Ribbon of hopes and fears

Chapter 1: A New Patent

cast:

Mark Hendrix 40- surgeon at Children's hospital

David Hendrix 39- oncologist at local children's hospital

Steven Hendrix 37- teacher at a local elementary school.

Brian Hendrix 35- optometrist

Phil Hendrix 33- family dentist

Julian Hendrix 30- child life specialist

Rachel 7- Little Girl battling ALL

Patricia Patterson 38- Rachel's social worker

Mark sat at a desk in his office in his blue scrubs. He was typing away on his computer, having only arrived just moments ago at the hospital he was trying to get himself organized for the day ahead. He pulled up his schedule seeing he had surgery scheduled for nine am. He pulled up the patent file. It was a port placement for a seven-year-old little girl named Rachel.

Looking down at his watch, he noticed he still had time before doing his rounds. He continued scrolling on his computer, ensuring nothing last minute came up before he did his morning round. When he was satisfied with his information, he got up, grabbed his laptop, and exited the room.

The hospital was rather quiet for the morning, usually there was more hustle and bustle. He cherished days like this, where things aren't gonna be crazy. three surgeries and then he was out of here, unless something else came up. He shook his head, not wanting to jink himself. Eventually, he came across the pre-op floor. It was a room full of hospital beds separated by curtains. His patient was on the very far end.

He walked down the row of beds, children of a variety of ages lay in them, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. It tugged at his heartstrings to see so many youngsters, he just hoped they all got the help they needed, and that he could help his next patient. Once at the end of the hall, he noticed that the curtain was pulled back. He took it as a good sign to enter.

"Hello, Rachel-" he stopped when he saw another man in the room. He was in a set of purple scrubs, his brown hair cut short. "Julian, I didn't realize you we're in here."

"All good mate, just finish up talking to Rachel," he said before looking back at the little girl. "That's Dr Mark, he's my older brother. Trust him with my life. He's just come to talk to you about the procedure. Don't worry, I'll be back before you head upstairs." He then got up and tipped his head to his brother as he walked out, closing the curtain behind him.

Mark looked at the little girl who sat on the hospital bed. She was a brunette with very fair skin. Her gown was blue with puppies on it. In her hands was a stuffed cat that had a white tummy, with black and brown patches. A woman with red hair in a bun sat beside her in a chair. Her skin was darker and she had on a suit.

Mark entered the space and knelt beside the little girl "You must be Rachel."

Rachel looked away from him and looked at the women. "Come on Rachel, the man's not gonna hurt you."

"You must be the mother im-" he was about to introduce himself but

"Social worker actually." she corrected.

"Oh, sorry." his eyes darted between the little girl and the woman. He wondered what the little girl had been through to receive a social worker.

"It's all good." the woman said with a smile.

He put on a smile as he once again addressed the little girl "Looks like we have you down for a port placement today Rachel. Is there anything you would like me to know before we wheel you to the OR?"