Tenderly Beats the Lonely Heart

by K. J. Janssen

  Thomas’s voice became serious, “I wish that the circumstances were better. When I planned to propose, things were very different than they are now. I don’t even know what I will be like when they finish the rehab. There are a lot of unanswered questions that usually don’t come with a proposal of marriage. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

  “Now you stop that kind of talk. We’re in this together. If the shoe were on the other foot, you wouldn’t back out on me, would you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well then I don’t want to hear any more about it. We need to concentrate on getting you up to par. I’ll talk to Miriam when I get home and see what this convention stuff is all about. In the interim I want you to get as much rest as you can and to keep upbeat.”

  “I will. I’m going to try harder tomorrow because I know that you and everyone else are counting on me. I don’t want to let any of you down.”

  “Don’t you worry about what others are expecting, Thomas, do your best because it’s what you want.”

  He looked embarrassed, “You’re right, of course.”

  They just held hands and looked into the other’s eyes until the RN motioned to her that the visiting time was up. Louise kissed his hand and said, “I have to go now. I love you.”

  Thomas kissed her hand and said, “I love you too.”

  CHAPTER 59

  “I called this meeting, because it seems that what we’ve been doing for Thomas Mortinson, may not be the best protocol for his rehabilitation. I recognize that those of you on the front lines, as it were, have a golden opportunity to see first-hand how our therapies are impacting a patient. I value that. Keep in mind that where Craniectomies are involved, the ability of the patient to react to a specific convention may vary significantly from the norm. That seems to be what we are dealing with in Thomas’s case.

  “There are several approaches we can take.

  One would be to try the Patel Convention or the Davis Convention, but they don’t offer a significantly high enough response level. Another approach, one which I am recommending is to continue to use the Turnwell Convention, but to alter the exercises in a unique way. What I’m suggesting is that we use input from Thomas to guide us with the steps we take. In other words, Thomas will tell us how he wants to perform a required exercise rather than us telling him what we want him to do. The benefit from this will be that he will be suggesting steps that he feels he can perform. This alone should provide a psychological boost that is always desired in these cases.”

  “Wendy asked, “Wouldn’t that drastically slow down the program? I would think that if the going got tough, Thomas would opt for the easiest exercises rather that the toughest.”

  “That is certainly possible, but we’re dealing with a patient who has a strong desire to put this all behind him and get on with his life. I would think that Thomas’s motivation would be strong enough to overcome the desire to take the easy way out. Dr. Jensen and I discussed this last night and he feels, that at this juncture, we have very little to lose and much to gain. We will still be following Turnwell, but we will be modifying our approach to the patient by involving him in the choice of individual steps.”

  He looked at Miriam, “What do you think about this approach?”

  “I think that it is certainly worth a try.” She turned to Wendy. “You know, yesterday when Thomas was struggling with the vertical lift and he let out an expletive, what if we had asked him right then how he would do it? Maybe he would have suggested another way and he might have been able to complete the drill.”

  Wendy thought for a minute. “You may be right. At this point I’m for giving it a try.”

  Dr. Freenold smiled, “I’m glad we are all on-board. Let’s go in there and make it work.”

  * * *

  Thomas liked the idea. “Quite a few times I was sure that doing a set differently would have worked better, but I decided that you were the professionals and knew what was best for me, so I kept quiet about it. I’m ready to give this a try if you are.”

  They worked with the new discipline for a half hour longer than planned, but by the time they finished they made up the lost time from the previous day and recorded scores in the high eighties.

  Dr. Freenold was very pleased with the results and didn’t waste a minute letting everyone know. “That’s what I love about working in science, there is so much to learn; so many things to try. I’m very proud of you Thomas.”

  “Thank you, Doctor. I’m very tired, but it’s a good tired. That change was obviously the right choice to make. Thank you all for coming up with it.”

  Miriam and Wendy helped him back into the wheelchair. Wendy remarked, “If you keep up this kind of progress it won’t be long before we can trade in this chair for a walker.”

  “I look forward to that day and then to the day I can walk out of here under my own power. Again, thank you all for your patience with me. I know it can’t be easy standing by and watching a person struggle to do basic moves that everyone takes for granted. I’m blessed to have you all working with me.”

