"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 with 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?"