Chapter 9

John wandered down the hall of the Burn Unit carrying two books. The books had been delivered to him by the owner of the local bookstore that he visited almost daily. The owner gave him the books free, with the promise that he would donate the rest of the series to the burn ward when he was able to locate them. John was about to protest, but the owner told him that it was a good tax write-off. John thanked him for his charity.

The day nurse, Nurse Betty, was at the other end of the hall and spotted him. She hurried to intercept him before he reached the children’s ward. She was too late, but not late enough to see his reaction to the kids in the room. She was amazed to see that he took their appearance in stride, looking at them like normal kids.

He burst out in a smile and said, “Hi, kids! I’m John Carter. Do you want to hear a story?”

He was greeted by silence as children tried to hide themselves from his sight. He ignored their discomfort and sat down in the one large chair in the room. He held up the two books and announced, “I have Tom Swift and Nancy Drew. Which one would you like to hear?”

The kids slowly peeked at him. He was smiling and waiting for an answer. Nurse Betty entered the room. John said, “Ah! Nurse Betty. Would you be so kind to introduce me to my audience?”

Nurse Betty went through the room introducing every child. With each introduction, John repeated the name, stated that he was pleased to meet them, and then made some comment about something that was special about each child.

Sarah was holding a teddy bear, and he praised the gentleness of the bear. Her burn covered her head and back. She had only a few hairs on her head and her left ear was almost totally missing.

Jennifer had a pretty, pink nightgown. He told her it was a pretty color and that it was just right for her eyes. She was burned by grease from a pan that she had pulled off the stove. The burn ran down her right arm, along her right side, and partially down her right leg.

Tommy had spider man pajamas, and John told him that he had always wanted a pair just like that. Tommy had tripped and fallen into a campfire. His burns were mainly on his stomach and hands.

Karla was drawing. Her burns were on both legs, as though she had been dipped into boiling oil. She had tried to give herself a bath using only hot water. John asked Karla to draw him while he was reading because he really wanted a picture of himself drawn by such a talented artist.

The kids finally decided they would like to hear Nancy Drew. John sat down and started to read. He read with it with emotion. He made the characters come alive. Each character was spoken in a different voice. He spoke in a soft voice during the suspenseful parts and an excited voice during the exciting parts. The kids gathered around him and listened raptly. Dr. Hilbert entered the room and watched them for several minutes. He was there for his morning examination of the children, but decided to come back later. He didn’t want to interrupt them.

When John finished the book, the kids all cheered. He was smiling and laughing with them. He talked to each child by name. When they would call him Mister Carter, he would correct them and tell them to call him John. Dr. Hilbert returned and asked him to leave the room while he did his examination. John smiled and said, “Sure, Dr. Hilbert! Goodbye kids, I’ll be back this afternoon and maybe we can play a game.”

He had gone about ten steps down the hall when he heard a scream from the room. He raced back in to find Sarah in tears. Nurse Betty had just removed the bandage. John stepped up to Dr. Hilbert and tapped him on the shoulder.

He said, “Perhaps I can help.”

Dr. Hilbert snapped, “Please leave.”

“Please, I don’t like to see people in pain. Allow me to help, at least while you are removing the bandages,” John said. He was not smiling now. He stared directly into the eyes of Dr. Hilbert as though daring him to suggest otherwise.

Sobbing, Sarah said, “Please, let him stay.”

Dr. Hilbert had never been so intimidated by anyone in his life. He wondered where this nice guy kept this side of himself. He backed up and then said, “Okay.”

John knelt down next to Sarah and held her hand. Looking directly into her eyes, he started talking. His voice was low and calm. As he talked, she got a dreamy look on her face. He described hiking through the mountains, and watching deer graze. He told about the time that he had spent a whole morning watching Mountain Goats climb up impossible cliffs. He turned to Dr. Hilbert and said, “Remove the bandages now.”

Nurse Betty pulled the second bandage off and there was no sound from Sarah. She was listening intently to the story that John was telling her. The rest of the bandages were removed with the same lack of response by Sarah. Dr. Hilbert performed his examination and then Nurse Betty put new bandages on Sarah. When she was done, Nurse Betty stared at John as though he were some kind of marvelous new creature.

The other kids were examined in the same fashion. John would talk and their eyes would get dreamy. The bandages would be removed without any apparent pain. The doctor performed the examination and Nurse Betty would put on new bandages.

When last examination was completed, Dr. Hilbert told John, “It’s your turn. Let’s go to your room.”

John, while waving goodbye to the kids, said, “Bye, I’ll be back later. Okay?”

His departure was accompanied by many happy yells of okay. He walked down the hall carrying his two books. Dr. Hilbert and Nurse Betty followed behind whispering to each other. Both were in a state of amazement at what they had just witnessed.

When they reached the room, John jumped into bed and laid back. Lifting his robe out of the way, he offered, “Rip her off, Nurse Betty.”

