by Marilyn Turk
“Don’t you think it’s odd that something we use to execute criminals can also be used as therapy?”
“Russell, there’s no chance we’d give someone that much voltage!”
“I sure hope not.” Russell finished his sandwich and pushed his plate away. “Lexie, thanks for calling me today. It’s good to get out of the hotel, especially to see you.”
“Russell, I felt so bad about leaving you at the park Sunday. I didn’t want the day to end that way. We were having such a nice day.”
He touched her hand. “We did have a nice day, Lexie, even if it was cut a little short. We’ll do it again soon.”
Lexie nodded and smiled. “Russell, thank you for being so understanding.”
Russell leaned forward and peered into her eyes. “I love you, Lexie, and I know what you do is important to you. So it’s important to me too. Okay?”
Lexie’s eyes sparkled her response.
Russell glanced at his watch. “Guess I better get back to work.”
“Me too,” said Lexie. “I have to change my clothes before I report to the ward.”
They slid out of the booth, and she put on her gloves as he grabbed his hat. Two more customers came in as they approached the door, and Russell recognized them from the hotel dining room that morning. Lexie froze in her step and glanced uncomfortably at the two men. The blond one tipped his hat and smiled before Lexie hurried out the door Russell held for her.
“Do you know that man, Lexie?” She appeared frightened by the men.
“Not really.” She walked quickly away from the diner. “He and that other man and a couple others rode the train into town with me from Long Island. Penny and I ran into them Saturday afternoon when we came in for a shake. He introduced himself before we left.”
“Hmmm. I think they’re staying at the hotel. Guess he didn’t notice your engagement ring.”
Lexie rubbed the ring concealed by her glove. “Maybe not if I was wearing gloves.”
“Well, I can’t blame him for wanting to meet such a lovely lady.” Russell smiled at the blush on Lexie’s face. “Too bad you’re already taken.”
Lexie eyed him warily. “Too bad?”
Russell pulled her to him. “Terrible!” He winked at her, then said, “For him. Poor sap.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Call me tomorrow and tell me how your evening goes. Okay?”
Lexie tossed her head and gave him a big smile. “Sure thing, Russell.” As she turned and sauntered away, she lifted her hand and gave him a little wave over her shoulder. “Toodles!”
Chapter Nine
“You’re just in time,” Nurse Addams said as Lexie approached.
“In time for what?”
“We’re going to administer the electric shock treatment to Claude this afternoon.”
“Claude?”
“You remember Claude Graham. He’s the patient that’s been having outbursts.”
“Who’s going to administer it?”
“We are. You and I.”
“I am?”
“Yes. You can do it. Just watch and do what I say. You need to learn how to administer the treatments yourself. Don’t worry, you’ll never do it alone.” She pushed the ECT cart toward Lexie. “Come on. You can follow me with the cart.”
Lexie eyed the machine, a tingle running up her spine at the prospect of participating in such a procedure. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this yet. She did as ordered, though, and pulled the cart carrying the machine into the hallway, then followed Nurse Addams down the hall.
“Wait here, and I’ll get the other supplies.” The nurse went into a storeroom, then came out with a tray containing syringes, saline solution, an anesthetic, and a gum shield. Handing her keys to Lexie, she said, “You open the door and push the cart in. I’ll follow with the tray. You can lock up behind me.”
When they entered the ward, the room fell silent, all eyes focused on the nurses. Lexie and the head nurse took the machine and procedure supplies to the bed where Claude Graham lay, his eyes growing wider as the women approached. Nurse Addams went to the opposite side of the bed, glanced at Lexie, and said, “Pull the curtain, please.”
The patient began squirming in the bed, pulling against the restraints that held him down.
“Mr. Graham, don’t worry. We’re here to help you,” Nurse Addams said in a quiet, soothing tone.
“No! No! You’re going to kill me!” The man continued to fight against the bed restraints.
“Calm down. You’ll feel much better soon.”
Nurse Addams prepared the syringe with the anesthesia, then administered it by injecting it into the man’s arm. Afterward, she patted his arm, and said, “There, that will help.”
Within seconds, the man had relaxed. “Go ahead and prepare him,” Nurse Addams said, addressing Lexie.
Lexie nodded, trying to remember the way they’d been taught on the dummy in class. The smell of alcohol permeated the air as she wiped his temples to cleanse them. Next, she applied the gel. Then she took the end of each cord connected to the machine and placed an electrode firmly on each gelled position.
Nurse Addams took the rubber mouth shield in her hand. “Now, open wide.” She looked over at Lexie as if asking for help.
What could she do to get him to cooperate and relax? She could tell him a story. Lexie looked Claude in the eyes and said, “You know, Mr. Graham, when I was a little girl, my mother wouldn’t let me ride horses. You know why? Because she was thrown by a horse when she was a girl and was afraid the same thing would happen to me. But she didn’t need to fear all horses. You see, the horse she was on had not been broken. It wasn’t ready to be ridden. It was still too wild and afraid of the saddle. But when I went away to college, I rode horses that were stabled there, gentle, calm horses that were not wild. They were safe. They weren’t afraid of me, so I wasn’t afraid of them either.”
