260 Medical History (1/2)

”I see you have a colorful past.” He clicked on the mouse, looking at his computer. ”Plenty of broken bones. Torn muscles here and there. Severe concussion. Boy, you took a beating.”

I noticed Mr. Atkins nervous glances.

”I did. The doctors at that hospital saved my life.” I spoke candidly. ”Broken ribs. A punctured lung. My legs broke. A cracked skull. A lot of stitches and glue. But they took care of me. I had to stay there for therapy and rehabilitation. I'm okay now.”

”Hmmm.” The doctor didn't reply right away. He read more off the computer, trying to read everything they had treated me for last summer. When he finished, he stood up and walked to the door. ”Come here and get on the scale for me. I want to take some new numbers for comparison and to update your profile.”

I obediently got up and moved his way. Back during my hospitalization, they would weigh me every week so I was used to this. I stepped on the scale and watched as the digital screen flashed a few minutes before coming up with a number. Four to be exact. 99.02lbs.

”Only 99 pounds?!” Mr. Atkins no longer looked calm. He got up from his seat to get a better look at the scale to see if it would magically change.

Dr. Walker didn't say anything. He directed me to the wall to measure my height. ”Five foot, one and a half of an inch.” He went back to his computer to input the info. ”Go ahead and take a seat again. Next I'll do some manual work.”

I complied, trying to avoid looking at Mr. Atkins. He was still in shock over my height and weight, staring at me like I could vanish in thin air. Dr. Walker finished the typing and stood by the table I sat on. He first had me stretch out while lying down, then he started to touch me.

I flinched away.

”Sorry, Jake.” He told me. ”I want to get a feel for your muscles for bulk, strength, tenderness, and tone. Just want to make sure nothing is atrophied.”

I gave a single nod and tried not to move so much as he squeezed, poked, and flex different parts of my body. After a thorough examination he took a seat by his computer to input his thoughts. Then he faced me, looking me in the eye before he started to speak. ”I'm going to schedule some lab work for you. What that means is you'll come in and we'll have a nurse available to withdraw some blood so we can run some tests. I'd like to address your malnutrition a little more seriously. I can see from your records that you've gain weight and even grew a little, however it's not enough. Especially for a growing boy trying to play a sport at a high intensity level.”