Ailana’s Journal: Part 2—2026-06-25 (Island Kids) (Patreon)

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ER FROM THE PATIENT SIDE by Olivia Overmark

Today started with what has been my routine this week. I arrived at Shoreline around 9:00 just to be on site and pitch in where I could. I’m not taking any cases yet.

My Texas medical license is active, and my personal malpractice coverage is in place, but Shoreline is waiting for its insurer to give final approval before I start seeing patients.

I’ve been doing receptionist work alongside Isabela, the office manager, and Carla Mendoza, the front desk lead. They’ve got a good system going, as far as I can tell. On Monday, I rode along with Min and Vanessa—Rafe Cantu was the driver and lab tech for the day. That’s going to be fun work!

Just now, I was about to start another mug of coffee—no, I don’t keep count—when the door opened and a young lady came in. I could tell she was in distress.

“Hello…tell me your name, please,” I said.

“Jenna… Mercer…”

“Jenna, I’m…” Since I wasn’t actually practicing medicine, I didn’t mention my title. “I’m Olivia Overmark. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“My stomach is hurting. I first thought it was period cramps, but… nah, this is different.”

Isabela was at my side starting intake forms. “Jenna, how old are you?”

“Sixteen…”

I looked at Isabela. “Can I take her back to an exam room and get her off her feet? We can do the paperwork there.”

We moved her to an exam room. I sat in one of the visitor chairs while Isabela completed the intake. Brianna Torres, one of the medical assistants, came in, took her vital signs, and conducted a basic intake interview.

“The pain started around my belly button,” Jenna said, “but now it’s moved. It’s down on the lower right side of my stomach, and it’s a million times sharper.”

Dr. Anika Kumar came through the door at that moment. “Hi, Jenna. I’m Dr. Kumar. I’ll be taking care of you today.”

She looked at Brianna. “Catch me up.”

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After Brianna explained what was going on, Anika said, “Jenna, before we do any tests, I’d like to get consent from a parent.”

“I only have a dad,” she said. “He’s in the Coast Guard and is out on patrol. I can call the station, and they can radio him. He can call me using the satellite phone.”

“Call him, please. With his consent, I’d like to run blood and urine tests, but based on your symptoms and fever, I’m calling for transport to the ER now. You might have appendicitis.”

Jenna closed her eyes as if giving it a name made it less scary. “That’s no big deal, right?”

I answered. “It’s not a little deal, but it’s pretty routine for most surgeons.”

She called Coast Guard Station South Padre Island and spoke with someone who transferred her to another person. She explained her situation again and then thanked them.

Then she looked at me and said, “What will happen?”

“The ER doctor will run some labs and probably start with an ultrasound. If that doesn’t give them a clear answer, they may order a CT. The imaging can help confirm appendicitis and rule out other causes of the pain.”

“What else could it be?”

She seemed both scared and interested, so I gave her a legitimate answer. “Pain like that can be caused by a urinary tract infection or kidney stones. It could also be caused by an ectopic pregnancy—when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus.”

Her eyes bulged out. “Okay… it’s not that! I’m not pregnant!”

I smiled. “I was just saying what else could cause pain like yours. I guess we can rule out shark attacks and jellyfish stings, too, right?”

Brianna laughed out loud, and Jenna laughed just long enough to induce more pain.

Then she looked at me. “I’m low-key scared now. Dad won’t be ashore for hours.”

I decided at that point I wasn’t going to let her go to the hospital alone. “Don’t worry. I’m not actually working. I can go with you and keep you company. I’ll stay with you until your father gets there.”

It wasn’t relevant at the moment, but the hospital that they would take her to is where I expect to pick up PRN shifts once everything gets finalized—Valley Baptist Medical Center–Brownsville. It's also the ER where Vanessa’s boyfriend, David Gregory, works.

I checked with Vanessa, learned he was working, and asked her to text him that we were coming in. She did that at about the same time Jenna’s father called.

“Daddy,” Jenna said, “I’m okay.”

She paused.

“I’m at the walk-in clinic in Port Isabel… I rode Island Metro… They didn’t run any tests without talking to you, but they’re sending me to the ER at Valley Baptist.”

Long pause.

“I’m okay. There’s a woman here who’s going to stay with me… I don’t know… Your insurance info? Yes. I have pictures on my phone… A little… Dad! I don’t need snacks… The thought of eating literally makes me want to gag!”

Long pause.

“I’ll be fine… I know. I love you, too… I know…”

She looked at Anika. “He wants to talk to you.”

Anika took the phone, introduced herself, and answered some questions. Then she said, “Well, you haven’t done anything wrong. If her condition becomes an emergency, we can treat her even if we can’t reach you again. We have your verbal consent now, so we’re fine. The ER doctor will want to speak with you. Can you give us the best number to reach you?”

Anika wrote something down and handed it to Brianna to put in the chart. I assume it was a phone number.

Shortly after that, we were in the ambulance on our way. The EMT took her vital signs, reviewed the chart, and called the ER with our ETA.

He looked at Jenna. “We’re going to take good care of you. Try to relax.”

Jenna nodded and he looked at me. “Are you her mother?”

I shook my head. “No. I work at the clinic, but I’m not treating her. She was scared, so I thought I’d keep her company. Her father knows I’m staying with her until he arrives.”

