Chasing Sofia

Chapter 17 - The Endoscopy

"That's so sweet. You obviously mean a lot to both of them."

"Hopefully they won't cause too much trouble in the waiting room," I tell her grimacing.

"Honestly, this is going to be really quick, so they won't have to worry about you too much. You won't even need to change your clothes or take your shoes off so you'll be able to walk right out of here afterwards. I only need to administer a pregnancy test and then I'll send the anesthesiologist in."

God, what is it with the whole pregnancy thing? "Okay, but I'm not sexually active," I inform her. I feel like I should just write it across my forehead at this point.

"In that case, you'll just need to sign a waiver. I'll be right back."

After signing the waiver and answering a few other questions, the anesthesiologist comes in and explains how the sedation is going to work. He tells me it will be a very low dosage that will last approximately 20 minutes and asks me a few simple questions about my weight and allergies before he takes off.

Before I know it, the nurse comes back and tells me they're now ready for me in the operating room.

I follow her to an area down another hallway and she ushers me into a room. The first thing I notice is that they're playing heavy rock music, and I recognize it's a song from Metallica. There are a few other nurses shuffling around the room and I spot the anesthesiologist from earlier as well.

Suddenly Dr. Kim walks speedily into the room, and he smiles at me reassuringly. He has a lot of energy and swag and looks even younger than I remember from last time.

"Hi, Sofia. Ready for the procedure?" he asks, signaling for me to lie down on the bed.

"Yes," I tell him. For some reason, I'm not nervous at all. I don't know if it's the rock music, Dr. Kim, or everything moving at lightning speed, but I feel completely at ease.

"I won't take too long, I promise. I'm just going to be checking for a few things in your stomach so it'll be like you just took a quick nap. Okay?" he tells me.

I nod at him. "Sounds good."

"Let me just take these off of you and we'll get started," he says removing my eyeglasses. Right, I almost forgot about them. "If you can also position yourself on your side, facing me, as if you were sleeping," he instructs.

I turn over, straightening my body as much as possible. I fix my braid behind me so that it doesn't get in the way and rest my head on the pillow.

"Perfect," Dr. Kim says.

The anesthesiologist approaches me and starts checking on my arm. I keep my vision fixed straight ahead, not wanting to see any needles whatsoever or what he's doing. I feel a slight pinch and my eyes get heavy.

I wake up to the sound of a man groaning. I can hear him complaining to someone that he's in pain.

I open my eyes and realize I'm in a recovery room. Holy shit, that was fast! My head feels groggy, but I'm completely aware of my surroundings.

A nurse approaches me but she looks fuzzy. "Hi, sweetie. Do you want water or apple juice?"

"Um ... apple juice?"

"Sure. I'll be right back, okay?"

I nod and sit up a bit more on the bed. I notice my stomach feels crampy and I feel cold, but other than that, I feel completely fine. My glasses are neatly placed on a tray next to the bed, so I grab them and put them back on.

The nurse comes back with a cup and hands it to me. This time I can see her more clearly. "Dr. Kim will be right over, okay? Do you want me to call your brother in?"