“Hello there,” said a warm, baritone voice as the door opened. A tall, older gentleman with graying blonde hair walked into the room. He wore a resort polo but had on dark blue board shorts. He looked like he would be equally comfortable in a clinical setting or out surfing the waves. “I'm Dr. James.”
“Olivia,” I introduced myself. The nurse stepped out and closed the door behind her as the doctor shook my hand.
“The men outside say you fell off your jet-ski, hit your head, and were unconscious for at least two minutes.” He leaned against the small counter, his eyes assessing my injuries and cataloging everything.
“That's what they tell me. I don't remember much.” I did my best to smile, but my head was now pounding. I really just wanted to lay down and take a nap.
“How are you feeling?” Dr. James asked, turning to wash his hands in the sink.
“Stupid.”
Dr. James chuckled as he reached for the paper towels. “Anything else? Any nausea, balance issues? Seeing spots?”
“I have a pretty terrible headache. When I first got out of the water, I was a little dizzy, but I feel better now.” I sighed and looked up at him. “Other than the stupid and headache part.”
“Good.” Dr. James pulled out a penlight and shined it in my eyes. “Tell me your full name, age, and birthday.”
“Olivia Michelle Statler. I'm twenty-seven and my birthday is October twenty-fifth.” I blinked as he moved the light away. He proceeded to hit my knees with the strange triangle hammer from my childhood. Both knees popped up just as expected.
“Excellent. What is the current month? Date if you know it, but I know it's hard to keep track on vacation.” Dr. James smiled as he put his hands on my neck and shoulders and checked for any injuries. Out of habit, I started to raise my wrist to check my watch for the date, but he caught my arm before I could see it.
“November. It's two weeks until Thanksgiving and a Tuesday, but that's all I got,” I said with a rueful grin at my watch.
He released my arm and smiled. “You got me beat. I forgot Thanksgiving was coming up. Do you know where you are right now?”
“Island Oasis Resort, in the medical center.” I knew these silly questions were just meant to check on my mental status, so I didn't mind answering the obvious. The idea that people often forgot this stuff after a head injury was rather sobering.
“Excellent. Follow my finger with your eyes and tell me what the last thing you remember is,” the doctor said, holding one finger up and moving it from side to side.
“Turning on the engine to go see something Tyler was excited about. Then thinking, 'Oh crap!' as the wave hit. Then I was suddenly staring up at the sky.”
There was a hole in my memory between the wave and the sky. I knew time had passed, but I couldn't remember even hitting the water. It was a little creepy to know I had been awake but had lost that memory.
“That's pretty normal in situations like these,” Dr. James commented. He put on some gloves and reached for the cut on my head. I uncovered my injury and relaxed my arm as he took the gauze away and inspected the wound. “So, you're here as one of the travel agency promos, right?”
I started to nod, but my head was caught firmly in his hands. “Yeah.”
“I hope this won't discourage you from recommending us,” he said, releasing my head.
“Well, I certainly wasn't intending to test out your medical services, but it is nice knowing there is a full-time doctor on staff here.” I glanced up toward the injury even though I knew I wouldn't be able to see it. It didn't hurt quite so much, but I was ready to kill for a couple of Tylenol.
Dr. James took off his gloves and rummaged around in a cabinet, his voice slightly muffled as he reached for something deep in its recesses. “It's the best pseudo-retirement I could think of. The hours are great, I get to surf, but I still get to practice.”
“This place does seem pretty amazing,” I replied. “Am I going to need stitches?”
“Nope. It looks like you were actually pretty lucky. You definitely have a concussion, but at least the cut on your head is fairly superficial. I'm just going to clean it up and you'll be good to go.” He smiled and set out some supplies on the counter before putting on a clean pair of gloves.
“Really?” I looked down at the blood-soaked gauze in the trash. I thought that looked like a lot of blood.
“Head wounds tend to bleed a lot, but it's already stopped. The cut isn't deep enough to warrant stitches.” He gently began cleaning the wound. “It's just under your hairline, but you probably won't even get a scar out of it.”
“That's good,” I said, wincing as he pressed down on the wound.
“I'll tell your admirers outside this as well, but no napping today. I also want someone to come and check on you a couple of times tonight and make sure you're able to wake up and answer questions.” He pulled back and inspected his handiwork. “If you'd like, I can arrange it with the hotel staff.”
“No naps? But I'm exhausted,” I whined.
“You just smashed your brain hard enough to make you black out. We want to make sure that there isn't more damaged than we suspect. Another loss of consciousness would be very bad, and if you're napping, we'd miss it,” he said sternly. “Also, I want you to take it easy for the next few days. No more jet-skiing this trip. And, unfortunately, no alcohol for a few days either. If your headache doesn't go away, gets worse, or you start feeling strange, come see me immediately.”
“Okay,” I answered. “I'll be good.”
Dr. James smiled and patted my shoulder. “I'll give you a packet with all the instructions. It'll have all the things you need to do, like see your regular doctor when you get home, and warning signs and such.”
I nodded and he gave me his hand to help me off the exam table. Together, we headed out to the waiting room. Logan and Tyler both stood as we came out. The nurse handed Dr. James a printed sheet of instructions which he then gave me.
“She's good to go, guys. Keep an eye on her, though. Don't let her nap today and she'll need someone to check on her tonight,” Dr. James told my visitors.
“Yes, sir,” Tyler said quickly. He had some color back in his face and a soda in his hand. By the way he was making sure I stayed close to him, though, he was going to be a little protective of me for a while. I loved that he was concerned and that I now had a pint-sized protector.
“Not a problem, doctor. I'll make sure she's woken up myself,” Logan said, shaking the doctor's hand.