Life by Zach: No easy experience

This feels like the longest day of my life. After the hearing, I had barely enough time to plug the hospital address into my GPS and book it over for my interview.  While I wasn’t exactly thrilled that I had to go to the hearing, I guess the good thing is I was already in a  suit and tie and ready for the interview. 

I managed to find parking rather quickly and ran into the hospital lobby in the nick of time.

“Hi, I’m Zach Andrews.” I announced breathlessly.

The young woman at the desk exchanged amused glanced with two nurses and looked at me with curiosity.

“Hello Mr.Andrews, can I help you?”

I know my face was flushed at this point, so I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I am here for an interview with Dr. Connors for the student internship. I believe he is in the surgery department.”

Once again, she exchanged glances with the nurses and seemed to be holding back a smile.

“Am I missing something?” I thought to myself.

“Are you referring to Dr. Logan Connors?” she asked.

“Uhm. The paperwork  said L.Connors. I looked up the name on the hospital directory, it says he is head of surgery.”

This statement garnered a smug smile from her. “Yes that’s right. But I believe you’re looking for Dr. Leslie Connors. She is in charge of the internship program and is the head of pediatrics.”  

“Uhm, ok, that’s fine. Can you let her know I am here?”

This seemed to confuse her, and I was starting to get pretty frustrated. Am I in some kind of alternate universe here? Why is this conversation so weird?

“Yes, ofcourse. I will page her.”

After paging Dr.Connors, the young woman turned back to me.

“I’m Becca. I’m sorry if I was a little odd. It’s just that we have seen many of you young doctor wannabe’s and they’re always extremely upset that  they won’t be rubbing elbows with the hot shot surgeons. Yet you seem fine with pediatrics.”

Wow. I  just got totally stereotyped.  I can’t say that that hasn’t happened in the past, but this time it was so blatant. But making a big deal out of it wasn’t really my style. Shrug it off right? My dad always told me that people who jump to negative conclusions right off the bat shouldn’t be attacked, just prove them wrong.

“Actually I am happy with pediatrics. My dream of becoming a doctor is based on helping people, and a chance to work with kids during this internship would be pretty cool.”

I swear I think Becca blushed and once again that confused me a little bit, but I didn’t have time to figure out what her issue was because I was momentarily blinded by the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was walking towards me in a red dress  with a white doctor’s coat on over it. She had long, wavy brown hair and these sparkly blue eyes that seemed to be smiling at me even though her face remained serious. My hands instantly started to sweat.

“Mr.Andrews, good to meet you. I am Dr.Connors.”

Good Lord.

“Ni..uhm, nice to meet you, I’m Zach.”

“Let’s go into my office and talk for a bit, and then I can show you around the hospital.”

We walked through the lobby and up two flights of stairs towards the pediatric unit. As I walked through the halls, I caught glimpses of children in hospital beds, some alone and some surrounded by parents. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have a sick child and I was instantly touched with a  sense of gratitude that everyone in my family was healthy. Ofcourse, it also made me think of Aleah and what she went through when her dad got sick.  There always seems to be something that reminds me of her.

“Have a seat,” Dr.Connors gestured to the chair opposing her desk and I sat down.

“So, Mr.Andrews.  You have a long journey ahead of you. If you’re not willing to work hard and face many uncomfortable situations, I suggest to leave now.”

Whoa. That wasn’t what I expected. I assumed I was going to get the usual, so, tell me about yourself questions.

I took a moment before answering to gather my thoughts.

“I appreciate the warning Dr.Connors, I really do. But I am not here to waste your time. I want to work hard, I want to learn as much as I can, and most importantly, I want to be able to help people. And I understand that comes with difficult situations sometimes, but that is a part of life.”

Dr.Connors seemed to accept this answer, but I continued to see a bit of skepticism in her eyes.

“Very well. I have reviewed your transcript and you are clearly an excellent student. I am glad that you are here, because this type of experience is going to make you a more well-rounded candidate for medical school. The internship has been coordinated through your school, so a formal interview will not be necessary. You have already filled out the requisite forms.  What I would like to do is show you around a bit and have you start on Monday morning. You will shadow me all week in order to get an idea what the routine here is, and then I will provide you with a weekly assignment.”

“Thank you. I am looking forward to this opportunity.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the halls of pediatrics and Dr.Connors pointed out different patients and their diagnoses.  I was captivated by the way she spoke with such confidence and ease, and the way everyone that she stopped to talk to seemed to love her so much. One little boy in particular, who had just had heart surgery seemed to light up when she walked into the room.

“Zach this is Mikey, he had heart surgery two days ago and is recovering quite nicely.”

“Hi Zach,” Mikey said shyly.

“Hi Mikey, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I have a new heart.” He said proudly.

“You do? Well I bet I know something about this heart” I told him.

His eyes widened. “You do?”

“Yup.” I looked around as if checking to see if someone was nearby and then leaned closer to him.

“Your heart is a super hero heart. It’s the strongest one out there. So you’re going to leave here with the ability to do and become anything you want in this world,” I whispered.

Mikey’s face broke out into the same grin that I saw earlier. “That’s what mommy told me too!!” he exclaimed.

“Well there you go. Told ya I knew something about your heart. It was nice to meet you Mikey.”

As we walked out of the room, Dr.Connors looked at me.

“That was good Zach. I think you will fit in here just fine. But don’t forget, there are many difficult moments too.  This will not be an easy experience.”

“I understand. I am ready for this Dr.Connors.”

“Very well. I will see you on Monday then.”

As I walked back to my car, I couldn’t help but smile just as wide as little Mikey did. My day may have started out in fear and stress. But in the end, I was presented with not one, but two amazing learning opportunities. I can’t wait for what’s to come.

My phone vibrated just then and I glanced at it quickly. It was a text from Ben.

“Dude. You got Andrew kicked out of school!”