Page 60 of Meant for Mayhem

“Come on back.”

She held open a secured door, and I followed her down a hallway lined with identical offices, each marked with a clinician’s name and credentials. The floors gleamed with freshly waxed tile, and every few feet another framed landscape hung against the same beige walls. It was immaculate. Organized. Sterile. Nothing like what I’d imagined when I accepted a position with Little Voices.

Rebecca led me into a small office with a desk, two guest chairs, and an entire wall of neatly organized binders. A second monitor sat ready beside her laptop, and a headset rested on its charging stand. The only decoration in the room was a potted snake plant in the corner that looked like it was single-handedly trying to liven the place up.

She motioned for me to take a seat before settling into the chair across from me. “How was the drive?”

“Not bad.” I set my backpack on the floor beside me. “I’m still learning my way around Denver.”

Rebecca smiled. “You’ll get there. We try not to throw too much at our fellows on day one.”

I relaxed a fraction.

Good. That meant we’d probably go over paperwork, meet my mentor at Little Voices, maybe tour the clinic before I started seeing kids next week.

Rebecca folded her hands on the desk. “Before we dive into orientation, let’s discuss your clinical placement and what the next nine months are going to look like.”

“Perfect.” I smiled, sitting a little straighter in my chair. “I know I mentioned it during my interview, but I’m excited to work with kids. That’s always been the goal.”

Rebecca smiled back. It was kind, but maybe a little too kind. “I know.” She opened the folder in front of her. “Unfortunately, there have been a few staffing changes over the last week.”

My smile faltered.

“The mentor originally assigned to your clinical fellowship accepted another position before your start date.”

“Oh.” I nodded. “So, who’s taking over my mentorship?”

“I am.”

A wave of relief washed over me.

I laughed softly. “Okay. I thought maybe I’d be meeting them after orientation once I head over to Little Voices.”

But Rebecca didn’t laugh with me. “You won’t be.”

The room suddenly felt much quieter.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’ll be completing your clinical fellowship here at High Country.”

I blinked. “...Here?”

“When Heather left, we no longer had any mentors for pediatrics. So we reviewed all our incoming fellows to determine the best fit for each department.”

That was enough to have my stomach sinking somewhere beneath the floor, but she kept going.

“In your interview, you told us about a close family friend living with Parkinson’s disease. You talked about helping her, supporting her family, and how watching her navigate changes in her communication inspired you to keep going with this career.”

Lori.

“You spoke with so much empathy,” Rebecca said. “Not only about the patient, but about the people who love them. That’s an incredibly valuable perspective in adult neuro rehabilitation.”

She thought she was complimenting me, but my world was crumbling faster than I could handle.

“We can teach treatment protocols,” she continued. “What we can’t teach is genuine compassion for families facing progressive neurological disease. Based on your interview, we felt your strengths aligned exceptionally well with this team.”

She smiled, like she hadn’t taken my feet out from under me. “We think you’re going to make a difference here.”