“I donnae think me wife will be wanting to send her away.”
“It would only be for six months, twelve months at the most depending on the condition of her lungs. We can arrange an x-ray to determine that. She can stay here in Auckland – the Auckland Infirmary is the centre for the surgical treatment of tuberculosis.”
“She isnae going to need surgery is she?”
“Well the latest developments in collapsing the patient’s lungs are having some success. Otherwise there are other sanatoriums in the North Island – one at Otaki and the other at Pukeora near Waipukurau. Their purpose is to help isolate the contagious patients so they are located away from populated areas. Fresh air and rest are very important for her.”
“Of course, sorry Doctor. I wasnae thinking straight.”
“I imagine it’s all a bit of a shock to you. Take your time. Think it over and come back to me if you want me to follow up on getting her admitted.”
Murdo thinks ‘getting her admitted’ sounds like his daughter is going crazy. He knows that is not the case and they will just have to find some way to fight this battle.
.....
Murdo does as instructed and parks the Chevrolet facing forward in the middle of the front row. He knows this means he will be first off the Mollyhawk when it docks in Auckland and is grateful for that.
The waters of the Waitemata Harbour are calm this morning, unlike the nerves in his stomach. He is alone on the short ferry trip; Charlotte has opted to stay at home and await Barbara’s arrival. Murdo winds down the car window and inhales deeply from the gentle southerly breeze that buffets his face. Seagulls squawk above him. Murdo admires their freedom. Once their young have left the nest their parenting is over.
The central streets of Auckland are busy but it is only a short drive from the docks to the railway station. Barbara is already standing outside the station, suitcase at her ankles, when Murdo pulls into the car park just in front of her. Through the windscreen he doesn’t think she looks ill.
“Hello me dear.” Murdo gives Barbara a gentle hug. A gentle hug because up close he can see the dark circles under her eyes, discern her dress hanging off bony shoulder blades and feel her thinness. But he’s been to the library and done his research. He knows he isn’t going to contract tuberculosis by hugging her.
“Hello Papa,” Barbara replies in a quiet voice.
“Well, we’d best get ye into the car and home to ye mama. She’ll be growling if we dally too long.”
They have to wait thirty minutes for the Mollyhawk’s return trip back across the harbour. It is a quiet journey. What is there to say? Barbara’s career as a teacher was just beginning and now has to be put on hold while she battles her illness. The Education Department won’t employ anyone with tuberculosis and risk spreading it to pupils and other staff.
“I’ve spoken with Doctor Graham. He thinks ye’d be best recovering in a sanatorium. It’d only be for six to twelve months depending on the damage to ye lungs.”
“The hospital doctors said that too. But Papa, I’ve heard such stories. All those sick people together, crammed into little huts in the middle of nowhere. How can that be good for me?”
“Well ye are supposed to have rest and fresh air.”
“Rest or go crazy with nothing to do. Fresh air or freezing drafts in the middle of winter. Can’t I just stay with you and mother? I will get better, you will see,” pleads Barbara.
“Donnae get yeself all worked up lassie.”
Murdo pats Barbara on the knee but it is too late. Her breathing, wheezy at best, erupts into a raspy cough. He hands over his clean white handkerchief for Barbara to cover her mouth but she refuses his offer and pulls her own dark blue handkerchief from her coat pocket. The cough eventually subsides. Barbara knows the handkerchief will be covered in blood. She refolds it and puts it back in her pocket, trying to conceal the blood and the seriousness of her condition from her father. But he knows. He knows his youngest lassie is not well but what he is going to do about it, he doesn’t yet know.
.....
Murdo pulls into the driveway at Newburn Road. Charlotte has already opened the garage doors for them and closes them as soon as the Chevrolet’s rear bumper is clear of the wooden concertina doors. No need to give the neighbours anything to talk about.
“Hello my dear.” Charlotte opens the passenger door for Barbara. She gasps on seeing her daughter’s pale complexion. “We’d best get you inside for a rest.”
