In Search Of An Angel

Nita realized that she was staring at the woman when their eyes met. Embarrassed to have been caught gazing, they exchanged smiles and Nita got back to filling out the forms. When she had finished the first page, she quickly glanced up again. Then it hit her: I wonder if she could be that woman. Nita looked back down at the forms, experiencing real difficulty to not stare at the woman. Nita loved the color she was wearing—her favorite; a baby blue fabric of a kind that might float in the wind. “What is distracting you?” Oralia spoke softly to Nita. Nita started to speak, but decided to write a note to Oralia, so as not to draw attention. She quickly reached in her purse and took out a note pad, which she kept convenient, and wrote: ‘The black woman sitting in the middle of the room. I can’t keep my eyes off her. Do you feel any vibes about her?’ Oralia wrote a reply: ‘Yes, I see her; she doesn’t exactly fit in this environment, does she?’ She tried again to concentrate. The questions seemed to be the typical kind on most medical forms. She was able to whiz through most of them, and then sign her name at the bottom. Nita motioned to Oralia, drawing her eyes off the woman, and handed her the clipboard to be returned to the front desk. Two nurses had alternately been calling different ones into the patient rooms. No one else had come into the waiting area since they were seated, so now there was only four left, one of them the black woman. Nita wanted so much to roll over to her and ask about her injury (surely that must be why she was there) but she thought better of it. She just didn’t seem quite comfortable doing that. Nita sat quietly and assumed she wouldn’t have much longer to wait. A nurse appeared at the door of the waiting area. “Nita Greeley,” the nurse called out. Both she and Oralia noticed that the black woman’s eyes began to gaze steadily at Nita, turning her body completely around as she watched Nita leave the room. It was the first time they had seen her move. Oralia pushed Nita’s wheelchair through the room and followed the nurse into a patient room. “There is definitely something different about that woman,” Nita thought silently. When they were settled in the patient room and the nurse had finished taking Nita’s blood pressure and pulse, Nita asked the nurse if she could answer a question for her. “Of course,” the nurse agreed to try. “Would it be too intruding to ask if you know who that black woman is out in the waiting area?” Nita chose her words carefully. “Do you know if she is a patient? I have been mesmerized by her ever since we entered the room.” Oralia added, “She seemed so unusually dressed for a doctor’s appointment, and there seemed to be no one else with her. Possibly she was waiting for someone.” The nurse held up her forefinger, “Let me check.” She left the room, but returned quickly. “There is no black woman in the waiting area. Are you sure there was one there? I didn’t notice one when I called your name at the door.” Nita and Oralia looked at each other. “Oh, Yes!” Oralia replied. “There was definitely one there. We both exchanged glances with her while we were out there. “Amen to that!” Nita exclaimed. “She turned completely around in her chair and watched as we left the waiting room.” The nurse told them she would check with the receptionists at the front desk when she went back to call another patient. Oralia and Nita conversed extensively about the woman while they waited for the doctor. They were totally amazed that the nurse had not seen her. There seemed to be some kind of aura that radiated from her into the room—a peaceful feeling was there. The door of the patient room opened and the doctor came in the room with x-rays in hand. “Hello, Ms. Greeley. I’m Doctor Brandilaw.” He shook her hand and nodded to Oralia. “I’ve read on your chart that you have been injured? I requested these x-rays from the hospital; I can’t see an injury in these views. Tell me about the accident.” Nita briefly explained about the car accident, trying not to be too wordy. She pointed to the laceration on her leg and told him there were a few other bruises on her left hip. The doctor continued. “Okay, I understand, I see a bruise here on your leg? It doesn’t look too serious and appears already to be healing some,” he said. “I would like to have more x-rays done here in our X-ray lab, and maybe we can see a little more. I’ll have the technician come get you. Just wait here a moment, please.” The doctor was very congenial and showed serious concern. Nita liked his manner. When he was gone from the room, Oralia said, “I’m already impressed.” In just a short time the technician appeared in the doorway. “Ms. Greeley?” Nita acknowledge his inquiry. “Yes,” she answered. “I’m Jose’, X-ray tech. Let me take you to our lab. We’ll be taking x-rays of your left hip and pelvic area; is that right?” “Yes,” Nita confirmed. She glanced at Oralia who motioned that she would stay in the patient room; Nita nodded. The technician wheeled her into the X-ray room and helped her on the table. He helped her position her body on the table so as to get the best angle for each view. The table reminded her of the hard board the EMTs had used to move her to the hospital from the accident. ‘Lord, this board is so hard; please help me tolerate it.’ She realized as she lay there that she would need to lie still. The technician left the room after each shot to check the x-rays, then returned and repositioned her for the next one, and the next one, and the next one. When he was finally finished, Jose’ helped Nita get back into the wheelchair. “Okay, I think that does it. Kate will come to take you back to the patient room while I process these x-rays, okay?” “Yes, thank you, Jose’,” Nita was glad to be off the X-ray table. An assistant entered the room, whom Nita assumed to be Kate. She was all business. Methodically taking hold of the wheelchair handles, she wheeled Nita back to the patient room without speaking a word. Oralia looked up from her magazine when Nita entered the room. Kate turned to leave the room, but hesitated for a moment to say that the doctor would return shortly. Nita briefed Oralia on the X-ray views the technician had taken and hoped they were a better source for the doctor’s diagnosis. In only a short time, the doctor came back to Nita’s patient room and flipped the light on the viewer, slipping two of the x-rays under the clip holder. “Well, it appears the laceration on your leg caused no bone injury, so it should continue to heal very well. But, as we can see here, there is a fine line in these two views,” he said, pointing to the lines in each of the x-rays. “The fracture is right here in the pelvic area. However, I cannot see the depth of the injury and would like to order an MRI scan, which will show more density.” He hesitated for a moment, “I’ll be able to make some determination for treatment when I see the results of the MRI. I’ll have the nurse call over there so we can get you in today. I’d like to have the results by this evening. The place is located in town; the nurse will give you directions.” The doctor left the room and asked Nita to wait for just a moment. The nurse soon came to the room with an order for the MRI and said they would be awaiting her arrival; their address was on the order. “Do you have any questions?” she asked Nita. “No, I believe we can find it okay.” She assured the nurse. “Okay. You will find our checkout desk on the first hallway at the front of the office, where you can settle today’s appointment. We’ll be anxiously awaiting the results of the MRI; the doctor has ordered that the results be returned to us by courier this evening. Here’s a card with your appointment for tomorrow. We’ll see you then.” The nurse smiled, as she turned to leave the room. She hesitated, “By the way, the receptionist said she had not seen a black woman come into the office today.”