The Secret Patient

by Vaughan W. Smith

  “You’re risking my patience Elizabeth. I admire your dedication to the jumble but I need something better,” Alan said. Elizabeth thought for a moment, then responded.

  “I’m using it to contact a source.”

  “Ha-ha what? No way!”

  “Yes, that botched jumble you caught me with the other day? That was actually a message. I’m sending a reply.”

  “Clever, I like it. A new purpose for the humble jumble. Let’s go with it.”

  “Thanks Alan. You can’t breathe a word of this to George. It’s too soon.”

  “That’s no problem, he doesn’t care much for my puzzles anyway. Leave it with me.”

  “You’re the best Alan,” Elizabeth said. She nodded at Jim, who gave her an amused look as she left. She could hear Alan talking him through the required changes as she left.

  Elizabeth drove home with a sense of excitement growing within her. The wheels were turning, and tomorrow would be an interesting day.

  10

  A Message of Hope

  Nathan awoke to Robin standing over him. He didn’t remember falling asleep the night before.

  “To be expected, I was pretty exhausted,” he thought to himself.

  “Good morning Robin.”

  “Good morning Nathan. I heard you had some excitement yesterday.”

  “I think the excitement was more for everyone else!”

  “True, I guess for you having a bunch of people crowd into your room probably isn’t that exciting. Don’t mind me, I need to do another check of your probes to see that they are all attached properly,” Robin said. She then proceeded to check all the pads and connections to Nathan’s body. She was thorough but quick, and it was all over in a few minutes.

  “Now that we’re so well acquainted, can I get a newspaper?” Nathan said.

  “Ha-ha sure. I already brought one with me. It’s on your side table,” Robin said, pointing to the paper.

  “Great, you’re always one step ahead.”

  “Of course honey, that’s my job. Well everything looks good here I’ll pop in later.”

  “Thanks Robin, see you later,” Nathan said. He pulled his side table closer and swivelled it around so that he could sit up and read the paper. As he flipped though, he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He normally read the paper to stay connected to the world, but there was a fuzzy sensation nagging at him that he should be looking for something. He paused and looked away from the newspaper, wondering what it was.

  He thought back over the previous day’s expedition, and recalled his solitary position.

  “I decided yesterday that I need another way of getting a message out, since I’m physically removed from everyone else. The newspaper was a way before, maybe I should use it again?” Nathan thought. It had to be what his subconscious was telling him. Although he’d want to be more specific this time. It had been days, and while he thought that the message was received, he was still alone and had not been found.

  “I wonder if Robin checks the paper after I’ve used it?” he whispered.

  Nathan skipped through until he saw the jumble. It looked like it normally did, but two words caught his attention.

  “Medical students,” he read out. It was probably a coincidence, and he was looking for messages. But he had time, and was curious so he worked at solving the jumble. A few of the words were quite elusive, but as he solved each one he felt confident that it was the right answer. Once he had all four words he looked at the key to start filling in the letters of the answer. He sat back and looked at the answer.

  WITCHDOCTOR TREATED YOU?

  Nathan laughed out loud. If that wasn’t a message, nothing was. Elizabeth the reporter had sent him a message asking which doctor was treating him. He couldn’t believe it. He just stared and stared at it. He even re-checked his answers. But there it was, plain as day.

  “Why didn’t she ask me where I was?” he thought to himself. But then he realised, had she done so he wouldn’t know what to say. He didn’t know where he was. And he just so happened to have the name of a doctor etched into his brain: Sterling. But he didn’t want to just write the name below the message, which would be too obvious. So he looked at the jumble for inspiration. Within moments he had a solution, so he marked up the jumble to provide his answer.

  Nathan chuckled to himself, excited and invigorated by the message in the paper. He was too worked up to read anything, but flicked through the rest of the pages anyway. Once he was done he folded the newspaper and left it on his tray.

  The wait until Robin returned was agonising. Not only was he anxious for her to take the newspaper, but the physical activity from the previous day had awakened something in him. He had remembered what it was like to move, and being so still was causing him to feel jittery. When Robin did finally arrive Nathan had to try and calm himself.

  “You all good honey?” Robin said.

  “Yeah the usual.”

  “I’ve been told one of the nurses will be around to take your blood again this afternoon.”

  “More tests?”

  “I guess so, there wasn’t any additional information provided.”

  “Ok I guess.”

  “You finished with the paper?”

  “Yeah you can return it,” Nathan said, trying to sound casual.

  “Alright then, I’ll probably see you later today. Take care.”

  “You too bye Robin,” Nathan said, watching her leave. He wanted to start some sort of exercise routine, so that he was better prepared for when he got a chance to leave. But he expected the lunch lady to come soon, so he had to wait until later. He used the time that he had to inspect the various wires and probes attached to him. He needed to better understand how they flexed and where they were attached so he could work out what movement was available to him. He wanted to develop a regular routine which would allow him to exercise more without setting off any alarm bells.

