Page 52 of Raymond's Forever

“Could you please explain that?”

“He never ordered any x-rays, MRIs, or scans of any sort. He told me when to be there, and that I better show up.”

“So, those x-rays are not yours?”

“No.”

A murmur went up through the room, but Raymond continued the video and rewound and replayed the part where Perkins threatened Shay if he didn’t show up, he would be billed.

“Mr. Hall, did you receive a bill for that operating room?”

“I did.”

Raymond took the paper Jason handed him, and walked a copy to the other table, one to the judge, and gave the last one to Shay. “Is this the bill you received?”

“Yes.”

“There weren’t any other pages attached? An itemized bill? Line explanations?”

“No, just this paper. Only one sheet.”

Raymond took the paper from Shay and walked it over to the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please note that this bill is for the amount of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Three quarters of a million dollars for services not rendered, and it certainly didn’t go through any insurance company first. Also, please note that on the video I just showed you, Dr. Perkins defamed Dr. Johnson’s character seven times.” He saw them nod, then went in for the kill. “Also, please note that Dr. Perkins specifically stated that he would be operating on Mr. Hall’s left knee, when in fact, the initial injury occurred on his right.”

He walked back to his table, stood behind it, and nodded. “No further questions.”

“Counselors?” The judge turned to the other table.

“Nothing for this witness.”

“You may step down.”

Shay did, and everyone watched him walk proudly, and without a limp. All eyes were on his knees.

“Call your next witness.”

“I’d like to call Dr. Amelia Johnson to the stand.”

Amelia went up, and was sworn in, and settled in the seat Shay had just vacated.

“Dr. Johnson, can you please state your certification for the record?”

“I’m a board-certified general physician, as well as a board-certified orthopedic surgeon.”

“Which means?”

“The general physician part means that I can see patients for a variety of reasons, annual checkups, colds, flu, what you would go to the doctor for if you were sick. The orthopedic surgeon part, is I work with the bones and surrounding tissues.”

“Do you recall seeing Shay Hall as a patient?”

“Yes, and everything he described happened.”

“Thank you, can you tell this court why you did not operate on him?”

“There was nothing to operate on. Nothing was broken, nothing was torn, nothing was ripped. All the tests he had showed nothing but severe bruising, in my professional opinion, and you don’t operate on a bruise.”

“Can you explain that further?”

Amelia sighed and settled back into her seat and glanced at the jury, the judge, the other table, then back at Raymond. “Think of it like this, you get a bruise, and though the surface is discolored, deep inside the body, where the trauma happened that area is also bruised. The discoloration at the surface is the body’s way of working the broken blood vessels to the surface as it takes over the healing process. What happened to Mr. Hall was an extremely deep bruise. He was kicked by a horse that wore a shoe. What I saw on the scans I ordered for him was that deep internal swelling and bruising. When I saw him, his injury was black, yes, but it wasn’t hot to the touch. If he had a broken bone, or had torn anything, then the temperature of the injury would be elevated. I felt nothing. I diagnosed what I saw based on the scans, and my own two eyes.”