A Second Opinion
by Michael C.
Keith
Elliot felt he knew things
about his health that his primary care physician
did not, and this disturbed him. What if he’s
missing something? he wondered, recalling his
erratic heartbeat when he slumped down on the
couch. If he wired me up for an EKG when it
did that, it sure wouldn’t look normal. How
could it? Something has to be wrong with my
ticker to do all that fluttering and bouncing
around. Maybe I better go to a heart doctor.
Elliot searched online for
a cardiac specialist, deciding not to ask his
personal physician for a referral. He might
think I question his ability, he thought.
It wouldn’t be good to give him that idea.
It might piss him off, and then who knows how he’d
be the next time I see him. These guys don’t
like to be questioned. They have a God complex.
After locating a possible
cardiologist in his area, Elliot probed the
Internet to see how his patients and former
patients rated him. Jeez, the guy is some kind
of super doc. Nothing but great comments about
him. Wonder if he’ll take on new patients?
Probably not . . . damn. This dude’s a star.
His practice has to be closed.
Despite his doubts, Elliot
dialed the specialist’s office. To his great
surprise, he was told to come in the following
week.
By the time the date
arrived, Elliot was so filled with a sense of
foreboding about the results of his heart exam
that he cancelled the appointment. Probably
got nothing wrong with me anyway. After all, my
doctor said the EKG looked normal, so why
should I doubt him? I’m no expert. Besides
the web says it’s not uncommon for a heart
to sputter and skip beats sometimes, he
reasoned.
That evening while Elliot
was kicking back and watching MTV, he suddenly
realized that his heart was thumping in sync with
the latest Juicy J video, and he freaked out.
“Oh, my God, I hate
him!” he screamed, leaping for the remote.
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