Nurse Addams lifted an eyebrow as she listened to Lexie’s story and placed the mouthpiece in the patient’s mouth without a problem while he watched Lexie. Soon, his eyelids began to droop.
“Mr. Graham, this treatment is to help you get rid of your fears and anxiety. It has helped many other people, and I’m sure it will help you too,” said Nurse Addams. “You’ll experience a little shock, but it will be over in just a few seconds. Afterward, we’ll bring you something to eat because I’m sure the fasting has made you hungry.” She patted his arm. “Are you ready?”
The man nodded slightly, then closed his eyes.
Nurse Addams turned to the machine, dialed the gauge, then flipped the switch on. A buzzing noise ensued, and Lexie held her breath for the second the electricity was applied. Mr. Graham jerked and went into a seizure as Nurse Addams turned the electricity off, then counted the seconds from her watch as the seizure continued for a full minute, the patient’s muscles alternately twitching and relaxing. When he stopped, Lexie eased out a breath.
“Good,” Nurse Addams said, removing the mouthpiece from the man’s mouth. “We’ll monitor him this evening, and he should be awake and ready for a snack in a couple of hours. You can remove the electrodes now.”
Lexie followed the nurse’s directions, thankful to release the man from the machine. Her nursing manual said nurses should be sympathetic to their patients. She had no problem with that rule, especially after seeing the shock treatment applied. If she hadn’t read about the treatment’s effectiveness, she wouldn’t be able to watch.
“We’ll do this again in two days,” said Nurse Addams as she pushed the cart away from the bed.
“So soon?” How much could a person take?
“That’s right. It must be administered twice a week for at least six weeks to be effective.”
The nurse eyed Lexie. “You must understand this is for the patient’s good, despite your feelings.” She nodded toward the curtain. “You can push that back now.”
Lexie did so, aware that the patient in the next bed watched her. She offered her best reassuring smile.
“Only if you need it,” answered Nurse Addams over her shoulder.
The man looked back to Lexie, his eyes pleading. “I don’t need it. Okay? I’ll be real good.”
Lexie nodded. “Don’t worry.” What else could she say? She hoped he wouldn’t need it. She really didn’t enjoy participating in the treatment. As they passed John Doe’s bed, Lexie glanced to see his response, thinking she’d sensed him watching her. But she must’ve imagined it. He still stared straight ahead, oblivious to his surroundings.
“Nurse Addams, should I check his bandage?”
“Go ahead. We might take that off today.”
Lexie approached the bed. “Let’s see how you’re doing.”
She lifted the bandage gently and checked the wound on his forehead. The gash had closed thanks to the stitches.
“What do you think?” asked Nurse Addams, who had come up beside her.
“It looks well enough to me. When will the stitches come out?”
“Let’s unwrap the bandage and give the wound some air. The doctor will make his rounds tomorrow, and he’ll probably take the stitches out then.”
Lexie took the end of the bandage and began to unwrap it from John Doe’s head. As she removed the bandage, the patient’s chestnut-brown hair fell across his face. She picked up the loose locks and finger-combed them into the rest of his hair. “I bet he’d like to have his hair washed.”
Nurse Addams raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”
Lexie blushed, realizing the man’s condition and that he was likely not aware of his hair’s condition, much less anything else. “Well, I’ll wash it anyway, if you don’t mind. I know I’d want my hair washed if it had been wrapped in a bandage for weeks.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Perhaps it would provide him more comfort. You’ll have plenty of time after the patients have their supper tonight.”
If she could make him more comfortable, she would be happy to wash his hair. In fact, she was tempted to give him a shave too, whether he knew he needed one or not. The fuzzy whiskers didn’t look natural, and she sensed they hadn’t been there when he was serving in the army. She had a great urge to see more of his face, as if it would provide any clues to his identity.
Nurse Addams whispered to Lexie, “He might be the next patient for treatment.”
For a second, Lexie didn’t know what treatment the head nurse referred to. Then she looked from the ECT machine to the patient and realized. She cringed at the thought. For some reason, it didn’t seem fair to apply the treatment to someone who had no understanding of what was being done to him, much less give his consent for the therapy. Of course, she wanted to help him any way she could, but was that the only way? Surely, there was another. An idea struck her. She’d tell him about it when she came back later to wash his hair. He might not understand, but at least she’d give him the opportunity to know about it. Perhaps somewhere in his subconscious, he’d hear what she said.
Lexie carried a basin of water, a towel and washcloth over her arm, and a bottle of shampoo tucked in her pocket. Most of the patients were sleeping when she made her way over to John Doe’s bed and placed the basin on the bedside table. She felt the water temperature—nice and warm. Speaking softly, she said, “Mr. Doe, my name is Nurse Smithfield. I hope you don’t mind me washing your hair. It’s been a while since it was washed, and I think you’ll feel better when it’s clean.” Taking the washcloth, she dabbed it in the water, then began to wet the man’s hair. She placed the rolled towel behind his neck, gently lifting his head. While she washed his hair, she hummed softly, trying not to disturb the other patients.
