Читать книгу Vicarious Healing - Cathy L. Bagley MD - Страница 7

A long time corporate client's dismissal by D-Legal, LLC caused Attorney Doe much gastrointestinal upset. It had been one of those drawn out days whose bottled then shook contents opened upon his abrupt awakening from a restless night's slumber plagued by disturbing dreams whose contents he no longer recalled. This client, caught in a prevarication, capped off what residual contents that had not spewed out. Attorney Doe thought while walking, "Didn't Robert read the terms of our legal contract?" The troubled man patted himself on the back for two well-made decisions that day: a very therapeutic two-point-one-five-mile trek to and from work and a downloaded free Blackberry "Map My Walk" application. It duly assisted him in accurately tracking and recording distance and speed during his planned pedestrian escapes. Sometimes, he'd deliberately take indirect routes on less muggy, sweltering or foul-weathered days making it to the office with time to spare for a freshening up before court rigmarole.

Attorney Doe had successfully worked his way into South Carolina corporate attorney's "Who's Who" annals. His impressive roster consisted of clients who's names were so heavy, they weighed on tongues just saying or keys just typing them. Truly, he'd made it! But "it," sometimes made him have to invent creative ways of coping- like slow or brisk walks to work. Thankfully well-funded, he prepared for those less-than-fresh days upon arriving drenched in perspiration. The immaculate, well-groomed, good-smelling, couture-clad attorney kept toiletries, clothing and accessories stashed away in his specialized office's amply-sized walk-in bath/dressing room conveniently available for those needed moments when mere touch-ups wouldn't suffice.

Most would have considered it a hassle to dress, undress and dress again in such a short expanse of time on any given day. To him, these represented small tolls to pay yielding enormous benefits: decompressing from and/or bracing for a day on pesky providence's turnpike. At times, guilt briefly rode the attorney betraying Marilyn- his one true, faithful, sleek, frivolous, sensuous, flirty, love. She was the blond Benz convertible bombshell he'd leave at home when circumstances dictated the Low-country scenery taken in on foot at a pace of ten-miles-per-hour better sufficed as therapy than cruising just above roadway speed limits. Besides, there was nothing slow about Marilyn, whose sleek lines and quick responses drew stares from people (women, clients, adversaries, deputy's, sheriff's, police, etcetera)- both those he cared and cared not to take notice.

On this particularly nerve-shattering-same-as-usual day, unusual happened! As many times as Attorney Doe traversed that route, he'd not uncovered anything out of the ordinary. He usually strolled fixated on four of five "-wards..." forwards, upwards, sidewards, backwards but never downwards. Even while walking barefoot through grass, looking down was not an option. He'd close both eyes taking in cushioning blades's coolness. Nature in his Low-country environment was simply breathtaking! Attorney Doe marveled at sights like tender blossoms, noisy nests, billowy clouds, seascapes and so one.

As for nature's aroma, especially after recent rainfall, it made his nostrils flare as if belonging to a two-headed monster greedily trying to devour everything in sight! He often joked to others about strides in modern day reconstructive surgery and even stunned his physician inquiring about to whether third and forth nostril additions might be possible with current technological advancements. On this day, the additions would have been thoroughly enjoyed as it intermittently sprinkled and in usual fashion, his nostrils expanded to take in the late afternoon's bouquet. The attorney tripped, laughed assigning culpability to nature's numerous and splendorous distractions.

"Enough of that," he thought and his rubber band of a mind tightened again snatching itself back from such loose, inane associations for less superfluous ones. After all, pragmatism was how he'd earned a very successful keep. Attorney Doe surmised undone shoelaces, discarded rubbish or upturned stone possibilities caused his near spill onto the sidewalk. Nonetheless, the stumble directed his usual upwards, outwards, sidewards gaze downwards and he began methodologically going down his mental checklist ruling in or out one cause after another. He sometimes wore expensive orthotically corrected laced gym shoes but that morning. However, not that morning as fashioned less functional-though more stylish, easy-on-easy-off Velcro ones. There went the practical shoelace theory in his eagle of a legal mind!

Debris and/or stones must have caused his near fall! "After all, people can be trifling and the county has not been as diligent about road and sidewalk maintenance of late", he thought. Prepared to move whatever it was out of the way and/ or capture a photo of ill-maintained sidewalks, attorney Doe astonishingly found none of the above! What appeared as muddy bird print pavement markings leading into a nearby marsh stared up and with attitude as if saying, "So what, but since I've got your attention..." The tide recently receded. An investigative instinct, curious nature matched by an unbridled love for nature, lead him to a point just barely inside the marsh concealed by tall saw grass blades. An injured snowy egret with once pristine white feathers stood as if expecting its bewildered rescuer. The poor creature's left breast region was bloodied by a piercing glass shard.