“There’s no need. I just wanted to talk to you alone,” the doctor said. He thought about what he had seen in the children’s burn ward. As he walked towards the door, he stopped and turned. In a voice that conveyed deep emotion, he said, “I had heard you were a hero. You know, I never believed in heroes until today.”

“Dr. Hilbert. You, Nurse Betty, Ms. Smith and the rest of the staff are the real heroes. Every day you go in there and help those kids. Me, I’m just a diversion for a day or two. You are an integral part of their lives and you are helping to make their life better. I wish I could do a fraction of what you accomplish every day,” John replied.

Dr. Hilbert left the room. Nurse Betty stood there with tears in her eyes. She patted him on the shoulder and said, “You are an amazing man, John Carter.”

John smiled and, “I appreciate you saying that to me. It means a lot coming from you.”

Nurse Betty stood there for a minute thinking. She finally said, “I would appreciate it if you would stay in here for a while. It’s almost time for your bath and I would hate to have to hunt all over for you.”

“Sure thing,” replied John. He added, “I guess you’ll be using the wire brush?”

“I’ll use the big wire bristles, they dig in better.” Nurse Betty laughed and left the room. When she stepped out of his room, she looked around the burn ward. Somehow, it had taken a new meaning for her. She had never felt heroic or special for what she did here. Yes, there were times when she felt good about what she did. John’s words had changed something inside her. When she noticed Dr. Hilbert leaning against the wall wiping his eyes with his handkerchief, she knew that he had been changed in that same way.

News of John’s morning had already spread through the hospital like wildfire. The only visitors that these children received other than their own parents were staff members and only a few of them could do it for long. The sight of a disfigured child was often too heart-rending to take for long. That John had not reacted in any negative fashion to the children was viewed as further proof of his hero status.

When Nurse Betty showed up in the hospital cafeteria, she was immediately surrounded by others that wanted to know what John Carter was like. The gathering grew silent as Nurse Betty repeated what she had seen. She told them about his delight in meeting the kids. She had no trouble describing how much they liked him; she was convinced that Karla was madly in love with him. She told them about how he read the story to them. She remarked that she hadn’t had a single call from the kids the entire morning. She described how she was able to remove the bandages without hurting the children. Her eyes were filled with tears by the time she finished the story.

Knowing that she had everyone’s attention, she added, “I’m looking for someone special to give him a sponge bath.”

A number of nurses and even a few of the women doctors glanced knowingly around the room. Her statement would reach the right ears.

She added, “Well, I better get back to my station.”

John relaxed in his bed thinking about what he could do to help the children after he was gone. Sarah’s scream had really upset him. He decided he was going to have to train someone in how to divert attention away from the pain. It couldn’t be a person of authority as the authority itself prevented the technique from working. That left out the nurses and doctors. Yet, who else would be here all the time so that they would be available when needed? That was real question.

His thoughts were interrupted by the cleaning lady coming into the room to empty the trash. He smiled at her and said, “Hello, I’m John Carter, and who might you be?”

The woman turned and looked at him with a funny expression. Most new patients hardly noticed her. They were usually so caught up in their pain that the world would pass them by for weeks before they became aware of the surroundings. Those that did notice her usually complained about how they were feeling. Only a few would actually engage her in conversation. Usually, it took a long time before the patients here really saw her.

She answered in a strong accent, “I’m the trash lady.”

“Hmmm, that won’t do. I can’t go around calling you the trash lady,” answered John. He added, “Maybe I should call you Trinidad, since that’s where you’re from. I’d rather call you by your real name, though.”

She laughed at the idea of being called Trinidad and said, “I’m Mary, nice to meet you, John Carter. You could tell from one sentence that I was from Trinidad?”

“Nice to meet you, Mary. You have a very distinctive accent. I’ve heard that people from Trinidad are good storytellers. Is that true?”

“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I can spin a tale that will have you laughing or crying in ten minutes.”

“Tell me a story about Trinidad.”

Mary shrugged. The staff didn’t complain when she spent a little extra time with the burn patients. She told a story about growing up in Trinidad. She told about the times when the no-see-em’s would infest the beaches. She described how tourists would show up to find an empty white beach and go down to it thinking they were going to have all the privacy they could want. Then they would discover that they were sharing the beach with thousands of biting insects.

John enjoyed the story tremendously. He could visualize the beaches easily. He asked, “You go into all of the rooms up here?”

“Every room has a trash can. So yes, I go in them all,” answered Mary, “Why?”

“Doesn’t the appearance of the patients bother you?”

“Not at all,” replied Mary in her charming accent. She added, “You have to learn to look at them the right way. You don’t look at the outside; you look in them. You don’t get evil people here. The fire, she burn the evilness out of them.”

“So you like the patients here?”