  Lunch arrived and it was a thin chicken soup with a bread roll and orange juice. Nathan ate mechanically, not enjoying the food. But he finished it, needing the nutrition to fuel his body. He waited patiently for the lunch lady to return for his tray, then he started.

  He began by stretching. He spun around so his legs were dangling off the bed, and began by stretching his legs. He could feel them tighten and loosen up. He felt annoyed at himself for wasting so much time.

  “How did I imagine things would get better without my direct involvement?” he thought. He had been too passive, and the few actions he had taken in recent days had made him feel a lot better. Mid-stretch he heard one of his machines start beeping and he froze in a panic. He returned to his normal position in the bed, and looked around for the machine. Upon closer inspection he could see that it was a drip that needed changing.

  “Phew, all good,” he said to himself. He pressed the nurse call button and waited.

  A nurse finally arrived. She was stocky and had a surly expression on her face. However she seemed surprised by the beeping once she entered the room.

  “Machine is beeping,” Nathan said, pointing at it.

  “I didn’t come here for that, I’m here to take your blood,” she said.

  “You can do both right? I don’t think I know you.”

  “Annabelle. Let me look at this. Yep fine I’ll come back,” Annabelle said and promptly left.

  “Great, another nurse,” Nathan thought. She didn’t seem particularly friendly either. But she returned promptly, and changed the drip over quickly.

  “Well now we can get on with this,” she said in a businesslike manner. She brought a long half cylinder dish with her, full of implements. She swabbed his skin with alcohol, then inserted the needle to draw blood. Five vials of blood later, Nathan felt light-headed.

  “That seems like a lot,” he said.

  “We need to do many tests.”

  “You never take that much.”

  “We are trying to do more things at once, it’s better. Don’t worry we won�
�t take any more this week,” the nurse said, no compassion at all entering her voice. Nathan watched her leave weakly, then started to doze.

  He opened his eyes and saw a dinner tray in front of him. There was an annoying sound going off, but he couldn’t quite place it. He found the nurse call button and pressed it, before dozing off again.

  “I’m just changing your drip over,” he heard a voice say, and Nathan tried to nod but he was too tired. Later he managed to open his eyes and process his situation. His food was still there, the last puffs of steam leaving the enclosed container. He opened the lid and saw what looked like incredibly processed roast beef with peas, carrots and gravy.

  “Another gourmet favourite,” he said, before scoffing it down. He was exhausted from the activities of the last day, and also quite hungry. He settled in to watch television, and saw Word Boggler on again.

  “I wonder if my message made it through?” he thought. With any luck he would find out in the new edition of the newspaper. But he couldn’t stay awake any longer so he slipped into a deep sleep.

  Nathan awoke the next morning, to see his breakfast already delivered. This time it was bacon and eggs, only the eggs looked like he could throw them at the wall and have them bounce back into his face.

  “Down the hatch,” he said and worked his way through the meal. He spent the rest of the morning trying various stretches while he waited for Robin to show up. When she did finally enter he looked for a newspaper and was delighted to see her carrying one.

  “How are you today?” Robin said.

  “I seem good. Slept a lot.”

  “Yeah you were completely out of it when I came through this morning.”

  “I think they took a lot of blood.”

  “You do look a bit pale. I’ll make sure they give you more red meat today,” Robin said, checking the machines and making notes on his chart.

  “Here’s the paper, I’ll come collect it later,” Robin said.

  “You’re the best. See you later,” Nathan said with a smile, and Robin returned the smile before she left. As soon as the door swung closed Nathan pulled his tray closer and grabbed the paper. He went straight to the jumble and read the question.

  What did the parking inspector say to the man driving away without paying?

  Nathan chuckled to himself at the potential of the jumble, and set to work solving it. He was getting through it quicker than last time. He wasn’t sure if it was the additional motivation, or that he had started to get better at solving them. Within ten minutes he had the answer.

  I WILL FINED YOU

  And there it was. A cheeky, amusing ray of sunshine. His message was received, and help was coming.

  “Thank you Elizabeth. I needed that,” Nathan whispered. He thought about trying to leave another message, but decided against it. A reply wasn’t required, and he wanted to save further communication for something more important. With great effort he turned the page and hid the jumble. He just wanted to rip out that page, so he could look at it whenever he felt down. But it was too risky to keep it around. He would just have to remember.

  He flicked through the rest of the paper as he always did, but nothing else caught his attention. He just couldn’t concentrate. He just felt light and hopeful.

  “I should use this feeling,” he said to himself, and continued to try stretching and working his muscles. If help was on the way, he had to prepare himself. He needed to be able to walk, or even run.

  11

  The Newspaper Shuffle

  Elizabeth’s alarm clock started blaring, the noise quite disorientating in the darkness.

  “What the hell?” she said looking at it. She thought that maybe it had been set incorrectly, but the time was right. She never got up this early, it felt wrong.

  She dragged herself to the shower, her eyes barely open. The initial chill after she undressed was replaced by the gentle warmth of the water.

  “More heat,” she thought, trying to cook her brain awake. The opposite happened, and she idled under the water in a half-asleep state.

