The Doctor’s Assistant

Shaelyn Ryan

 

“You’ve got an awful lot of books here, Papa. I’m not sure I’ll be able to take them all with me.”

 

“Nonsense! Your uncle would have my hide if I sent you all the way to Toronto without all the books you’d need. Here, take this one.”

 

“Ontario High School Reader, 1892. Papa, I don’t think I’ll need this in medical school. I know how important proper grammar is, but don’t you think-”

 

“Oh, don’t get smart with me! Hand that back, if you please.”

 

“You ought to get your eyes checked!”

 

“Yes, yes, laugh all you like, Hiram. I just wasn’t paying attention. Now, here, take this one with you. It’s a few years old now, but it got me through Old Mrs. Henchley’s appendix operation and I think you’ll find it useful.”

 

“An American Textbook of Surgery, 1899. I dunno, Papa, how can we be sure Americans have the same anatomy we do? Mrs. Henchley wasn’t American and now she’s buried over the hill.”

 

“Mrs. Henchley was forty seven when she had the operation and she lived to be almost seventy years old. And you had just better leave your smart mouth at home or your uncle’s going to send you packing before the first semester’s up. You’d do well to remember how kind he’s being to you, offering you a home and a job so you can go to school. You’d never be going if not for him.”

 

“I know, Papa. I’m only teasing you.”

 

“Good. Now do up your top button and find your tie, before we miss the train. I’ll put these books in your trunk. And for the love of everything holy, comb out your hair! Go on, hop to it! Toronto waits for no man!”

 

***

 

“Uncle Quinton! Uncle Quinton!”

 

“Oh good, there he is by the ticket office! Mind all the people, son. Watch your trunk.”

 

“You know he’s shorter than I remember. And a little more sour faced…”

 

“You’ve grown a foot in just the last couple years, Hiram, of course he seems short. And he’s always had that face- he takes after your grandmother.”

 

“Very funny, Papa… Uncle! Hurry up, Papa, he’s right there!”

 

“I’m right behind you.”

 

“Uncle Quinton! It’s so nice to finally see you again. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet us at the station, I-”

 

“Hiram Cromwell? My sister’s boy?”

 

“Y-yes sir.”

 

“Very good. Shall we be off, then?”

 

“Oh… um, yes sir. Goodbye, Papa. Thank you for coming with me on the train. And for all the books. I’ll be sure to use them.”

 

“I know you will. Now, don’t forget to write every week like you promised your mother. And come and visit as often as you can.”

 

“I will, Papa.”

 

“There’s a good lad. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye, son.”

 

“Goodbye, Papa.”

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***

 

“This is your room up here at the top of the stairs. I trust you’ll find it meets all your needs. The lock can be a bit… tricky… but… it always… there. Now, there’s your bed, and there are clean sheets in the linen closet in the hall. You have a desk there in the corner and a washstand by the wardrobe over there. I’m afraid I never had electric lights put in this room, so there are a number of oil lamps under the bed for you, and the sunlight comes in the windows well. If you need anything else, please leave a note in my office downstairs or tell me over dinner. After ten o’clock in the evening, I am not to be disturbed. Is that clear?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“Good. I’ll leave you to your unpacking, and we can discuss your work schedule when you’re finished.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“What’s that smell?”

 

“What smell? Oh, that’s just carbolic acid. Surely your father uses it in his operations. This was an operating room before you came.”

 

“Oh. Th-thank you, sir.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“… Yes, Cromwell?”

 

“Why would you have an operating room with no electric lights?”

 

“Mr. Cromwell, your father and I differ on many points in our respective medical practices. Cost is one of them. There are many poor and destitute people in this city, and they come to me for care. At the rates I give them, I could never afford to have lights put in.”

 

“That’s very kind of you, Doctor.”

 

“Kindness has nothing to do with it. I’ll see you at dinner.”

 

***

 

“Hold that light steady, Cromwell!”

 

“Sorry, sir! I’m sorry.”

 

“Thank you. Ah, here we are. See that there, Cromwell?”

 

“The kidney stones!”

 

“Do stop leaning over my patient.”

 

“Sorry sir. Are you going to extract them?”

 

“You ask foolish questions. I never would have asked you to assist had I known this about you. Move the light up a bit.”

 

“I’m sorry sir. I’ll stop.”

 

“You’d best… there. There’s the kidney stone. And we’re nearly finished. Put the light down on the table and run across the hall and get me the big crate by the door, will you?”

 

“Yes, Doctor…this crate here, sir?”

 

“Yes, yes, that’s the one. Come on back in, now, and hurry up. Just push it along the floor if it’s too heavy for you. Now unpack the box for me while I finish up.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“What?”

 

“Are the glass cases in here from the anatomy lab at the college?”

 

“That’s where they will be, if we ever finish! Now… take this and put it in the smallest case for me… Well go on, don’t be squeamish!”

 

“Sir! That’s a man’s kidney!”

 

“Well, there’s hope for you as an anatomist yet. Now take it. And put it in the case.”

 

“Doctor, this man is still alive! Why are you…?”

 

“This man is from St. John’s Ward. He could not afford his rent, nor could he afford to feed his family. I offered him a way out and he accepted. It’s simple, really.”

 

“I… I… don’t understand… You mean… you’re selling this man? To my college anatomy laboratory?”

 

“To the college this time, yes. Other times to other places. There’s a formidable market for it, really. Now, will you dispense with being such a coward and come back here and help me? Shuffling your feet by the door doesn’t get these specimens cased.”

 

“This… this isn’t right… when I agreed to be your assistant, I never thought… Boy, what my father would say if he…”

 

“Breathe a word to your father and you’ll be sent packing back to your empty little town without your education. You can’t afford it without me, and I need an assistant. You must understand what I’m trying to do here. I’m helping these people. I send the money from the specimens to their families, and they can move out of the Ward. Do you think I keep the money? I only keep enough to live on. Why do you suppose I can’t afford electric lights in your room? And all the while, I’m advancing scientific knowledge. Perhaps one day we may be able to replace failing organs with healthy ones in living people. I thought perhaps you, a young, enterprising medical student, might understand that.”

 

“I… I… Sir, I’ve heard of robbing graves for anatomical specimens, but taking them from living people… My father’s textbooks never said anything about this… And what am I to tell my mother in my letters…?”

 

“It’s not a common practice, Mr. Cromwell, but it’s what people ask of me. I exist to serve the needs of my patients and their families. Surely you can wrap your mind around that. If not, I regret to inform you that our partnership must dissolve immediately and I can no longer house you here. Enjoy your trip home to be a farmer for the rest of your life, or whatever it is you do out there.”

 

“I reckon I can understand that… I suppose if people are asking…”

 

“How easily the young mind is convinced of truth. Now, be a good lad and put the kidney in the case for me. That’s it. Easy does it. Stop shaking so much! Good… You and I are going to get along just fine, Hiram, just fine.”

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