Surely if humans anthropomorphized, animals did too! Or at least, this was how Attorney Doe felt at that precise moment. He would later remind himself on his tablet to do a Bing or Google terminology search. There had to be a word to describe this in reverse. The bird resembled a female: gracile, elegant and kooky due to how its head was cocked to one side; he referred to this new-found avian friend-soon-patient in that gender from then on calling her, Snowy. Yeah kooky described all women in his mind but had he allowed such tangential thoughts to redirect him, the lovely injured egret might perish! Thus, he tightened his mind's reins refocusing all thought to what was there in plain site and the matter at hand.

Snowy curiously watched Attorney Doe tilting her head to one side as if ascertaining how best to view the slowly moving large clunky thing. He was careful while on steadfast approach inching closer to the presumably adrenaline charged patient hopefully in too much pain for fight or flight maneuvers.

Suddenly, the attorney's humanitarian task became apparent: "I must thwart death in this magnificent South Carolinian treasure if I have to administer CPR or a blood transfusion myself!" Just then, such fallacious thoughts elicited a hearty guffaw from the attorney who could not do gory well having no stomach for spilled blood, brains or entrails. A transfusion would have been out of the question unless he was to become the unconscious recipient! He imagined awakening to the creature performing resuscitative measures on him for passing out at the mere thought of it. When nausea crept up his esophagus, chills down his spine, Attorney Doe quickly refocused on more relevant, less disturbing matters like how to safely extract and dispose of the penetrating shard without feinting. He would have to carefully discard it so claimed no other innocent or passerby.

It was indeed a well conceived and delicately executed foreign body extraction for a man of his delicate sensitivities. The self-appointed veterinarian wondered briefly whether he might have missed his calling before answering his own question with one resounding... Not! Though intelligent enough to comprehend medical jargon, he preferred courtrooms for meticulous dissections rather than surgical suites. The urgent task behind him had to be performed not in a room at all but out in the open air. He held firm, steady pressure on the wound for as long as his avian patient permitted.

The definite attorney, wanna-be veterinarian looked around for something to utilize as a therapeutic salve deducing Low-country natives from days gone by most likely utilized herbs, roots and mud on such occasions. Spirit voices then tickled in his ears. Actually, it was more like nature's gentle winds caused both his attention and head to fall upon crushed wild saw grass underfoot. It would serve as a pressure wrap to tamponade further bleeding. Freshly supplied mud from intermittent showers sufficed as an additional sealant and balm. Attorney Doe remembered a lunch box in his backpack contained an empty, clean plastic container, which would make the handiest receptacle for mixing his medicinal concoction of smushed plant fibers and cool mud.

Not wanting to place what amounted to "dirt" directly over an open wound, he said a silent, quick prayer believing God would spare Snowy from infection. Wow, he hadn't prayed in a long time for himself, family or clients; that he unhesitantly did for his new-found friend's welfare meant something, but what? Once all of this was in the rears, he would delve into why he reflexively resorted to such magical thinking before doctoring began as if the helpless animal's welfare mattered in God's universal order... Right! Despite successful and numerous large footprints he had laid down in life through hard work and determination, they weren't grand enough to garner God's attentions. He did it all alone! God- the Old Fogey, must have tuned his hearing aid to pick up another frequency other than his long ago. Perhaps if he didn't matter Snowy did, must have been his logic behind trying again after such a long hiatus. For this great bird, he would send up flares, shout, jump- recruit every feasible sense to gain heaven's attention for a miraculous and full recovery.

Attorney Doe applied smushed plant and mud firstly as a protective barrier hoping they contained anti-infective properties. Uninterrupted firm, pressure application for about twenty minutes tamponaded ensuring hemostasis. He remembered these terms from a crime drama seen on cable patting himself on the back for sounding like a "real" professional. Snowy neither flinched nor complained making the attorney again contemplate whether he might have missed his professional calling. Before answering this rhetorical question, thoughts of blood, brains pervaded his thought and a resounding, "No," blurted out!

