The Tennis Partner

Content Warning: This section contains mentions and descriptions of substance use, addiction, and suicide.

An unnamed intern receives a page in the middle of his rounds, and he panics when he sees the number. After some indecision, he heads to Dr. Lou Binder’s office. When Dr. Binder says they must head to the lab, the intern breaks down crying. He is put on a flight from El Paso to Atlanta, where he goes to the Talbott-Marshall Clinic to meet Dr. Doug Talbott. Dr. Talbott was once a world-famous cardiologist but suffered from alcohol and drug addiction. After multiple rounds of rehab, he founded a center focused on treatment for doctors with addiction.

Dr. Talbott tells the intern he has a disease that needs lifelong treatment and reassures him that while he may feel guilt, he need not feel shame. The intern attends a meeting with the rest of the members of the clinic, all doctors dealing with addiction. They discuss how their work is the last thing to suffer; relationships, finances, and health are all affected first. Later that night, in the apartment he has been assigned, the intern recoils from his reflection in the mirror, feeling betrayed by his own image.