The Medicality Man

The new summer doctor - young, clean shaven, hopeful and a mite bewildered by his first potential patient, frowned at me. He swallowed a fish hook, I managed to say through my tears, You have to help him! The doctor took a step back. But he's a dog, he said reasonably, I don't know that I can ...... Beside me, John Sullivan straightened up, cleared his throat loudly, and met the young man's uncertain eyes. Aye, he's a dog, but he's a good dog, Long John said firmly, Are you a good doctor?

There was a moment of hesitation before the young man nodded and extended his flannel shirted arms, That I am, he replied with confidence, Give him here. And he carried my beloved Fritze, coughing and choking and sounding near death, into the exam room. I began to cry even harder and Long John picked me up and set me on his knee, stroking my hair and quietly reassuring me as best he could. Had me a dog that swallowed a hook once, he told me, All come out fine in the end and this will too.

John's eyes were too kind not to trust, his voice too sincere not to believe and in less than a hour the doctor emerged with Fritze trotting proudly at his ankles, neither any the worse for wear. When John pulled a ragged five dollar bill from his old wallet and the doctor declined, a new island legend was born. The next day, Nana delivered a stern lecture to me and a warm blueberry pie to each man - according to island standards, each had done well. Not long after, when Doc spent an entire night repairing one of the Ryan boys' ear - one of the Sullivan brothers had liked to slice it clean off during a friendly disagreement - it was decided that the doctor, despite his original reluctance, had passed his initiation test with flying colors. We had us, as Aunt Vi proudly proclaimed, a new medicality man.

That summer, Doc treated people and animals alike - broken limbs were set, cuts were stitched, breech babies were delivered from human and non human mothers, the occasional gunshot wound was treated. Rowena came and taught him not to dismiss all salves, potions and poultices and after some small resistance, he welcomed her help. He came to us a proper, starched, and book learned doctor and left a wiser, kinder hearted, true medicality man.

.

.