by K. Darblyne
Without hesitation she beamed, "0530 sharp! That gives you a little under 45 minutes to get ready." She began moving down the hallway, still toweling her hair dry. "The trail blazer leaves on time, I’ve got an O.R. time at 0700 with McMurray."
"Okay, I’m going…" she slid out of the warm bed and padded off to the bathroom. "And I’ll be waiting for you." Danni yelled out as she closed the door to her room.
****************
True to her word, Danni was leaning against the side of the Blazer when Garrett came out of the front door of the house. With her arms folded across her chest, she watched as the surgeon made her way to the vehicle. Flicking her remote key device to unlock the doors, she shook her head saying, "I can’t believe that you’re ready. You couldn’t have eaten."
Shrugging her shoulders, the nurse nonchalantly replied. "You are right. I opted to have breakfast in the cafeteria." The coy smile played across her face as she turned to open the passenger door.
The pair quietly took up their positions in the front seat of the SUV and belted themselves in for the journey to work. Casually Danni looked at the digital display on the dashboard; it was 0529 as Garrett turned the key, bringing the lumbering engine to life. After taking a cautious look up and down the quiet street, Garrett eased on the gas pedal and pulled away from the curb. The nurse smiled as the display of numbers now changed to 0530.
Danni marveled at the punctuality of her friend. Now, here was someone that she could count on, right down to the second.
The short drive to the hospital was quiet as each occupant of the vehicle thought about her day to come. The ride was at an end as Garrett pulled the oversized vehicle into the special section of the parking garage, startling the thought absorbed nurse when her eyes focused on a concrete pillar in front of the now parked vehicle.
"Are we there already?" The blonde head turned, looking at her surroundings.
"Ah…yeah, Danni, it’s not like the ride back from Sandy Lake yesterday." She thought about the long drive and how relaxed she felt from the weekend trip.
"Oh, yeah…right!" She climbed down from the seat and gathered up her knapsack and gloves. She closed the door and met the surgeon in the rear of the vehicle to start the walk over to the hospital entrance. "Gar," she spoke softly. "Are you going to talk to McMurray today?"
"Well, of course, I have a planned surgery with him. Why wouldn’t I be talking to him?" She looked puzzled.
The petite woman reached out to touch her friend’s coat sleeve saying, "I mean about your idea, you know, Diana Morgan." Her brows were furrowed as she looked up into the stoic face.
"Yeah, but I think that I’ll do that later today. I want to do a little research first. See what resources might be available to us." She nodded her head. "Are you still interested in helping?"
One look was all that it took to know the answer. The beaming smile and twinkling eyes said it all. The blonde suddenly bowed her head as if becoming shy and very reserved. "If you still want me too," she kept her voice barely above a whisper.
"I do! I want this to be a team effort, no more soaring out there on my own." There was a pause as the words settled on both their ears. Realizing what she had just verbalized to her friend surprised her a little, no, a whole lot. But it felt good and she was ready to take the next step into that warming smile of friendship. "I think that we can make a good team, you and I. What do you say?" She held her breath in anticipation of the young woman’s answer.
"Yeah, I think we’d make an excellent team. I wouldn’t want it any other way." The blonde looked up to her tall companion, her nose wrinkled in thought. "Maybe we should see what McMurray will say?"
"What could he say? He’s always pushing to get the spotlight for his Trauma Services. I think this will be a step in the right direction, at least from my standpoint." Garrett opened the door to the emergency area entrance, holding it for Danni to pass through ahead of her.
"I’ll just feel better when you know for sure. Call me when you do. Okay?"
The surgeon nodded and began to walk towards the elevators. "Hey, Danni!" She turned to speak to the nurse once more. "Page me when you’re done with work. I may spend some time doing some research after I’ve spoken with him, too."
"All right, I know how you get. You’ll lose track of all time and forget about going home." She started to turn, "Have a good day, Gar, and good luck."
The surgeon stood and watched as the nurse went down the hall towards the locker room. "How does she do that? She knows me so well. Humph, better than I know myself sometimes." She shook her head in amazement, and then stepping on the to next available elevator, continued on her way.
******************
The morning hours were dragging for the young nurse. With every ring of the telephone at the nurses’ station her anticipation rose. Every free minute she found herself beseeching any god that might be listening to have them smile down with favor on her friend’s good intentions. Danni knew how much this project meant to the surgeon, not only for her own healing process to continue but also for the help that it would give to others in the same situation like Diana Morgan. She had wished that she knew what kind of surgical case it was that Garrett was involved in, then she would have some idea of when her phone call might come. Deciding to put it out of her mind for a while, she quickly fell into a nice steady pace triaging the onslaught of patients waiting to be seen.
