It Didn’t Feel Like A “Win”

By Birdstrike M.D.   My kid and I are outside in the front yard blowing bubbles, enjoying the blue skies and 70 degree weather when she says, “Cool Daddy! Look, there’s a police car coming down the street. Oh, cool! I think he’s coming to see us!” Uh, oh, I think to myself. Despite my kid’s excitement, I know that rarely does anything good come delivered by a policeman. My wife is inside, my one kid is with me and my other is inside, so they’re not coming to give me some tragic news. Or are they? My parents….my siblings….is everyone okay? Why is a sheriff pulling into my driveway? I exhale for a minute. Maybe it’s Jim, the officer that lives in the neighborhood, I think to myself. He’s probably just stopping by to chat or say, “Hi.” As the car rolls closer, squinting to look beyond the window glare I see that it’s not Jim. It’s an officer I’ve never seen before. Clearly none of us has done anything to get arrested…. “Daddy! I wanna go see inside the police car! Daddy, will he give us a ride? Ooh, ooh, can I see his gun? Cool!” says my kid, jumping up and down with excitement. “Let’s see what he wants,” I answer. The driver door opens. A huge officer gets out, in grey uniform, bulletproof vest bulging underneath, with black wrap-around sunglasses, and a toothpick in his mouth. “Are you Dr. Bird?” he asks, as serious as a heart attack. “Yes, sir,” I answer. “I got a present for ya,” he says, as he pulls a thick rolled u...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Tags: Guest Posts Medical-Legal Source Type: blogs