“Sure, most don’t see me for a long time though. Then one day they notice the trash lady and we talk.”

“Mary, you are exactly what I was looking for!” John said. His excitement was quite noticeable.

Mary held up her left hand and said, “See the ring. I’m married, and I’m a good Catholic girl.”

John laughed at what she had understood from his comment. He said, “As tempting as you are, that is not what I meant. I need a storyteller with a friendly face, a nice voice, and a great heart. That is you, Mary.”

Mary’s face wrinkled in disbelief. She asked, “Why do you need that?”

John knew he had her hooked and asked, “You’ve heard them scream when they take off the bandages?”

“Oh! It breaks my heart! I have to work a different ward when they do that.”

John knew he had the right person and, “How would you like to help end those screams?”

John gestured her closer and then said, “Let me demonstrate something to you. Then I will teach you how to do it. Once you learn, you will help so many people.”

She reluctantly agreed. She had heard of John Carter so she didn’t quite fear what he was going to do. John sat up on the bed so that he was facing her. He took her right hand in his left hand. He stared into her eyes and started telling a story. As he wove the story, she got a dreamy look on her face. He stopped talking and she looked at him. She asked, “You’re not a bad storyteller yourself, but what did you want to demonstrate?”

John smiled at her and said, “Look at your right hand.”

Mary screamed when she looked down and saw that needle sticking through her hand. She reached down and pulled it out. Glaring at him, she asked, “Why did you do that?”

John smiled and folded his hands on his lap. He waited for the glare to diminish a little. When she took a deep breath and looked like she was going to yell at him, he asked, “Did you feel it going in?”

Mary stepped back. She turned her head to one side and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She answered, “No, I didn’t.”

“That’s what I wanted to demonstrate. That I could put a needle through your hand and you wouldn’t feel it. I can teach you to do the same thing to me. When you can do that for me, then you can do that for people when they get their bandages removed.”

Mary sat down in the only chair in the room. She shook her head and said, “You are a tricky one. You can teach me to do that?”

“Yes. I know I can.”

“Then do it. I will enjoy sticking you with the little needle.”

John laughed and pulled a fresh package containing a needle from the drawer next to the bed. He opened the package and handed her the needle. He then explained the process to her. He told her the signs that indicated a person was in the right frame of mind. He told her how to incorporate into the story some little element of pain in the hand that she was holding and to simultaneously pinch the hand.

He then told her to try it on him. The first time through, he felt the needle go into his hand. He stopped her and told her what she had done wrong. They tried it again. He felt the needle again. He stopped her and pointed out different mistakes. After about the fifth time, he could tell that she was getting upset at hurting him so much. He talked her into trying it one more time and that this time she was to think about how she was going to take the pain away from him. She wasn’t to rush or hurry in any way.

This time Mary told her story and incorporated more details. Little things that made the story come alive. She took her time and kept her voice calm and steady. She noticed the changes in John’s face, yet didn’t break eye contact. She went through the whole process exactly as John had told her. She inserted the needle and then stopped talking.

John looked down and smiled. She had done it. He looked up at her to see her smiling. He smiled and said, “Now, do it again and take the needle out.”

She went through the process again. The needle was removed without him being aware of it. When she stopped telling her story, he quipped, “You need to do it again. This time, you insert the needle, wait a minute, and then remove the needle.”

Mary looked at his hand. It looked like a pincushion. She had lost track of how many times she had stuck him with the needle. She went through the process again. This time, she stuck him and pulled out the needle. Still telling the story, she stuck him again and pulled out the needle. She stopped talking. John smiled and said, “That was very good. Now we need to do it again. Only do it twice.”

Mary smirked and said, “Sorry, I got carried away last time and did it twice. I knew you were going to ask me to do that anyway.”

“Mary, I’m shocked. You’ve only known me an hour and you know me too well.”

Mary nodded and said, “I picked up on that pretty quick.”

John answered, “That’s great. I’ll talk to Dr. Hilbert and we’ll find a patient for you to try it on.”

Mary laughed at the idea of the doctor letting her near a patient. She said, “Oh, I doubt that will ever happen. You’re a good man, John Carter, but you don’t know doctors.”

John laughed and said, “Oh, I’ve put more than one doctor in his place. I’ve even kissed one on the lips when he was being a bastard!”

“You’re a crazy man!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to the doctor. You probably need to get on your rounds.”

“I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, John Carter.”

He watched Mary leave the room. He looked at his hand and wiped it down with alcohol. He didn’t want it to become infected. He had to put a bandage on the palm and the back of the hand. He shook his head, he had been afraid that she was never going to get the knack down.

He had just settled back down on the bed when the door to the room opened. He looked over and saw Betsy enter the room. She was wearing a standard nurse’s outfit, white pants, a white top, and comfortable white shoes. With her sandy brown hair cut short, green eyes, and cute nose she was very attractive.