**************
The time seemed to be moving quickly. Before Garrett knew it, her scheduled surgical time with McMurray had come and gone. During the operation she had asked to see him later in the day to discuss something that was on her mind. Now, she waited patiently for the prearranged time to come. Studying the computer screen in front of her, she made several last minute notes to bolster support for her case. She didn’t want anything to be overlooked. This was something that she felt compelled to do. If not here then somewhere at another time, but she knew she would do it. She had suffered far too long and too much to sit back watching the same thing happen to others who were just like she was all those many years ago. The loss of family could be so devastating as to wipe out your essence of identity. The bond of family transcends all others. Without it you are left alone and afraid that no one is like you in the world. You lose your self-worth because there is no one like you to measure it up against. The trauma didn’t just stop with the loss of the family but continued on throughout your entire life. This is what she had to convey to McMurray. She had to make him realize that it was something that they could do to stop the trauma from continuing. She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 1430. Time to present her case to the man down the hall who held all of the cards.
She gathered up her notes and shoved them into her pocket. Then making her way down the hall, she stopped in front of Dr. McMurray’s office. Arriving there, she ventured inside of the closed door where the older woman, who was the Department of Trauma Services’ Secretary, greeted Garrett. Her appointment time being confirmed, the Trauma Fellow was directed to knock on Dr. McMurray’s door, as he was expecting her.
She never was one for offering prayers to the gods above, but something deep within her made her stop and lift her eyes heavenward. "Okay," she sighed. ‘I need all the help I can get. I know that Danni would be asking for your help if she were here with me. So maybe you could pretend that it’s her asking for it and not me. Please, let him go along with this proposal.’
Garrett raised her hand and knocked on the door to his office. When she heard the command to enter, she took a deep breath and paused. It had been a long time since she had prayed, but suddenly she remembered the only formal thing about prayer from her youth. As a final measure of her sincerity to her belief in her cause, she glanced upward and whispered. "Oh, I almost forgot…Amen." With that done, she nodded politely to the secretary at her desk before she entered into the realm of authority, the Chief of Trauma Services office.
Garrett scanned the room, letting her memory stir w
ith tidbits of information that she had learned about the numerous photographs that graced the room over her many meetings with her mentor. Each time she had come away with a new fact or two that would relate to the stories behind one of the photos. It was almost like part of her time in his office was dedicated to those pictures. They were reminders of his life, not hers, but they always seemed to hold her interest. It was almost like he was trying to convey some special knowledge to her each time he chose a photo to talk about.
Her attention now turned to the man who was seated in the high-backed chair that swiveled freely behind the desk opposite her. The smug look upon his face almost made her think that he had been expecting this session with her for a long time. It was only a little over four months since she had started her year of Fellowship here, but it seemed like she had spent her whole learning experience inside of this office. Some of her most valued learning experiences always seemed to involve this man and his unique outlook on life.
"Come on in, Dr. Trivoli, have a seat." The Ol’Cutter motioned to the chair in front of his desk. "I’ve been waiting to hear what you have to talk about."
Garrett crossed the room and sat down, her hand pushed into her pocket with the notes at her fingertips. She smiled at him and nodded in his direction, "Thanks, sir."
There was a silence as she collected her thoughts trying to decide just where to start with her proposal. "Sir, I’ve been thinking about the way we handle the families of the trauma patients. I’ve had the occasion to take care of a family where all the patients expired, except for a lone family member. I was wondering if there wasn’t something that we could offer or do to help the trauma stop with the loss of the relatives and not continue on to the survivor."
"What? You want to take them to surgery remove their heart or memories so that they won’t grieve or miss them?" His voice was gruff and taunting.
"Why, no sir! That would be ridiculous, absurd even." Her eyes were wide with shock at what he was saying. "I was thinking more in the line of counseling and support groups that would let them know that they’re not the only ones to have gone through such a horrific experience." She watched for any sign of consideration in his bulldogish face. Seeing none, the surgeon continued. "It could eventually take the place of the family that they would be lacking. Not in any real sense, but rather in the means of mental support, that they are not as alone as they think they are."
McMurray eyed her. He could see that for some reason this was of particular interest to the stoic woman whom he had taken under his wing. ‘Finally I see some emotions expressed on her face. Could it be…’
"Dr. McMurray, I’ve been researching the resources and think that with a little cooperation from some of the other Departments in the hospital, we could really do something good for these people." Her face was earnest and full of conviction to her cause.
His eyes darted up at her. His full attention was now on her face. "What did you say?" His voice snapped. "Did I just hear you use a pleural pronoun?" He leaned forward squinting hard at her. "Who put you up to something like this?"
"Why no one, sir." Her body took on a defensive position and she returned his stare. "I came up with the idea while Danni…er…I mean Nurse Bossard and I were discussing a situation that we were both very familiar with. We thought that it might be an extension of the trauma services that we now offer."
