Patricia Davids - The Doctor's Blessing

“Hello, Helen,” the puppet chirped in a falsetto voice as he waved one stubby arm.

Phillip heard Amber giggle behind him. Helen sat up with a hesitant smile on her face.

The puppet scratched his head with his paw. “What’s wrong with you, Helen? Are you sick?”

Helen’s mother translated for her. The girl nodded, never taking her eyes off the toy.

Swinging the puppet around to face himself, Phillip asked in his puppet voice, “Aren’t you going to make her better, Dr. White?”

“I’m trying but Helen is afraid of me.”

“She is?” Turning to face the little girl, Dr. Dog asked, “Are you afraid of Dr. White?”

Her mother asked her the question in Pennsylvania Dutch. Helen glared at Phillip and nodded.

Dr. Dog rubbed his nose. “But you aren’t scared of me, are you?”

When her mother stopped speaking, Helen shook her head. Reaching out tentatively, she patted the dog’s head then giggled. Her laughter quickly became a harsh cough.

Dr. Dog asked, “Can I listen to your chest?”

Helen leaned back against her mother but didn’t object. Using Dr. Dog to grasp his stethoscope, Phillip listened to the child. When he was done with the exam, Dr. Dog thanked Helen, shook hands with her and her mother, then returned to his drawer. Helen continued to watch the drawer as if he might pop out again.

As Phillip wrote out a prescription for Helen, Amber leaned close. “Very clever.”

More pleased than he should have been by that simple compliment, he continued with his work. Helen had him deeply concerned.

Turning to her mother, he handed her the prescription and said, “I hear a loud murmur in Helen’s heart, a noise that shouldn’t be there. I’d like for her to see a specialist.”

The woman stared at the note in her hand. “Will this medicine make her better?”

“I believe so, but she needs to see a heart doctor. I’ll have Amber make an appointment. I believe Helen’s heart condition is making her cough worse.”

The mother nodded. Relieved, he looked to Amber. She said, “I’ll take care of it.”

He saw several more townspeople after that with assorted coughs and colds. Then two young Amish brothers came in with poison ivy from head to toe. Their mother explained her usual home remedy had failed to help.

He asked for her recipe and jotted it down. He then ordered a steroid shot for each of the boys. Afterward, he gave their mother a prescription for an ointment to be used twice a day, but encouraged her to continue her own treatment as well.

When they left, Amber remained in the room.

“Yes?” He kept writing on the chart without looking up.

“Why didn’t you have her discontinue her home remedy? It clearly isn’t working.”

“There was nothing in it that would interfere with the medication I prescribed. It should even give the boys some added relief. Mostly, it will make her feel better to be doing something for them.” He snapped the chart shut. “What’s next?”

His final patient of the day turned out to be an Amish woman with a badly swollen wrist.

Amber stood by the counter as Phillip pulled his chair up beside the young Mrs. Nissley. Her first name was Martha. She held her arm cradled across her stomach.

Phillip said, “May I see your wrist, please?”

Taking it gently, he palpated it, feeling for any obvious breaks. “Tell me what happened.”

“The dog scared my Milch cow, and she kicked. She missed the dog but hit me.”

He winced. “Sounds painful.”

“Ja. That it is.”

He admired her stoicism. “You’re the first cow-kick victim I’ve treated in my career. In spite of that, the only way to be certain it isn’t broken is to get an X-ray. Are you related to Edna Nissley?”

“Which Edna Nissley?”

He struggled to find a description since they dressed alike and seemed so similar. “She’s an older lady. Short, kind of stout. Oh, she drives a gray horse.”

“That is my husband’s uncle’s wife. The other Edna Nissley is the wife of my husband’s cousin William. Little Edna Nissley is the daughter of my husband’s youngest brother, Daniel.”

“Okay.” A confusing family history if he’d ever heard one. He glanced at Amber. “I’ll need AP and Lateral X-rays of the left wrist. Mrs. Nissley, is there any chance you may be pregnant?”

“Nee. At least, I don’t think so.”

He looked at Amber. “Make sure she wears a lead apron just in case.”

“Of course.”

Ten minutes later he had the films in hand. Putting them up on the light box, he indicated the wrist bones for his patient to see.

“I don’t detect a break. What you have is a bad sprain and some nasty bruising. I’ll wrap it with an elastic bandage to compress the swelling. Rest it and ice it. I want you to keep the arm elevated. Is there a problem with doing any of those things?”

“Can I milk the cow?”

He tried not to smile. “If you can do it with one hand or with your toes.”

She grinned. “I have children and a helpful husband.”

“Good. Here’s a prescription for some pain medication if you need it. See me again if it isn’t better by the end of the week.”

When Mrs. Nissley left he saw the waiting room was finally empty. A glance at his watch told him it was nearly four in the afternoon. More tired than he cared to admit, Phillip retreated to his grandfather’s office and sank gratefully into Harold’s padded, brown leather chair. If his seventy-five-year-old grandfather kept this kind of pace, he was hardier than Phillip gave him credit for.

After only five minutes of downtime, a knock sounded at his door. Sighing, he called out, “Yes?”

Amber poked her head in. “I have a ham sandwich. Would you like to share?”

His stomach rumbled at the mention of food, reminding him he’d had nothing but one cup of coffee since he’d left the house that morning. “I’d love a sandwich. Thank you.”

She entered and whisked a plate from behind her back. “I thought you might say that.”

He took her offering and made a place for the paper dinnerware on his desk. “Why don’t you and Wilma join me?”

“Wilma has gone home.”

“Then will you join me?” He held his breath as he waited for her reply.

Amber hesitated. It was one thing to work with Phillip. It was a whole other thing to share a meal with him.

He said, “Don’t tell me you’ve never joined Harold for a late lunch.”

“Of course I have.”

“Then what’s the problem? Afraid I’ll bite or afraid you won’t be able to resist stabbing me with a knife?”

“All I have is a plastic fork, so you’re safe on that score.”

“Good.” He lifted the upper slice of bread and peered inside. “You didn’t lace this with an overdose of digoxin, did you?”

“And slow your heart until it stopped?” She snapped her fingers. “Wish I’d thought of it. Then Dr. Dog could take over. Thanks for the idea.”

Grinning, Amber left the room and returned to the break room to get her half of the sandwich. It seemed Dr. Phillip had a sense of humor. It was one more point in his favor. The most impressive thing about him, good looks aside, was how he dealt with patients.

During the long, exhausting day he had listened to them. He discussed his plans of care in simple terms. And he was great with children. She liked that about him.

He could be a good replacement for Harold. If only she could change his mind about her midwife services.

Looking heavenward, she said, “Please, Lord, heal Harold and send him back to us quickly. In the meantime, give me the right words to help Phillip see the need the Amish have for my work.”

With her plate in hand, she returned to his office. She saw he’d been busy clearing off another spot on the opposite side of the desk. She pulled over a chair and sat down. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath then silently said a blessing over her meal.