Father's Day
Part Three
By: Carrie Verkman
carebear1025@juno.com

"Carter, there's a patient waiting for you in Curtain 3. 12 year old boy with a fever of 102.5." announced Haleh.

"Right. I got it." John said taking the chart from Haleh. John walked over to Curtain 3 expecting to see a sick little boy, but saw more than that when he entered the room. There was a young woman and about 5 small babies in strollers and car seats along with the boy on the bed. 

"Uh, the nurse said there was just a 12 year old boy in here." John wondered.  

"The nurse was right. He's on the bed." said the woman. 

"Are you his mother?" John asked. 

"No, I'm his daycare provider. Kevin's running a fever and with all the small kids I have, I can't have a sick kid in my house. I had to bring along the smallest kids with me and my daughter is with the oldest kids at home. I really should be going back to them." said the daycare lady.

"Okay…" John said. He had never seen one woman with so many children.  

"Oh, by the way, here is his father's work number. I'd stay, but I can't for obvious reasons. Feel better Kevin, call me when you get home." The woman left with her children. 

John read Kevin's chart. "Your 12 years old?"

"Yeah. My dad makes me go to that stupid daycare. I can take care of myself you know."

"I'm sure you can. You seem man enough." John said trying to cheer him up. "How long have you had this fever?" 

"Since this morning. I have a headache too. Will you call my dad?" asked Kevin. 

"Yes I will. What's his name?"

"Jack Roberts." 

"Let me listen to you chest. Can you sit up?" 

Kevin sat up. John ran a stethoscope across his back. John was horrified when he opened up the boy's gown and saw large bruises all over it. He also noticed that his legs were scraped up pretty badly. Kevin's spine stuck out of his back showing that he hadn't had a lot to eat. 

"Kevin how did you get those bruises all over your back?" asked John.

"I fell off my bike." he said. 

"Pretty bad fall." John said as he kept examining him. Kevin didn't say anything back to John. "Well Kevin, you do have a fever that's pretty high. Haleh is going to start you on some antibiotics and I will call you dad." John said. He pulled Haleh over to him. 

"What is it Dr. Carter?" she asked. 

"The poor kid is pretty malnourished. Get him started on carbohydrates and vitamins. It'll also help the fever. I'm going to call the father and find out what's going on." he explained.

John left the room as Haleh got Kevin his medicine. John went to the front desk. He picked up the phone and dialed the number to Jack Roberts' work. The phone rang forever until a woman answered.

"Hello?"

"Yes, this is John Carter from County General Hospital. May I speak to Jack Roberts please?"

"Who is calling?" the secretary asked.

"Dr. Carter from County General. This is about Jack's son Kevin." He was annoyed already. 

"I'm sorry but Jack is out to lunch." 

"Okay, here is my pager number and the number to the hospital. Have Jack call me." John said. Then he realized that the secretary had hung up with him after he gave out his numbers. How nice, he thought sarcastically. John went back to see Kevin.

"Hey there, how are you doing?" he asked. 

"Okay, I guess. Do I really need all these tubes?" Kevin asked, pointing to the IV's. 

"Yes, they'll help you feel better. Kevin where does your dad work?" John wondered. 

"My dad's an insurance agent. He goes out a lot. Did you call him?" 

"Yes I did, but he's out to lunch. Is there anyone else you can think of that I could call? Mom? Grandparents?"

Kevin looked away with a sad look on his face. "Mom died when I was little."  

"I see. I'll try calling your dad again later." John said. He patted Kevin on his head and left the room. He wondered if Kevin's dad was around a lot. He was a skinny boy who was way underweight for his age, and there was no mother in the family. Then he remembered the bruises. He hoped to God Kevin wasn't being abused by his dad. The thought of that made him nauseous. John could relate to young Kevin about not seeing his dad. He decided to talk to him later about that. But Roland Carter never hit any of his children and John was worried for Kevin.

End of Chapter Three