Chapter 8

"Who is she?" Fang Yao asks as Dr. Su immediately starts examining the movie star's left ankle. I can tell by Fang's nonchalant tone of voice that he doesn't care. I stand at the corner of the room and hold my clipboard containing my acupuncture notes, pretending that they're vital labs or something that actually has anything to do with whatever is ailing Fang Yao.

Dr. Su rattles off a bunch of words that I don't completely understand. I think he's saying that I'm training to be a doctor here. I catch the words — hua qiao, meaning overseas person, and the words "don't worry, she's never heard of you." Fang nods indifferently at Su's explanation and doesn't question further. I notice that he seems relaxed now and that the gloved fists that were clenched at his sides have relaxed.

"Will I ever be whole again?" Fang asks as Su finishes up moving his left ankle this way and that, almost like he's trying to trace the shape of a steering wheel with Fang's big toe.

"You are healing up well from your ankle surgery," Su says. "Does it still hurt to bear weight on the balls of your feet?"

"You know that's not what I'm asking," Fang retorts and crosses his arms over his chest.

"As for that other question I told you last time, I don't know."

"I know you aren't a shén xiān, Dr. Su," Fang says, cracking a smile as he jokingly hints that Su has god-like powers of healing. "Don't shake your head at me like I'm unreasonable. I need to know for my career."

"We had the throat doctors look at your vocal cords three weeks ago," Su says without looking up from Fang's ankle. "They are the experts in that area, not me."

"But I trust you," Fang replies and then sighs. "Shùnlù ba, Dr. Su. Tell me, how do I keep my ankle from aching when it rains?" Fang asks in a mocking tone.

"I'm all out of painkillers; you've tried them all. You can try some acupuncture," Su replies with a chuckle and gestures at me. "My friend here is an expert at acupuncturist and can help you make an appointment over with Dr. Chen."

"I don't believe in that stuff," Fang replies, and then he glances at me and waves his hand like he's thinking twice about hurting my feelings. He removes his sunglasses and nods his head in my direction. "Sorry, little doctor, I don't mean to be impolite."

"No offense taken!" I insist as an awkward silence settles over the room while Su is busy charting his findings from his in-depth ankle exam. He reaches over and removes Fang's gloves. I see that the skin underneath is still blistered. Fang winces a little as Su puts pressure on the discolored skin.

"Mèimei," Fang says as he's trying not to look at what Su is doing. "You have an interesting accent. Is that Taiwanese?"

"Nope," Su retorts with a laugh. "She's just another overseas transplant who has watched too much Taiwanese drama growing up. She's from America. Family worked as medical staff here long ago."

"Oh," Fang replies as though he only half-heard what Su was saying about me. He turns his attention back to the doctor. "Dr. Su, are you sure you can't give me anything else?"

"The stem cell treatment on your burns is working," Su says and gestures for Fang to put his gloves back on. "We have you going to physical therapy for your ankle, and you're resting your voice like the ENTs told you to. Everything is going according to plan. See you in a week, Yao Xiōngdì."

"I'm going to call you on your cell after my next PT session. I really think you should increase my pain medication."

I only understand the gist of what they are saying because my mom talks in medical terms to her friends at work. I'm surprised by how much I understand. Then again, it helps that they use the English terms for some of the words. I catch Dr. Su rattling off the names of some medications to double-check that Fang is taking them. 

He uses the English names for them, including a few common ones like Tylenol and Claritin. I guess that Fang gets some of his meds from overseas. I'm not surprised that he has foreign connections in the medical area. I guess there are times when patients use the western alternative for some medications. I recall my mom sending my grandparents in China over-the-counter meds and vitamins in the mail because they trusted it more.

"No," Su replies. "You're healing up well, and if you need anything else, call my Mèimei Sara here. She will set you up with a session to moxibust those evil spirits from your body."

"Dr. Su, you're worse than my mother," Fang retorts as Dr. Su ushers me out the door. "I don't know why I come to see you!"

Su laughs as he closes the door behind us.

"He always comes back. I treated his father for glaucoma a couple of years ago, and now his parents think I have god-like powers. They make him call me for everything. I can't say I don't want to talk to him, but he needs something to take his mind off the accident. Something that doesn't involve popping Percocet every time he hears someone mentions him on the radio."

"His songs are on constant rotation, must be tough," I reply. "Heck, even a hua qiao like me knows his music."

"Get used to being called that," Su says and pats me on the shoulder. "With an accent like that, anyone can hear you didn't grow up here."

"Well, Dr. Su, you've convinced me of the power of acupuncture. That's why you made me go into that room with Fang Yao, right? So, I can see first hand that there are problems conventional medicine can't solve?"

"No," Su says with a coy smile. "I brought you in there, so you'll stop obsessing about that Calvin boy. Let him go; he's already moved on to the next one."