Inside, Charlotte fusses as only mothers can do. She settles her daughter onto the settee, fluffs up the kapok pillows behind her, removes her shoes and wraps a crochet blanket about Barbara’s stockinged legs. Barbara is clearly exhausted from the journey and within minutes falls asleep. Murdo and Charlotte look at each other; their concern for their daughter needs no words. The rattling of Barbara’s breath in her chest, even in rest, signals the seriousness of her condition.
.....
Over the next couple of weeks Charlotte tends to her daughter as best she can. In the mornings Barbara moves from her bed to the couch and back again in the evening. Rest aplenty she certainly gets. Charlotte cooks up a continuous supply of vegetable soup packed with fresh silver beet, carrots and potatoes Murdo harvests from the garden. Nutritionally Barbara gets everything she needs, partaking in small servings often. But the doctor’s recommendation for recovery includes a third factor – fresh air. The only place to get fresh air is in the back garden but then the neighbours will see and the Campbells cannot allow that.
“She’s nae getting any better is she?” questions Murdo looking at his daughter asleep on the settee.
“No, but neither is she any worse. She just needs something to enthuse her a little. She seems to be a little down.”
“What do ye suggest?”
“I don’t know Murdo. I just don’t know but we have to do something.” Charlotte rubs her forehead to smooth away her frown.
“Perhaps she just needs more fresh air and sunshine.”
“Yes but she cannot have that here. Our new friends will abandon us if anyone finds out.”
“Perhaps we should look into the sanatorium.”
“If only there was some way we could look after her in the countryside,” Charlotte thinks aloud having already discounted the idea of a sanatorium.
“Aye.” Murdo remembers an advertisement he saw in the pet shop window the other day while out on his walk and wonders if maybe it is the solution to their dilemma.
“I’ll be off for me walk now.” Murdo grabs his hat and jacket and is already half out the door before Charlotte realises he is going.
.....
Murdo has a secret smile by the time he reaches the pet shop. He believes he might be able to solve all their problems. He rereads the ad on the community notice board in the shop window; a scrappy faded notice for a house for rent in the countryside at Te Kawa.
Entering the shop he sees the other reason for his smile. A Pomeranian puppy yaps away in its cage; its fluffy golden tail beats excitedly against the netting. The other day there were three puppies and now there is only one. Murdo crouches down to talk to the puppy and it licks his fingers.
“You’d like the puppy would you sir?” The shop assistant walks up behind Murdo.
“Aye, he seems to like me. I think he’s just what I need.”
The shop assistant lifts the puppy from the cage and hands him to Murdo. A wet nose and a sloppy lick on the chin seal the deal.
“I’d also like to see the ad in the window for the house for rent at Te Kawa. Is there a phone number I can ring?”
.....
Within a week everything is arranged. The Campbells, including the newest member of the family – Toby the puppy - are on the move again. Tenants are found for their house in Browns Bay and Murdo arranges a lease of a farm house in Te Kawa. Their furniture is packed up, and early one morning, before curious neighbours awaken, they leave what was to be their retirement home and head south to the tiny
Waikato farming settlement.
A square roughcast white house is to be Barbara’s personal sanatorium. High barberry hedges on three sides of the oblong section grant privacy although the only neighbours here are dairy cows in the surrounding paddocks. The former tenants have left a large vegetable garden, a little overgrown now but nothing that Murdo cannot rescue and there is nothing for Barbara to do but rest and recuperate.
“Here we are. Ye’ll be right as rain in no time Barbara.” Murdo parks the Chevrolet on the gravel driveway beside the front door. “Just ye wait and see.”
Toby yaps excitedly but Barbara has fallen asleep and does not hear or see her father’s positive assurance.
They leave her asleep in the car until they are able to make up a bed. Barbara is just stirring when Murdo comes back to help her inside. Walking from the car into the house is exhausting; Barbara collapses onto the bed, the strain on her lungs too much. The clean white sheets are spotted with blood before she gets settled. Murdo sends a silent prayer to the Lord for his confirmation that this move is the right thing for Barbara’s health.
Some days Murdo thinks that prayer is answered as Barbara makes the short distance from her bed to a wooden seat in the garden with relative ease. But these days are usually followed by several where she has no energy to make it out of bed at all. So if it is fine, Charlotte pushes the net curtains aside and lifts the sash window as high as it will open to let the fresh country air permeate the room. The subdued atmosphere of the house is brightened with the sound of birds chirping and whistling from the trees in the garden and cows bellowing from the paddocks beyond.