He rose abruptly from his seated position and pushed off of the desk. He strode out from around his desk and started looking at the wall full of photographs with his hands clasped behind his back. Several moments went by before he stood frozen to one picture. His hands slowly came around from behind his body and reached out to grab the photograph on the wall. His breath was slow and labored as he mulled over his thoughts, his fingers sweeping the expanse of the large, framed, group photo. With his attention still glued to the picture in front of him, McMurray began to speak. "Garrett, have I ever told you about my days in the Appalachian Foothills?"
"Why no sir, you haven’t." She turned to look at him. His arm was motioning for her to come over to where he was standing. She rose and moved closer to where he stood transfixed to the photograph.
"I went up to the Appalachian Foothills on a bet with a buddy of mine in surgery. My wife told me that things were different in the backwoods but I was a damn bullhead and took the bet, sure that I would win. Back in those days a fifty-dollar bet was nothing to walk away from, especially if you knew it was a cinch to win. Heck, that was my monthly payment on the loans from medical school," he reminisced. He glanced over at her. "So, what’s the going monthly rate now on that education?"
"I’m sorry sir, I wouldn’t know. I enlisted in the Navy for the three years and they took care of the debt."
"Hmm…Wish I’d thought of that. Three years…is that all?"
"Well, I’m on a list that if anything happened and they needed me back, I’d have to go."
"Oh, I see." He grunted. "How long are you at the government’s beck and call?"
She thought about what he was asking. "Only a few years. Is there a problem with that?"
"No, I knew you were smart. That’s one way to cover your debt." He turned back to the photograph. "See that guy there," he pointed to a slim boy with oversized clothing, his eyes gaunt and lifeless. "He was one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met. He doesn’t look it, but he would pick-up anything that I offered in a teaching session, trying to bring their level of personal hygiene out of the dark ages." He reached out to touch his image, then hesitated. "He never had the chance to go to school or learn the ways of the world as we know it. His daily chores were just to stay alive and have something to eat."
"Did you try to help him break out of the lifestyle?" She watched the older surgeon as he thought about the boy. His face was a mixture of regret and self-inflicted pain.
"I tried, but the week after I came home he died from a ruptured appendix. They don’t have doctors up there on any regular basis, at least not then." He paused and sniffed trying to collect his emotions before continuing. "I found out a month later when I went back to give him the books that I had gathered together for him to learn how to read. I was devastated at what had transpired while I was gone."
"I’m sorry to hear that. How were you to know what might happen?"
McMurray was back in control again, his voice crisp and clear. "My wife told me to never pass up an opportunity to help someone when it came along." He looked Garrett straight in the eye. "She’s right, you know. Women like her are always right. Better learn that now, Dr. Trivoli."
"Yes, sir. I think I am already." She thought back to the early morning hours that nightmarish Sunday, back at the cabin. Danni had been the one to suggest that she try to help Diana Morgan. ‘I’m learning to rely on her judgment more and more.’ "So does that mean you’ll consider our idea?"
The Ol’Cutter looked her over as she stood with her hand still pressed inside of her pocket. "I don’t see any formally written proposal. Do you want me to go to bat for you and your idea with nothing to show but a few words to speak to the committee? Don’t you think that would be a problem?"
She fingered the notes in her pocket. "Why no, I haven’t written a proposal."
"Then do it," he snapped. "I want every aspect of this idea worked out on paper. I’ll need all the facts, the who, the where, the how, everything." He smiled coyly. "That damn leech of an E.R. Chief, Ian McCormick is always hounding me to do a joint project with his department. Do you think that you could figure someone in from the E.R. too? Say, maybe that Nurse Bossard, or haven’t you allowed her back into your trauma rooms yet?"
Garrett could sense the teasing in his voice. She knew he watched those trauma room videotapes every morning. She had learned her lesson from him more than once about that night. The image of the blonde nurse crept into her mind from this morning when she voiced her wish to help in this project. "Yes, sir. She’s back. I was a fool that night and I told her so later. I…I think that she would be happ
y to work with me on this project." The surgeon smiled in her confidence of Danni’s interest.
McMurray thought for a moment then went with his gut reaction. "Okay, but Nurse Bossard and you are a team. I expect you both to work equally on this. Now get moving on that proposal. I want it on my desk no later than the Monday before Thanksgiving. That will give me a day to go over it before I present the idea to the Board of Directors for hospital approval." He turned and walked back to his desk.
"Thank you. I’ll get to work on it right away." Excitement was in her voice at the thought of her plans venturing forward.
"Trivoli!"
"Yes." Garrett stopped herself from snapping to attention.
"I’ll talk to McCormick tonight. You and Bossard use work time for this proposal. Take a day or two out of surgery if you have to. I expect it to be good. No loopholes mind you. I want everything to be spelled out, including who will be involved and how much money it’s going to take to run the program."
