Act 1:  Exam curtain raises.  Enter Dr. God.

Dr. God, aka senior pediatric neurosurgery resident, enters room.  (all hail).  Waltzes over to  patient, a full term infant of Hispanic descent, status post myelomeningocele (spina bifida repair), aka Bebe Bonita.  Little Bebe Bonita is doing well.  She is laying on her tummy under the radiant warmer, sleeping comfortably.  She has a large dressing taped to her back.  Her back is covered in an abundance of soft, black, downy hair.

Dr. God:  “I need to change Bebe Bonita’s dressing now.”

Nurse RR:  “OK.  Let me dose her with some Fentanyl before you start.”

Dr. God:  ” I do not have time to wait.  It is only a dressing change, it won’t hurt.”

Nurse RR:  Running to medication drawer.  “No please just wait.  It will only take a second.”

Dr. God:  Rips dressing off.  All the hair on Bebe Bonita’s back is off.  All the monitors are going off.  Nurse RR is about to go off.

Bebe Bonita wakes up from her nights sleep by having all the soft downy infant hair on her back ripped off with her dressing.  She screams in pain.  Then stops. Then stops breathing.  Then turns blue.  Then becomes bradycardic.

Nurse RR bags and masks Bebe Bonita back to stability.  She  turns pink and is whimpering.

Nurse RR to Dr. God:  “What the hell was that?  I asked you to wait for pain medication.  How would you like it if someone ripped tape off from your hairy ass?’

Dr. God:  “That’s sexual harassment.”

Nurse RR:  Pointing to Bebe Bonita’s back:  “That’s child abuse.”

Dr. God:  Mumbles incoherently.  Skulks out of NICU

End of Act 1

Exam curtain closes on an infant who is afraid to go to sleep for fear of waking up in pain, and a nurse who lives with the knowledge that she did not do enough.

RR