And that, was that! The now attorney, newly graduated veterinarian hoped his patient healed swiftly from all the tender loving care and raw skill bestowed upon it that eventful day. His crafty surgery would suffice until the wound clotted- this and more, he certainly knew unsure why he held such strong conviction without scientific proof. The egret stood for a moment seeming puzzled before stumbling, bobbling and then hobbling away as inebriated by his medicinal salve. "I should preserve some for home use as an organic night cap," he thought. Her unsteadiness more likely could have been due to hypotension from profound blood loss. It did not seem like even a quarter of a pint to him. Admittedly, he didn't know Snowy's capacity. How many blood cells and plasma can a bird lose before hypotension set in? This would be yet another question for his tablet to answer. Attorney Doe took no chances following her further into marshland. He also wanted to guard against potential dangers like quicksand and water moccasins.

Now hopefully out of heaven's earshot, Doc Doe cursed the careless moron for inappropriately discarding the bottle in the first place! City council members would hear of this come tomorrow. He already had faces in mind of those legislative colleagues to confer with about enacting stiffer penalties for those prone to despicable acts like littering. Yet another pending task to enter into his tablet! At this rate, he figured he would be up all night typing reminders into smart devices as the number of potential entries swelled despite the day's vast approaching all be it eventful, conclusion.

Though sleep's over-rated, Attorney Doe counted on getting enough at least for a brief check in and check out in R.E.M.'s (a.k.a.'s rapid eye movement's) inn before the dawn. Criminy, he needed a list to remind him of what to include in his list! "Okay, maybe I will upgrade to a smart-phone I can converse with like a traveling secretary," he thought. The attorney then looked towards a now distant Snowy and sighed making under breath comments: "There, I pray I've made it all better. You did nothing to deserve such folly. May Almighty God hold accountable all culpable Homo sapiens!"

Almost as if on cue, Snowy did a most peculiar thing stopping mid-wobble, glancing back and shaking her head as if in affirmation saying: "Yes, I'll be fine and Thanks!" Attorney Doe again realizing himself projecting personal sentiments onto her, snatched himself back into a pragmatist's realm. The timely comeback directed him to the winged creature's odd newly assumed posture: she held a wing up towards the sky and another over her injury gazing in repetitive sequence first upwards towards the sky, then at him. This occurred for about three cycles. Attorney Doe followed Snowy's gazes upwards beholding the bluest sky ever seen! In it appeared three stacked linear wispy clouds on first glance later solidly configuring themselves to form a perfect number "one." Adjacent but far above it towered the brightest daylight moon in competition for sky dominance. A full day moon brilliantly shone as if positioning itself to fill in for a lazy sun. And whatever happened to numerous cloud formations seemingly glued in place all day? Though sudden weather shifts in the Low-country were not unusual occurrences, something about this all made him feel peculiar.

By the time he'd closed his mouth reserving what little awe that hadn't yet dripped out, Snowy had vanished! "Okay, that was weird," he exclaimed as an eeriness crept over his body like many micro electric shocks. His heart jolted, eyes teared, skin warmed, nostrils flared and mouth salivated. Fatigue seeing opportunity, propped down upon him as if finding an old familiar couch! Attorney Doe exited the marsh wondering whether this aura might have portended a myocardial or cerebrovascular event yet to come. At that instance, he noticed blood droplets and muddied prints initially leading him to the wounded creature had vanished also... poof, like that!

Retiring his temporary veterinarian's hat, Attorney Doe's mind searched itself for personal salves for what ailed him after an exceptionally grueling day. Its ending made others seem pale in comparison! It would stream in and out of his consciousness for a while past awhile... "What a story! Were I ever to recant it, I'd surely raise an eyebrow or two. Maybe the first person I'll tell it to will be Doc Green while hooked up for a stress echo-cardiogram to evaluate whether my aura was ominous... But physically, I've always been as healthy as an Olympian- yet even they have been known to fall both on and off fields!" Time had now come to mend his own wounds; he brushed aside Low-country adventures, proceeded home and ran a tepid shower.

This remedy was hardly as inventive as an earlier one, but it sufficed. His garments peeled off fast- buttons, zippers, fibers cooperating as if demanding reciprocal freedom from the toll covering him placed upon them. That's when he noticed one bloodied spot on his chest over his heart in the same locale as the bird's! There was no plausible explanation making him question aloud, "B-but how?" No stains appeared on his shirt, hands, pants or shoes? This was a true mystery worthy of solving except it would have to wait. Attorney Doe's "Q" without "A" sessions suddenly halted due to mitigating circumstances of overwhelming exhaustion! Attorney Doe stepped into the shower and watched as its soothing waters dissolved away that day's grime washing it down the drain. Bed entered its claim after a light dinner. With no counterclaim entered, court indubitably adjourned.