Apart from Toby, everyone talks in muted tones. Murdo and Charlotte discuss the changes in Barbara’s condition, trying to convince themselves that they see an improvement and not admitting to themselves that she may be declining. Barbara often cannot manage more than a whisper.
Charlotte is always busy – mopping the floors, scrubbing the kitchen, bathroom and toilet with disinfectant - to maintain a hygienic environment. She boils Barbara’s bed linen, nightdress, towel and flannel to kill of any lingering bugs. She tries to keep Barbara’s things separate from hers and Murdo’s, conscious that they will be no use to their daughter if they too contract the disease.
There is little for Murdo to do other than tend the gardens and take Toby for a daily walk around the village. Murdo takes solace in these daily excursions. The school children rush to the fence to pat Toby. The excitable puppy is most impressed with all the attention, his tail flapping wildly. The happy laughter of the children lifts Murdo’s spirit and reminds him of his grandchildren. Barbara’s illness and their isolation means he hasn’t yet met Lexie’s and Florence’s children, but letters confirm they are progressing well.
.....
Life continues in this routine month after month. Autumn leaves tumble and winter brings an icy chill. Fortunately there is a good supply of local coal for the kitchen burner and Charlotte keeps the house as warm as possible with the sitting room fire also glowing in the grate. Nestled under crocheted woollen blankets and cushioned by fluffed up pillows at her back, Barbara appears hypnotised by the flames.
“What would you like to do for your birthday Barbara?”
Charlotte gets no answer.
“Barbara,” Charlotte places a hand gently on her shoulder. “What would you like to do for your birthday dear?”
“We might as well throw this useless body of mine into the flames,” she replies, the reflection of the flames dancing on her enlarged pupils.
“Oh! Oh I don’t think so dear.” Charlotte is caught off guard. “The good Lord will see to it that you are fit and well for your birthday. It’s still a few months away yet.”
“If the good Lord was so good, he wouldn’t have let me get sick in the first place.”
“Oh Barbara, you mustn’t talk like that. There will be a reason that this has happened and we must keep our faith in the Lord so that he can guide us and protect us and enable us to get through it.”
“Mother, I have had many conversations in my head with the Lord. He is not giving me any answers. He is not making me well. He is not even making it easy for me to breathe.”
With that, Barbara’s wheezy breathing erupts into another coughing fit. Her fragile body is racked with convulsions. When they finally abate she dozes off exhausted and Charlotte is left stunned.
.....
Murdo gains a few days employment – baking for the local general store on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – cheese scones and lamingtons by the dozen. He decides to bake a special cake for Barbara’s birthday – a rich fruit cake, her favourite. One of the ladies from the village, whom he has met through the store, offers to ice it for him and she decorates it with fondant flowers in lemon and lilac shades.
It is a balmy November day as Murdo walks the short distance home after work, whistling a happy tune with Barbara’s cake safely stowed under his arm in a cardboard box. He smiles in anticipation of Barbara’s joy in seeing and eating the cake. There are no candles; Barbara cannot blow hard enough to extinguish one candle, let alone twenty-three flames. The Campbell residence is eerily quiet as Murdo reaches home, even the noise of the back door hinges creeking fails to evoke a bark from Toby.
Murdo tiptoes into the lounge ready to yell ‘Surprise, happy birthday!’ but it is he who is surprised by the sight that greets him. Barbara is asleep on the couch – nothing unusual in that, but in the silence Murdo takes time to study her features. Her hair is drawn harshly back off her face. Dark shadows accentuate her sunken eye sockets, and hollow cheeks reflect her weight loss. Murdo’s subconscious reminds him that he has seen these skeletal features before on people he loved. He senses death loiters just below the pale skin’s surface, waiting to claim another victim.
