Angels on the Night Shift
Page 23
Her voice was trembling and she was silent for a moment. I glanced at Lori and then at Amy. They couldn’t hear any of this and just looked at me.
“Rehab was tough,” she continued, her voice once again controlled. “But those people really knew what they were doing. I know I’m an addict, and that I’ll struggle with that knowledge every day for the rest of my life. But I’ll never forget what I did.”
“It all seemed to happen so fast,” I said, still wondering how we had missed this.
“You’re right, and that’s what the counselors said. I think it was the pressure of medical school and my residency, and the pressure I put on myself because of my parents. Then with my new position at Rock Hill General, I wanted everything to be just right. I did a good job with that one, didn’t I?”
“Tell me what you’re doing now,” I asked her. “Are you working somewhere?”
“I am,” she answered, her voice brightening as we changed the subject. “I’ve been out of rehab for a little more than five weeks, and I started in an urgent-care center just outside of Richmond. It’s low-volume and low-stress, and I think it’s just what I need right now. I want to get back into the ER, but it needs to be at the right time.”
There was silence, and I looked down at Amy.
“Liz, seems like you’ve been talking with Amy Connors,” I ventured.
Amy’s eyebrows rose, and she looked up at me with reddening eyes.
“We’ve talked a couple of times,” she told me. “She was the first person I contacted, but it took a while before I could…before I could get up the courage. She’s such an amazing woman. I should never have been afraid to call her. But yes, we’ve been talking. I wanted her to know how sorry I am for the pain I caused her, and that I caused her family. I can only hope and pray that someday she’ll be able to find a way to forgive me.”
“I think she will, Liz,” I told her quietly.
I looked down again at Amy and our eyes met. This time, there were tears in mine.
“And you’re right,” I added. “She is an amazing woman.”
“And what about you, Robert? Do you think you can ever…?”
Her voice trailed off and I realized how difficult all of this was for her.
“Don’t worry about me, Liz. We just want you to get well and to be strong and to—”
“But can you forgive me?” she asked again.
This was hard, and I wasn’t sure what to say.
Who was I to forgive this woman? I knew that she needed to find forgiveness, and that she would have to find a way to forgive herself. But she was asking me.
The hurt and anger and disappointment I had felt were trying to resurface, but they were powerless before Amy Connors and now before a contrite and sincere Liz Kennick. Who was I not to forgive this woman?
“Of course I forgive you, Liz.”
I thought I heard sobbing on the other end of the phone. After a few moments, Liz cleared her throat and said, “I’d really like to come by and see you guys sometime, if that’s okay. First though, I’m going to sit down with Amy and Charlie, and just talk. We need to do that. But later…”
“Whenever you’re ready, Liz. We’ll be here.”
I handed the phone back to Amy and she hung it up.
I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. What had just happened was important—for all of us.
The three of us stood there and didn’t say anything. We didn’t need to say anything.
From across the department, we heard Virginia Granger’s office door open and we all looked over.
She stepped out, planted her feet wide apart, and put her hands on her hips.
Then once again she stared straight at me over those black-rimmed bifocals, and with pursed lips said, “Dr. Lesslie, we need to have a word!”
Oh, no. What had I done now?
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
REVELATION 21:4-5
Notes
Chapter 4: “…we will be present with the Lord.” See 2 Corinthians 5:6-8.
Chapter 6: “Let my heart be broken…” Quote by Robert Pierce (1914–1978).
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About the Author
Dr. Robert Lesslie, bestselling author of Angels in the ER, Angels on Call, and Angels and Heroes, is a physician who lives and actively practices medicine in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Board-certified in both emergency medicine and occupational medicine, he is the co-owner of two busy urgent care/occupational clinics.
For more than 25 years, Dr. Lesslie worked in and directed several of the busiest ERs in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. He also served as medical director of the emergency department at Rock Hill General Hospital for almost 15 years. During his tenure as medical director, he received the American Medical Association’s Continuing Education Award. He also traveled around the country, giving lively, innovative lectures to the Emergency Nurses Association at their annual meetings in major cities.
For seven years, Dr. Lesslie wrote a weekly medical column for The Charlotte Observer presenting a wide variety of topics, both medical and editorial. He also pens a regular column on medical, philosophical, and personal topics for the YC, a monthly publication in York County, North Carolina.
Dr. Lesslie enjoys the fast-paced environment of the ER and the need to make rapid and accurate diagnoses. He views his medical career as an opportunity to go beyond simply diagnosing and treating individual patients. For him, it is a way to fulfill a higher calling by meeting the real physical and emotional needs of his patients.
An active member of his home church in Rock Hill, Dr. Lesslie serves as an elder, and he and his wife, Barbara, teach Sunday school and sing in the church choir. They are also involved with an outreach program for disabled/handicapped individuals, Camp Joy, where Dr. Lesslie serves as the camp physician for a week each summer. He also enjoys mentoring high-school and college students considering a career in medicine.
Dr. Lesslie and his wife, Barbara, have been married for more than 35 years. Together they have raised four children—Lori, Amy, Robbie, and Jeffrey—and are now enjoying five grandchildren. In his spare time, Dr. Lesslie enjoys gardening, golf, hunting, reading, and bagpiping.
About the Publisher
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