All characters in this story are over 18
Trudy nervously sat in the doctor's office with her son Ritchie. Ritchie had always been a fragile, sickly child, With heart and lung issues. He had also not grown much, and was short and slight. His pediatrician since he was a baby was Dr. Beverly Morgan. The doctor was 44, with medium length, blonde, curly hair. Anyone who saw her could tell she worked out a lot, as her body was very athletic. Overall she was quite attractive. Trudy trusted her completely with her son's health, and knew she always had Ritchie's best interest at heart. The doctor had just run some tests on him a few days ago, and yesterday, the doctor had called an said she had some urgent news about Ritchie's results, and wanted them to come down to talk it over. The fact that the doctor thought it important enough to ask them to come in, instead of telling them the results on the phone, made Trudy nervous. She sat in the waiting room, tightly holding her little boy's hand, anxiously waiting to be called on to see the doctor.
"Ritchie?" The assistant called from the door to the patient rooms.
"Here we go," Trudy thought to herself.
Mother and son stood up and walked to the door.
Trudy smiled and Karen, the doctor's assistant, which they knew well from all the years they had been coming to see Dr. Morgan.
"Here we are."
Karen smiled back.
"Good to see you two so soon again!"
Trudy nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"Yeah, Dr. Morgan said she had some important results, and asked us to come in."
Karen put her hand on Ritchie's shoulder, and gave him a wink.
"Don't worry Ritchie, the doctor is going to do everything she can to find out what's wrong, and how to make you better. Follow me to your room."
They followed Karen back, and she led them to the room.
"Go ahead and sit down you two. No need to take your weight or blood pressure since you were just here, so just give the doctor a few minutes, and she will be right in."
Karen smiled, and walked out.
Trudy sat in the chair next to her son and began to stroke his hair.
"Don't worry baby, everything is going to be just fine. The doc has always been great with you."
Ritchie was mute, so he just nodded at his mother that he understood. A moment later Dr. Morgan walked in.
"Hi Trudy! Hi Ritchie! So good to see you! I am so sorry to have you make another trip so soon, but I needed to discuss the results from the last round of tests we ran, but first, Ritchie, I'm going to have you go with one of my assistants, Melissa, and she is going to run an EKG on you. It will only take a few minutes, and I will discuss our plan for you going forward, with your mom. Is that OK?"
Ritchie nodded yes, and Dr. Morgan opened the door, and called for Melissa, who was there within a few seconds, and ushered Ritchie away. The doctor closed the door, and looked right at Trudy.
"I know you are nervous Trudy, and I don't want to keep you waiting anymore, but before I start, I need to ask you a question."
Trudy was rubbing her knees in anticipation, and her legs were shaking.
"Absolutely Dr. Morgan. Anything you need to know."
Dr. Morgan giggled.
"Trudy, you've known me for so many years, and we have become friends, so please, call me Beverly."
"I'm so sorry Beverly, I'm just so nervous. I'm worried about what you re going to tell me about Ritchie. Is it bad? Really bad? Please don't make me wait any longer."
Dr. Morgan reached forward, putting her hand on Trudy's lap, and rubbed it in a comforting way.
"Trudy, everything is going to be fine! But, to be honest, the tests we've run on Ritchie's heart and lungs, just haven't given us the answers that we need to know how to properly treat him. He is so fragile, we need to be careful. Unfortunately, the tests we have run on Ritchie, just aren't aggressive enough. We need to up the physicality when we test his heart and lungs."
Trudy gave a very concerned look to the doctor, as they had previously discussed the tests that Dr. Morgan felt were safe enough for Ritchie to do.
"But doctor, I...I mean Beverly. Sorry. Beverly, you said that with as fragile as his heart and lungs are, it would not be a good idea to test him while he runs on the treadmill. You said it might be to strenuous on him. Have you changed your opinion on that? I don't want to put him at unnecessary risk."
Dr. Morgan shook her head no.
"No, absolutely not. He is such a fragile little guy, I still think that would be too risky for him."
Trudy's impatience was growing, and was starting to get a bit upset, and feeling she was getting the runaround.
"Beverly, just tell me how you want to test him! Why are you hesitating?
Dr. Morgan took a deep breath, and waited a few beats before she spoke. She finally put her hands up like people do in a way they think will keep another person calm.
"OK Trudy, I will tell you in one moment, I promise, but first that question I wanted you to answer first. Do you trust me with Ritchie's wellbeing?"
Frustrated at more delay, Trudy answered in a huff.
"Of course I trust you with Ritchie! Why do you think I still bring him to see you! I trust you with his life! Now tell me what's going on!"
The doctor looked nervous, but she didn't want to make Trudy wait any longer.
"Listen to me fully before you respond please. I want you to have all the information before you decide if you want Ritchie to go down the treatment route I want to go with him. So you know aside from my private practice, I also work at the University, and work with research groups, trying to make medical advancements, especially in treatment of patents with severe heart issues, lung issues, etc."
Trudy did know, and had read a few articles about Dr. Morgan's work. It's one of the reasons she was so trusting of her son with her.
"Of course I know Beverly. Did your team come up with a new test that can give us definitive answers about Ritchie?" Trudy asked excitedly.
"Well, lets not get ahead of ourselves Trudy. This is a brand new test, and not many have agreed to participate in it, but the few that have, have provided vital test results."
Trudy made a hand motion like she was saying "Duh!"
"Anything doctor! Any safe test you want to do to help us get to the bottom of my son's condition, or conditions, I'm on board for!"
"I appreciate your enthusiasm Trudy, but let me fully explain before you say yes. So As we've discussed, the tests we ran were too easy on his body, and really didn't tell us much, and treadmill, and some of the other tests we do here, might be too much for patients like Ritchie, so we came up with something in between.'