  As the nurse started to wheel him back to his room he added, “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s session.”

  Dr. Jensen said, “As are we, Thomas. See you then”

  * * *

  The doctors met in Dr. Jensen’s office.

  “Who knew? If you had suggested to me that before Thomas’s rehabilitation was complete, we would be making a major change in the Convention, I would have told you that you were out of your mind. We continue to demonstrate how little we really know about the human brain.”

  “How true. I’m as surprised as you are about how successful the new approach was. Not because of the results per se, but because the scores took a quantum leap. Arnold, I think you are on to something major, here.”

  Freenold laughed, “Hold the presses at the New England Journal of Medicine…we have a major breakthrough.”

  “You may laugh, but this variation of the Turnwell Convention is significant, and we have the figures to prove it.”

  “You think? Maybe we should start calling it the Freenold Convention.”

  “All kidding aside,” Jensen suggested, “I think you should keep that in mind as you document Thomas’s progress. This is the very thing that advances in our field are built on.

  You saw the difference with your own eyes. Many of the exercises that Thomas aced today were impossible for him yesterday. His participation in the decision making was key to his success. I’ve never heard of taking that approach before and I’ve been in this field for over thirty years. I’m current on my journal reading and I attend several major mental health conventions every year. This is new and it’s genius. I’m proud to be working next to you while you are fine tuning it. This is a real boon for the Center.”

  “You flatter me, Frederick. Remember it was me who got his nose out-of-joint when I heard that the therapists were questioning whether my choice of Turnwell was the right convention for Thomas. It just goes to prove that inspiration can come from any venue.

  “I think you may be right. If this wasn’t a GCS 5 I wouldn’t consider such a thing, but by documenting a new convention, we have the opportunity to offer to our fellow Neurosurgeons a discipline that can possibly make the difference between their patients living a trouble-free life or one where their future is full of limitations.

  “Think about it for a minute, the way things work today, if a convention is followed to the letter, we settle for whatever condition the patient ends up in and send them off to live life to the best of their ability. What a travesty this is and to think that you and I have been proponents of this approach for much of our professional lives.”

  He high-fived Frederick. “By George, let’s do it. I want you to co-author this new convention with me.”

  Surprised, Jensen immediately accepted,

  “Thank you, Arnold, it would be an honor.”


  “Great then. N.E.J.M. here we come. I think that this calls for a celebration. It’s my turn to treat. Do you know a good steakhouse; someplace where one can get a nice juicy steak and a couple of Vodka Martinis? You choose the spot and make the reservations.”

  “I know just the spot. It’s new, but they have the best steaks in town. I know the chef, so there won’t be any difficulty getting in. How does seven sound?”

  “Great, that will give me time to go over my notes so that everything is in line with our new enterprise.”

  CHAPTER 60

  “What’s the good of being the Mayor if you can’t pull a few strings now and then? Your new office furniture will be delivered tomorrow.

  Try to use that old stuff until then.”

  This remark was in response to his Vice- Mayor, Cal Bronson’s request to make changes to the office space that the Town Council had him assigned in the Owensburg Town Hall building. It wasn’t the size or location of the office, not even the lack of a window that bothered Cal, it was the outdated furnishings that were thrown together to constitute office furniture.

  “I sure appreciate it, Walt. That desk must have come with the building when it was established in 1923. It’s got grooves all over the top where people wrote messages without a blotter or pad underneath. You can even make out some of the words. It’s like a history lesson, but definitely unsuitable for use as an office desk.”

  “That is certainly not the way for us to welcome our new Vice-Mayor. It’s apparent that somebody dropped the ball on this. I apologize.” “Oh, I know it’s not your fault. I’ll make do until the new furniture gets here. It’s not like I’m going to get a lot of visitors today. Heck, nobody even knows I’m here.”