  “Go!” a voice inside her head said, and she shook herself awake. She had to focus, today was an important day. She was going to track the newspaper.

  Elizabeth quickly got ready, grabbed a breakfast bar and dashed out to the car. She drove directly to the hospital while she munched on her breakfast, wanting to be ahead of the game. She had no idea when the newspaper made it to her patient in the hospital, so the sooner she could track it the better. She parked around the corner on a side street, and walked over to the main hospital entrance. She saw the stack of newspapers neatly bundled together with plastic straps near the main doors.

  “I made it in time,” she thought, then wandered over to the hospital cafe. It was in a separate small building out the front. The staff were just opening, so she ordered herself a cappuccino and kept an eye on the main entrance. The papers were still there. As she drained the final drops from her cup she saw an orderly fetch the stack of newspapers and drag them inside.

  “Here we go,” Elizabeth said to herself. She stepped through the main doors and looked out for where the newspapers had travelled. The orderly had them on the main desk, and he was cutting off the plastic straps. Then he divided the newspapers into neat little piles.

  “They must be for the different wards,” Elizabeth thought. Her guess looked right when she saw the man stick little post-it notes on each pile.

  “I better go take a look, I may not recognise who takes the papers for Robin’s ward,” Elizabeth thought. She sauntered over to the main desk to try and identify which pile she had to follow.

  “Hi can I help you?” the orderly asked her, a helpful tone to his voice.

  “Oh I was just wondering if you could spare a newspaper?”

  “Yeah I think so, just let me finish sorting,” the orderly said. While he was looking over the piles Elizabeth scanned them to read the labels. She saw that one on the corner of the bench was labelled ‘South 5’. That was the one to follow.

  “Great, I’ll just be sitting over there,” Elizabeth said and pointed to the chairs. The orderly didn’t ask any follow-up questions and resumed his job. Elizabeth looked around the room, idling away the time. No one had come to collect any of the newspapers yet.

  “Excuse me miss,” the orderly said, surprising Elizabeth. He was holding up a newspaper.

  “Great, thanks,” she said, walking over to retrieve it.

  “No worries, just make sure it stays here,” he said and then left, taking a pile of newspapers with him. Thankfully they weren’t the ones she was after.

  Elizabeth first checked the jumble. It was as expected. Alan had adjusted the individual word jumbles but left the question. She set about solving the jumble mentally, which was harder than expected. But she got there, and determined that the answer was correct.

  Elizabeth looked up and verified that the pile of newspapers was still there. She kept an eye on them as she leafed through the rest of the newspaper. A few nurses came and went, but none of them touched that particular pile. Finally a bigger nurse with thick black glasses grabbed the newspapers and headed off. Elizabeth folded her newspaper and left it on the chair she was sitting in. She started to follow the nurse.

  Elizabeth could guess the route the nurse was taking, since she knew the destination. That gave Elizabeth the ability to not follow too closely behind. She stepped confidently through the corridors, making sure she was close enough to see the nurse turn the corners as expected. As they neared the ward Elizabeth’s pulse quickened and she edged closer and closer. She looked for any odd movements, but the nurse went straight down the corridor, not stopping for anything.

  Finally the nurse stopped at the nurse station, and behind the desk.

  “She’s taking the newspapers into the nurses’ office,” Elizabeth thought. That made sense too. But now Elizabeth had to find a way to loiter around without looking suspicious. It was still too early for visiting hours, although she could p
robably sneak into Dean’s room. But then she wouldn’t have visibility of the nurse station.

  Elizabeth realised that she couldn’t skulk around so walked directly to the nurse station to assess the situation. She could see Robin at the desk.

  “Hi Elizabeth, how are you?” Robin said.

  “I’m good, how are you?”

  “Great. Hey I really enjoyed your article.”

  “Oh I’m glad. Those interviews really added a lot, so thanks for the help there. I’m sorry I couldn’t catch you sooner, it’s been manic the last few days.”

  “Oh that’s no problem, it was nice of you to stop by.”

  “Yeah, I thought I might have a better chance of catching you before work. While I’m here, can I pop in and see Dean?”

  “It’s outside visiting hours you know?”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Well, I’m sure he’s fine, I’ll allow it. But you have to at least wait for the doctors to finish their rounds,” Robin said. That worked well for Elizabeth, it gave her an excuse to hang around. She looked around the room and saw a young boy with blond hair in jeans and a jacket, seated in the corner of the room. He was kicking his sneakers together and looking bored.

  “What’s his story?” Elizabeth said to Robin.

  “Oh he’s the son of one of the patients in this ward. His mum is getting some tests done so he’s waiting for her to come back.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Sean.”

  “He looks pretty young.”

  “Yeah he’s only seven.”

  “I’ll say hello, see if I can cheer him up,” Elizabeth said. She had an idea forming in her head as she approached him.

  “Hi Sean I’m Elizabeth,” she said.

  “Hi.”

  “Robin, that nurse there, said you were waiting around too.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I hate waiting, so I invent little games to make it more fun.”