Chapter 9

Melody carefully attached the scripts to the clipboard before placing it on the counter. Taking a deep breath she put a smile on her face and turned to face the other four people in the room.

“So, Mel, do you have a Voodoo spell to fix my leg?” smirked Jon.

“I wish it was that easy!” she sighed.

“Melody, what do you know about the Alternative Medicine?” asked Dorothea.

“Well, I am certified in Holistic Nursing, Essential Oils applications, and I am a Level One Reiki Practitioner. But I’m not a miracle worker, and I cannot promise you a cure or an instant recovery.”

“But is there something you can think of trying that might help expedite the recovery?” Dorothea gently probed.

“Actually there might be some essential oils that might help. I remember reading about it in my course work. But before I get your hope up, I’d like to do a bit of research on it.”

“Of course!” agreed Dorothea.

“In the mean time” Continued Mel “Let me get your leg wrapped up and set you up with a set of crutches. Fred will measure you up and teach you how to walk with them safely.”

Turning around, Melody looked through the supply bins on the shelves along the wall. She found what she was looking for and returned to her patient.

“OK Jon, I am going to wrap your leg with this Ace bandage. Pay attention to how I do it, so you will be able to do it yourself.”

Jon nodded and set up.
“OK, Fred is going to elevate your leg while I wrap it. This will probably hurt a bit, sorry about that.”

Seeing Jon’s nod of consent, Melody swiftly wrapped his leg up and gently set it back down on the stretcher.

“How does that feel?”

“Tight” said Jon through gritted teeth.

“Good, it supposed to be tight. Can you move your toes for me?” Melody smiled at him as he complied.

“Excellent, but if at any point they get tingly, you will have to remove the bandage and rewrap your leg.”

Both Dorothea and Jon nodded.

“This is part of the R.I.C.E. regimen that you will have to stick to for the next week or so”

“Rice?” laughed David “Mel, he is Italian! He lives on pasta, unless he is stuffing himself with Sushi!”

Melody laughed, shaking her head. “R.I.C.E. stands for Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation! And speaking of Elevation” she handed Jon a plastic package. “These are heel pads. Put them in your shoes when your are walking. It will shorten your calf muscles and minimize stress on them.”

“Dude, you didn’t have to bust your leg to become taller!” snickered Richie “All you had to do was buy the damned lifts!”

He was rewarded with a “Jersey salute”

Melody shook her head and handed Dorothea the prescriptions. “These are for Vicodin and Mobic. Mobic is like an industrial strength Advil. You will take it once a day for two weeks. The Vicodin is for pain. It is a narcotic, so do not drink alcoholic beverages if you are taking it! Not even a glass of wine to wash down a sleeping pill…which you should not be doing anyway!”

She smiled at Jon’s shocked face and went on. “Take one, or two pills at a time, depending on how bad the pain is. You can take Vicodin every 6-8 hours, as needed for pain. Any questions so far?”

Jon shook his head.

“Good, stay off your left leg as much as possible. When you are not moving around, keep your leg elevated and iced. When are you leaving for the Saratoga Springs?”

Rolling her eyes at their questioning expressions, she smiled “Aw come on! You already figured out that I’m a fan!”

“Actually, I’m glad that you’re a fan.” Smirked Dorothea. “That means you will really try to find something that might help Jon” She clarified to answer the puzzled looks directed at her.

Melody laughed and nodded her head “I’ll do my best. After all, it would be in my best interest to get the Humpty Dumpty back up on his wall! I have a ticket for the Gillette show!”

All three men smiled and nodded. A brief thoughtful expression behind Richie’s smile went unnoticed by almost everyone in the room, except for one brown eyed woman…

The next hour went by quickly. Jon entertained his friends with his clumsy attempts to walk with crutches, supervised by Fred. Melody was busy with computer, filing the discharge teaching and summary. Once Fred announced that he is satisfied with Jon’s progress, Mel handed the discharge paperwork to Dorothea along with her business card and a promise to call with the results of her research. Jon was bullied into a wheelchair and taken out by Fred to the rowdy welcome of the entourage in the waiting room.

When she was certain that the waiting room was empty, Mel came out of the trauma room so the cleaning crew could re set it back, and collapsed into an uncomfortable chair in the lounge. She tried to think and process the events of the shift. Everything felt unreal. The only solid proof of the encounter was the small business card in her pocket that had “Dorothea Bongiovi” printed on it in delicate font, followed by three phone numbers with 212, 732, and 609 area codes.