BOW TIE

As the doctor made his rounds in the NICU today Cari poked my shoulder. She whispered to let me know he was wearing a bow tie. Normally, I would have jumped in with her at such an odd piece of attire. Today, I didn't say anything.

"Who wears bow ties," she asked?
It's been a long time since I've seen someone wearing a bow tie. I told Cari I thought bull fighters in Spain wear them. She told me besides bull fighters, only short, Jewish men wear them.

The doctor continued rounds with his posse. This is something I have been observing all week. The doctor stands behind a mobile podium and moves from bed to bed. A crowd of two to three nurses and doctors follow him. At each patient, the posse reads reports to the doctor and he makes notes in his book. He then gives some thoughtful advise on how to proceed. One of the nurses writes his orders in a book next to each patient. A lower class of nurse will carry out these orders later.

This seems overly redundant to me. The doctor does not ask the advise of those around him. There is no discussion on treatment. Just his orders. So why does he need them? Is this a status thing? They are only reading numbers off of a report that he transfers to his book. Could he not read the report himself?

Anyway, they were about three beds away and Cari requested a photo of the bow tie. I was a bit nervous at being caught. She told me it would seem I was taking pictures of Brenna. So I took a quick shot. One nurse turned when she saw the flash, so I turned away. Ignoring her might reduce her suspicion. The picture came out a bit dark, but I would not take another.

This doctor is among my favorites that we have worked with this week. I just like the way he explains things and takes time to answer questions.

It was another thirty minutes before he made his way to Brenna. She continues to slowly improve. The main thing we are waiting on is her breathing to slow down so she can bottle feed. Also, they have started giving her more feeding through a tube going into her stomach. This is to wean her off of the IV.

He didn't make it very far away when Cari just about choked herself trying not to bust out laughing. The nurse was still with us. She didn't know what Cari's problem was, so she excused herself to give Cari a few minutes.
"THAT BOW TIE IS BIGGER THAN HIS FACE!" A tear ran down her face. "I THINK HE IS WEARING MAKEUP."

In a reversal of roles, I replied, "You're being rude".
Although rare to see, I didn't think it looked bad. For some reason it just gave Cari the giggles.