Chicken is the one meal they do well here"
"Thanks Dr Julia...you know, I wish you could be my regular doctor" said Kirsty.
Julia thought for a moment and then responded "you know, if I have a word with my friend on the front desk then she can let me know when you're next in and I can check in on you...but you must trust your specialist doctor for you diabetes; he's very good."
They chatted more over Kirsty's lunch about her school, her hobbies and how boys were yuck but Julia had more tasks to do and another patient to admit. The person in question was Jonathan Hamlin, a smooth talking hippy who seemed bemused that he was being examined by a young, female doctor. As she led him to Bay 1, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that he was checking out her behind as they walked.
When she suddenly shot him a look of disapproval, Hamlin shrugged apologetically and said "It's my back, babe; I can't stand up straight and, well, my eyes look downwards and not level."
"That's as maybe, Mr Hamlin, but in future if you could refer to me as DOCTOR Epstein and not 'babe' that would make things a lot easier" she responded, coolly.
"Sure thing, ba...I mean, Doc" he said.
"So what seems to be the problem?" asked Julia.
"It's my back, Doc, I was doing the Pose Dedicated to Sage Koundinya II and I felt a sharp twang in my back" said Hamlin.
"The what?" asked a puzzled Julia.
"It's an advanced Yoga move" he explained. "You see, I'm all for centring my Shakras"
"I literally can only understand every other word you say...but I do understand you've hurt yourself doing some kind of exercise" said Julia.
"Yoga ain't just exercise...it's a way, a path" Hamlin explained, shocked at her ignorance.
"But one that can lead to back injuries...alright, we'll get you x-rayed and see what the results are. With any luck you haven't broken anything"
Julia led Hamlin to the newly installed, state of the art, Swedish designed radiology department. Fortunately, Julia was one of the few doctors in the hospital who had read the manual on how to operate the Självlysande Mk IV. "Just remain perfectly motionless, Mr Hamlin" she reassured him. Hamlin stood in stark terror.
After leading him back to his berth, shaken and stirred, she waited for the scans and x-rays to be developed. However, as she passed the reception area she recognised someone waiting to be admitted.
"Oh, hello Kerry" she said, spotting Kerry Fry in the line. Kerry was the son of friends of her parents and had recently been on a blind date that was...moderately....successful. There had been nothing romantic about the date, but it was a pleasant get together.
"Julia, I didn't know you worked at this hospital" he replied. "I wish the circumstances of our meeting were better than me being sick as a dog"
Julia noted that Kerry was covered in very similar spots and blemishes to Mrs Sanders. "There seems to be an outbreak of that skin condition at the moment, Kerry, but we've got a top specialist in that department and I'm sure she'll help you" she said.
"If you get a chance, do stop by for a chat" said Kerry. "Hospitals aren't my favourite of places...unless the company is good" he added with a smile.
Julia gave a small, polite smile back before heading back to her rounds. She went back to radiology, examined Hamlin's x-ray and made her diagnosis. It was just a matter of informing Hamlin from that point.
"Mr Hamlin...the good news is that nothing is broken and it appears that you've strained some muscles and tendons in your lumbar region"
"My what?" said Hamlin
"Lumbar...your lower back. Anyway my diagnosis is to refrain from any yoga, exercise or strenuous physical activity for at least a couple of weeks or until the pain ceases. In the meantime I'll write you a prescription for some pain killers and arrange some follow up visits for you to see a physiotherapist"
"A what?" said Hamlin.
"Physiotherapist. A masseur"
Hamlin's eyes lit up "that sounds groovy!"
"Yes, well, a medical masseur in any case." she said, shuddering at the thought of what kind of masseur he would have had in mind.
It was nearing the end of her shift and she tried to see Kerry but he was already seeing Dr Murakami and she didn't want to cross paths with her boss. Francesca, already changed out of her scrubs, came up to Julia to have a chat.
"Have you made plans this evening, Julia?" she asked. "Only I'm going to meet hubby and dearest daughter for dinner and then he's taking her to ballet and I thought we could head over to the Blue Velvet"
Julia stopped thinking about Kerry and answered Francesca. "Er, yeah, sure. That sounds neat...let me get changed and we'll head off"
After a nice meal with Francesca's family, the two women headed over to the Blue Velvet. Just before entering the club, Francesca paused to ask Julia a question.
"You seemed to know that patient we admitted this afternoon....Kerry, was it?"
"Oh yes, him." Julia waggled her head from side to side trying to find the words to say about how she knew him. Talking about men, dates and personal stuff didn't come easy to her. "Well, he was the guy my folks set me up on a blind date with" she managed to get out.
"Oh him! He's a good looking guy and seems pretty easy going" said Francesca.
"Do you think he's good looking? He's a bit bohemian in his dress" said Julia "but he's intelligent and good company. I had a nice time with him on that date"
"And? Anything else?"
"No! Nothing like that. I didn't think that was appropriate on a first date anyway"
"Depends on the guy...and the girl and the laws of attraction" said Francesca with a wry smile.
"Wait, there are laws?" asked a puzzled Julia.