She used a little water to rinse the hair, then patted it dry with the towel. A sense of tenderness touched her as she cared for the man, and the sensation surprised her. As she took a comb from her pocket and began combing the man’s hair, she wondered if the feeling was like a mother caring for a child, doing something for them they couldn’t do for themselves. Was this why she wanted to be a nurse? She finished combing and exchanged the pillowcase for a dry one, studying the man’s face as she did.
John Doe had high cheekbones and a squared jaw—a face that would display strength under normal conditions. She wiped his face with the washcloth, wishing she could see him without the whiskers. He couldn’t be much older than she was. Maybe not as old as Russell. What if this were Russell? But no, he wouldn’t end up like this because he wouldn’t be fighting in the war. Was she wrong to be glad about that?
And what about John Doe? Did he have a girlfriend or fiancée somewhere? Or maybe a wife, a family? The army thought everyone in his unit had been killed, but without his dog tags, how would they know who the survivor was? Surely, they’d figure it out eventually, but in the meantime, who needed to know he was alive? If only he could talk to her. For now, though, she could talk to him, and maybe he’d hear.
“Mr. Doe? We want to help you. I want you to understand that. There are some medical treatments that might relieve your condition, and they are being considered so we can determine the best one for you. I want you to be aware of them so you won’t be surprised. One of them is called ECT, and another patient received it today. We expect favorable results from his treatment.” All the while she spoke, she tried to convince herself as well as the unresponsive man in front of her. “I’ll try to let you know at least a day beforehand when we’ll administer the treatment to you.”
There, she’d told him. Her effort to communicate might not mean anything to him, but her conscience was relieved. She patted his arm. “Good night, Mr. Doe.”
After gathering up the hair washing supplies and damp linens, she tiptoed away from the bed, then glanced around the room to make sure the other patients were still asleep. Confident they were, she left the ward, locking the door behind her, and properly stored the supplies before going to the nurses’ station to document her patient reports for the evening. She only wished she had some progress to report on John Doe’s condition besides clean hair.
Although her shift ended at 11:00, it was almost midnight before she finished her paperwork, barely able to keep her eyes open. She craved a cup of hot tea, but she needed to go to bed.
Crossing the street to the residence at night made her uneasy, but streetlights helped show the way, even though they’d been dimmed according to the war mandate. Often other medical personnel from the hospital went back and forth during the night as well, so she shouldn’t be afraid. She steeled herself as she stepped outside and hurried along the walk and through the wrought iron gates separating the hospital from the outside world. The muted lights crafted fuzzy shadows on the ground, creating images like the haunted forest that frightened a character in a cartoon she’d watched as a child. The scene had always haunted her, and even now the memory tingled her spine. But she wouldn’t act like that character and run screaming through the night. Fear not, for the Lord is with you. She quoted this scriptural promise over and over as she traveled the distance to the residence building, reaching the entrance just before her late pass expired.
When would she quit being afraid? She knew now there really were no family curses. And she knew she was far away from Nazis landing near her home. Times like these were when she wanted Russell’s arms around her, his comforting voice reassuring her that she was safe. But she needed to be able to cross the street without being afraid, without depending on Russell to always protect her. The Lord was with her, and that was enough.
Chapter Ten
“Gee, some gals have all the luck!” Penny leaned against the door frame watching Lexie pin her cap on.
“Whatever do you mean?” Lexie faced her roommate.
“I dunno. I know you work hard, but you come from a rich family. You have a college degree and a handsome fiancé. Where was I when they were dishing out the good life?”
“Penny, you do have a good life. Y
ou have a big family back home. I don’t have any family … anymore.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re right. Guess it just seems like things are easier for you, you know, grades and stuff. You’re already ahead of me, and now you’re going to be a senior too!”
“Only if I pass the exam. I’ll have to study hard for it. They don’t just hand out promotions.”
“Yeah, I don’t envy you that. I’m having enough trouble with ‘Theory and Practice.’”
“It’s only because I studied it in college that I was able to pass the test.” Lexie grabbed her books. “Besides, you know I’m a lot older than you, so I have more experience.” She winked at her roommate.
“Oh, I forgot how old you are! All of two years older than me, right?”
“Almost three. I’ll be twenty-three this year.” Lexie hooked her arm onto Penny’s. “Come on, let’s go before we’re late for breakfast.”
“So I guess you’re going to study all day long? Are you going to see Russell today?”
“Maybe. I haven’t talked to him yet.”
“Well, don’t ignore him. If you do, somebody else will grab him!”
“Not a chance.” Lexie laughed.
“I just wish I had a boyfriend. You know, somebody to see on the weekends when I can get a pass. I like to go home, but it sure would be nice to have a man waiting for me. But, gee, all the guys are leaving for the war.”
“Hey, I have an idea.” Lexie stopped and faced Penny. “Next time Russell plays at a local USO dance, we can go together. That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”
Penny’s face brightened. “Yeah, sure! Hopefully, I’ll be able to get away from here. You get more passes than I do.”
Lexie put her hands on her hips. “You know why too. If you go to church, you get two passes a week instead of one.”
“All right. All right. You might talk me into going to church with you after all.”
“It wouldn’t kill you. I’ll call Russell later and see when the next dance is.”
