The patient’s first question for me was, “Will I be able to go to football practice this Saturday?”
“Well, how about if I take a look at you first, OK? What’s been going on?” I’d just seen this teenager for a sports physical a couple of months before, and I remembered how excited he was to be joining the football team for the first time. Now he sat on the table, looking somewhat peaked, as my grandmother would have said. The nurse’s note for the visit read, “Fever and abdominal pain for two days.” His temperature was 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
“It’s been hurting here since yesterday,” he said with a vague wave toward his abdomen, “and my mom says I have a fever.”