He nodded. “Alright, that’s legit. Stay buckled up for the ride.”

Every bump jolted pain through her body, but she endured it without complaint. We arrived at the ER and were taken to an exam room directly from the ambulance.

A middle-aged woman with black hair and a Boston accent introduced herself as Dr. Felicia Davenport, the attending physician.

Right away, she called Jenna’s father and obtained verbal consent. After ending the call, she said, “He says his ETA is about three hours.”

“He was out to sea on patrol,” Jenna replied. “He left the dock around, like, 7:30, and I didn’t call him until after 11:00.”

Dr. Davenport reviewed Jenna’s vital signs, palpated her abdomen, and checked for rebound tenderness.

Jenna looked at me and forced a smile. “I’d be okay if she never did that, ever again. Period.”

Dr. Davenport ordered labs and tests. “Let’s get a CBC, chemistry panel, urinalysis, pregnancy test, and right lower quadrant ultrasound. Hold the CT unless the ultrasound is inconclusive. Start an IV, keep her NPO, and give her something for pain and nausea.”

A nurse came right in, started an IV, and drew blood.

The nurse assigned to Jenna asked if she needed to use the bathroom. Jenna said she did and made the painful trip to the bathroom to provide the urine sample. She got back to the bed just in time for the portable ultrasound machine to roll in.

Then there was a brief lull before the nurse returned with a bag of IV fluid and pain medication.

“What’s this?” Jenna asked.

“These are IV fluids and medication for pain and nausea. The medicine should ease the pain, but it may make you sleepy.”

She nodded. “Will you stay?”

“Of course. Until your dad gets here.”

Jenna dozed off for a little while. I looked at things on my phone and played Toon Blast to pass the time.

About twenty game levels later, Dr. Davenport came back into the room and woke Jenna up. “You do have appendicitis. You’re stable, and I’ve consulted surgery. We’re going to start antibiotics now. The surgeon will examine you and decide on the timing. Since your father is already on his way, I’ve asked the surgeon to wait, if it’s medically safe, so your father can be here to review and sign the surgical consent.”

“Okay,” Jenna said as the doctor went to the next patient.

“Well, now we know for sure,” I said.

Jenna nodded, then asked, “Can I get some water or something? My mouth is really dry.”

“I’m sorry, but they won’t let you have anything to eat or drink. Because you’re likely going to surgery, you can’t have anything in your stomach right now.”

Jenna rolled her eyes a little and nodded. “Surgery…I had a date tonight.”

Talking about the date seemed to cheer her up, and she told me a little about her boyfriend, a young man named Gabe she’d met earlier this summer. She said she’d had a boyfriend in tenth grade, but it wasn’t serious.

“This isn’t very serious,” she said. “Yet. We’re only sixteen. I’ll be a junior next year.”

The surgeon came in at that point, examined her, reviewed the test results, and agreed with Dr. Davenport’s diagnosis. “I’ll start arranging an operating room. You’re stable enough that we have a little time, but we need to remove the appendix before the condition worsens.”

He wasn’t really talking to me, but I answered anyway. “I completely understand. Thanks.”

Then Jenna chatted with me a little about Gabe, life as a teen on South Padre Island, and her friend group. “There are only about eighty high-school kids who live on the island. We go to school in Port Isabel. Gabe says he knows most of the island kids.”

I think the medicine was working. She told me a lot about Gabe’s dream of teaching English to children. She went on to say she thought she’d like to be a teacher, too, but didn’t know what subject—though art and history topped her list.

About then, a doctor opened the door and looked in. “Dr. Overmark?”

I looked up. “Yes?”

“I’m David Gregory. Nice to meet you face-to-face. Vanessa said you were here with this young lady.”

“Dr. Gregory…” I replied. “Nice to meet you. She’s holding up pretty well.”

“How has your first day in the ER gone?” he asked.

“Not at all the way I expected,” I replied.

He laughed a little and nodded. “Dr. Davenport is a great doctor. I’m looking forward to working with you soon.”

“Me too,” I replied.

Jenna had dozed off again by then. I went back to Toon Blast.

I’m not exactly sure how long it was before a man in a Coast Guard uniform came into the room. His name tape read MERCER, so I knew he was Jenna’s father, Dan.

He sat down. “How is she?”

“She’s had IV fluids and pain medication, and they’ve started antibiotics. Someone will give you the official report, but the imaging confirmed appendicitis. The surgeon has already examined her and is arranging the procedure. It’s usually a straightforward surgery.”

I stood up as he gently woke his daughter. “Jenna, it’s Dad. I’m here now.”

“Nice to meet you. She’s a delightful young lady.”

“Thanks…”

I backed out of the room, but I heard him ask Jenna if she was okay. She said she was, then he asked who I was.“That’s Olivia. She works at the clinic and was just keeping me company until you got here.”

That was the last I heard until I got back to Shoreline.

Later, I asked Anika whether Shoreline had received an update.

“There’s a surgical update: ‘Laparoscopic appendectomy completed. Appendix inflamed but not perforated. Patient stable in recovery.’ Looks like she’s fine.”

That was exactly what I expected and exactly what I wanted to hear.

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