He dropped off of consciousness's mountain as quickly as if falling off the edge of a suddenly squared planet completely devoid of gravitational forces. The attorney steeply dove head first caught by an odd dream's cushion. It was one whose details would be vaguely recalled save for "sensing" it had something to do with reconstruction on a spiritually grand level. As if something broken had been or was about to be fixed in an unimaginable way. This must have had something to do with Snowy's rescue. If not, then what or who could the dream have alluded to dismissing himself as the who. He most assuredly lived as well as any contented, successful, self-made man could have in modern times.

Awakening he felt as if he'd fallen, sustained trauma and suffered a concussion. Residual post-awakening phenomena like heightened senses and paroxysmal heart beats, hung around long after he'd fallen off of sleep's cloud onto reality's floor- thud! "Man, what a ride! Glad I'm no drug addict having dreams like that induced from just a natural high!" What gorgeous day awaited bottled up for an uncorking he was about to perform! At least, that's what songbirds conveyed to him around seven'ish as he exited his stylish condo. Their sweet music rang tears from his soppy eyes momentarily obscuring all vision.

Attorney Doe never considered himself deaf. However, mellifluous notes shook him as if suddenly gifted first time hearing's miracle! He contorted his neck drawing ears nearest to nature's melodic symphony. Attorney Doe's heart responded wildly palpitating! There had been no morning ingestion of decongestants or other stimulants to explain these curious phenomena. In fact, he hadn't yet consumed his first cup of morning mint caramel latte sprinkled with cinnamon! Attorney Doe placed one hand over the palpitating organ rubbing, consoling it like the disobedient child it had suddenly become.

Around eight-ish, he noticed floral blossoms in full bloom thanks to yesterday's nurturing rains. Spectacular blossoms like never before witnessed abounded! They were so noticeably vibrant he squinted. Wow, his eyes hurt so good until they bleed tears owing to the color spectrum's sharpness! Again, the attorney touched his palpitating heart commanding it as if it would or even could obey, "Be still, you contemptuous organ!" He unequivocally needed to avoid caffeine, stress or other stimulants possibly provoking further untoward outbursts. Stroke and heart attack formerly occupying seats somewhere in the back of his mind, chose ones in the forefront. He drafted an email on his tablet tasking it to a company paralegal: "Imperative-complete an on-line search for stroke and heart attack signs, symptoms, prodromes. Send results by noon." Attorney Doe stopped just before confirming "send" not wanting to alarm staff he might be less that his usual pillar of fitness self. Hence, he diverted the email to himself marking it a high priority self-assignment.

With every sense revved up as if on an energy drink, No Doz high, Attorney Doe determined business must proceed as usual. His job was more taxing than usual that day. But, challenge was a crony; where would he have been without its tough love inspiring greatness? Suddenly, an analogy of a super-charged battery needing power enough to jump start a long dead machine came to mind. But was he the dead machine? He certainly did not feel that way especially thinking about yesterday's rescue. But what of its ensuing after phenomena?

"Could Snowy have been a messenger of some kind? Perhaps, her blood had a chemical in it or virus and I'd been contaminated?"

He went through a myriad of outrageous, paranoid justifications that would have had him irrevocably branded certifiably insane if leaked to media. Serving in this instance dually as both client and attorney, it was in his best interest not to divulge what could have been construed as incriminating facts collected over the last twenty-four hours with anyone. Besides, he would not have known where to begin and with whom as neither trusted colleague nor lover existed in his life at that very moment. It had been a long time since he last opened, shared, cared about forging relationships of that kind. "What timing," he thought! "Now that I'm going bonkers or having an attack of some kind, I've got no one to assuage my grief!"

No matter how Attorney Doe baited his heart with terrorist, alien invasive apocalyptic grandiose notions, it ignored all contrived lure! Its only stimulus was nature's magnificence, as determined by one of his five senses... illogical! These weren't the usual predictable triggers like crass firm employees, bad practical jokes and the like. Nothing about this weirdness made rational sense. The duty-bound attorney just knew he had not taken one sick day his entire professional life; no storm either man, self or nature-made ever poured down with enough force to warrant leave. However, he could not shake feeling an indolent natural tempest brewed and his proactive mind wanted to seek out possible shelters. Much like one of the two unsuccessful three little pigs, he hadn't a clue as to what such a shelter's construct should consist of or how to prepare for fox-like nature's storm of yet known elements. Surely, rain called for a different response than that of wind, earthquake or a tsunami. Attorney Doe would have to brainstorm on ways to keep out of the tempest's way rather than in it's path. Yes indeed, his ingenuity, intelligence and forethought would render him as successful as the third little pig... oink-tastic!