Trying to keep a straight face she asked “Sir, are you… are you sexually active?”
“Yes, I am” Tim quickly replied, giving her a reassuring smile.
He could see her wincing at the thought of the next question.
“…How many sexual partners have you had in the past 12 months…?” Haifah blushed.
“Only 1.” He replied again.
“…To your knowledge do you have any… any sexually transmitted diseases?” She asked, flames of pink bursting into her cheeks.
“Nope!” Tim responded, smiling as much as possible to encourage her more.
“Was that ok? I didn’t embarrass you too much?” Haifah sighed.
“Ha! It was fine” Tim laughed, “YOU were fine!”
Haifah turned over a few pages, to the next orange post-it note.
“What’s next then?” Tim smirked.
“Hmmm, circulatory system?” She replied, quickly reading her notes on the page.
“So, what do you find hard with this one?” Time questioned.
“Well most of this is fine, its just some of the pulse taking, and using my stethoscope that I find embarrassing…” Haifah sighed, blushing a little again.
“Come on, lets go!” He said with enthusiasm, not quite sure what to expect.
Haifah started by taking his pulse at his wrist, her hands a little clammy from her nervousness. Not quite sure why she would be so embarrassed.
“See, that was fine, what’s next?” Tim asked.
“Well… you see… there’s another pulse we need to know for clinical… but… I don’t know… I don’t know if I can…” She flustered.
“Ok, what else do you have to do? Is there anything less embarrassing for you? How about using your stethoscope?” He questioned, trying to move away from whatever it was that was flustering her so much.
“Well, the only thing is… I need you… I need you to undo your shirt?” She blushed again.
“Of course, how many buttons?” He smiled, realising this would probably be one of the first times Haifah had seen a man unbutton his shirt.
“Err… the top half is probably fine?” She said, with little conviction.
Tim obliged, undoing the top 4 buttons of his shirt. Haifah barely looked as he did, instead choosing to look past him to the door.
“Don’t worry, I locked the flat door as we came in, nobody is going to come in here” Tim smiled.
Haifah gingerly got out her stethoscope and moved it to Tim’s chest. She pushed it under his shirt, choosing not to expose any more of his chest than she needed. Her stethoscope was cold to the touch, making him jump a little as it came into contact with his skin. After a few minutes she moved back, smiling at him.
“Ok, you can do that up now. Your heartrate is normal – I think?” She smiled.
“I imagine it’s a little slower than yours!” He smiled, sticking his tongue out.
“Yes yes, now lets move on to the next section.” She rushed.
“No no, you said there was another pulse to check, come on, lets do it. It can’t be that bad!” Tim smiled.
“N…No… I can’t…It’s too embarrassing… For you and me!” She added, Tim could see her almost panicking.
“Haifah, if you are going to be a doctor, you’re going to see everything. Whether they are a man or a woman, one day they might rely on you being able to do this. I trust you.” He asserted.