Charlotte and Toby are slumped in an adjacent armchair both sound asleep. It suddenly dawns on Murdo that this illness is taking its toll on all of his family. Charlotte has aged, she looks exhausted. Murdo hopes that she hasn’t contracted the disease as well. He slumps down into the adjacent armchair – the birthday and cake forgotten, his own exhaustion takes over and his shoulders slump in defeat – perhaps they cannot win this battle for Barbara but he must take action to ensure the horrible disease does not claim his wife as well.
Murdo makes enquiries and finds there is a small sanatorium in Morrinsville; just one doctor and three rostered nurses to look after a handful of patients. There is a waiting list to be admitted but without consulting Charlotte, Murdo gets Barbara added to the list, knowing that it is a necessary step for everyone.
Weeks pass before Billy, the postmaster’s son, delivers a telegram; the sanatorium can take her tomorrow after 11am when a patient who has pulled through will be discharged.
“We will leave in the morning for Morrinsville,” Murdo decrees.
“Barbara is not strong enough to make the trip, you go dear and I will stay here and look after her.”
“Nae. Barbara is the reason we are going. I have arranged a bed in a sanatorium for her.”
“Oh Murdo. She’s not that bad is she?”
“She’s nae good but neither are ye and I’ll nae risk losing the both of ye.” Murdo hugs his wife and kisses her forehead.
“I guess you are right. I am a little tired,” concedes Charlotte.
.....
Doctor King greets them and instructs his nurses to admit Barbara and arrange an x-ray so they can see the status of her lungs. He cannot give any reassurances to Murdo and Charlotte but advises they can contact him via telephone if they want updates about her condition, or any major developments will be communicated by telegram.
.....
Murdo and Charlotte return to Te Kawa. They try to carry on as normal but with no Barbara to nurse they are unsure whether they should remain in Te Kawa or return to Auckland. They do not have their own telephone and are torn about using the public telephone in the general store. Everyone in the district will soon know their private a
ffairs if they talk to the doctor on the party line.
Murdo is busy in the garden when Billy arrives again on his bicycle.
“Morning Mr Campbell.” Billy cheerfully hands over the brown envelope stowed in his jacket pocket. “Lovely day for it,” he yells, as he turns and pedals away.
“Thank ye Billy. Aye it is.”
Murdo’s fingers tremble with trepidation as he slips his thumb under the sealed flap of the envelope. Unfolding the flimsy yellow paper he imagines the worst.
‘COLLAPSING PATIENT’S RIGHT LUNG. STANDARD PROCEDURE WITH GOOD SUCCESS RATES. WILL ADVISE PROGRESS.’
Murdo is unsure whether this is good or bad news. He supposes it is good that Barbara is getting expert medical care utilising the latest developments in treatment but he worries that it also means Barbara has deteriorated even further to need the procedure. They can but pray it is good news and so they do, daily, silently in their heads, willing the Lord to bring their daughter back from her illness.
.....
Murdo and Charlotte are enjoying a cup of tea when there is a knock at the door some ten days later. They don’t generally have visitors and wonder who it could be. Murdo sees Billy’s bicycle through the window before he opens the door.
“Morning Mr Campbell. Another telegram for you sir. Hope it’s good news.”
“I hope so too.” Murdo’s heart plummets to his stomach. “Thank ye again Billy.”
Murdo closes the door and turns to look at Charlotte. She chews her bottom lip and her eyes are full of worry. Murdo rips the envelope open.
‘REGRET TO INFORM BARBARA AVERY CAMPBELL PASSED AWAY 0900 HOURS 20 JULY 1941. CAUSE OF DEATH ACUTE PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS.’
Murdo absorbs the words; his heart constricts with agony and tears well in his eyes but he will not let them fall.
“We lost the lassie. She’s gone to the Lord.”
.....
Reality dictates that Murdo must arrange for the return of Barbara’s body. For convenience sake he decides she will be buried in Te Awamutu.
Lexie, Florence and Lorna have been kept in the dark over the past three years, unaware of the severity of their half-sister’s illness until now, when they gather with Murdo and Charlotte and a smattering of friends at St Andrew’s church. They have been preoccupied with their own growing families. Lexie is heavily pregnant and must bring Isla with her. Not the best of circumstances for Murdo and Charlotte to meet their grandchild.
A Better Place Page 20