  “Well that’s going to change quickly. I just heard that the State Safety Commission has concluded its investigation of the accident and is expected to make a ruling tomorrow morning at nine at a press conference up in Columbus. I’m going to ask you, as your first official act, to take over the coordination of town affairs related to the clean-up and restoration of the Tiecher Park Theater Area. Once we’re given the okay, I want to waste no time getting things back to normal. Owensburg has suffered enough. We can’t have this thing dragging out any longer than is absolutely necessary. Just stay clear of any law suits; Payne Easton and a law firm the town hired are taking care of all litigation matters.”

  “Sounds like a plateful. I’ll get right on it.”

  “You’re going to have to walk on eggshells, Cal. There are a lot of people out there that have issues and they are going to be looking for someone to be a punching bag for them.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ve lived in Owensburg for over thirty years and I know most of the people in town.”

  “That may be so, but this is an extraordinary situation and when people feel they have been disenfranchised, they often forget who their friends are. Just be careful, is all I’m saying.”

  “I will. Thanks for the advice,”

  Walter smiled as Cal turned to leave the office, “If you have any more issues that require me to wave my magic wand, just give me a holler.” “Will do.”

  CHAPTER 61

  Dinner time at the Peyton household was quickly becoming meeting time for updates on Thomas’s recovery. Tonight was to be no exception. The “team” was there in addition to Mike Tolliver, who was becoming a regular since his engagement to Miriam.

  Emily announced dinner and they came from all over the house. “I hope you all are hungry. I couldn’t get a smaller roast than this and I don’t have a lot of room in the refrigerator for left-overs.”

  “Mike volunteered, “Seconds for your meals have never been a problem for me. I think we’ll do justice to it.”

  Walter said, “Amen.”

  Halfway through the meal, Emily asked,

  “How did today’s session go?”

  Miriam answered, “Dr. Freenold joined us today. He tried out a new convention where we look to Thomas for his ideas of how we should conduct specific exercises. It’s kind of a radical approach, but it worked better than anyone expected. Thomas’s scores rose to the eighties. It was so heartwarming to see the smile on his face as he was able to perform some of the difficult drills we put him through. It looks as if the new approach could speed up Thomas’s recovery.”

  “That’s really good news. I was so concerned after he had a problem the other day.

  Louise said he was really down about it.”

  “Yes, he was very frustrated by not having the strength to do everything. He especially was upset because he thought he was letting us down. We had a long talk and he promised me to stay positive. It looks as if this new concept didn’t come along too soon.”

  “I’m reminded about the time he had a bad softball game,” Walter interjected. “He was routed with ten consecutive hits on thirteen pitches. They hit everything he served up. He was ready to give up pitching. All I heard was, ‘I’m no good’ and ‘I stink.’ It took a lot of persuading to get him to calm down and to accept the fact that he would have an occasional day on the mound when he would not have ‘his stuff’.”

  “I remember that night. Your talk with him took him from the dumps to an hour of practice with you in the back yard. I’m sure glad that Dr. Freenold is flexible enough to try new things. I guess that’s why he is one of the best Neurosurgeons in the country.”

  “So, what else is going on. How about you,

  Mike?”

  “I got some good news today. It looks as if I can take the Ohio Bar Exam next month. When they have a back-log of candidates, they give the exams in-between normal qualifying dates. In the interim, I can practice as long as I’m connected with a practicing lawyer; which of course, I am.”

  Miriam turned to him with a big smile on her face, “I’m so happy for you. Would that mean that you can practice in Ohio and Pennsylvania both?”

  “That’s right. That could prove to be an advantage with my new partnership. There aren’t too many attorneys that practice in two jurisdictions.”

  Louise, Walter and Emily added their congratulations.

  “Your Mayor hired a Vice-Mayor today. His name is Cal Bronson and I assigned him the job of coordinating the rebuilding of the Tiecher Park Theater Area. The State finally concluded their investigation and we can start removing the debris and rebuilding. It can’t happen soon enough for me. The town is still in turmoil and I guess that it will go on for some time yet. I think Cal is going to be a great help to me with my new responsibilities.”

  Turning to Miriam, Emily said, “Well, that catches us up, so maybe this would be a good time for us to discuss when and how you are going to tell Thomas who you really are. It must be tearing at you, working with him on his rehab and not being able to tell him you are his mother.”

  Miriam looked uncomfortable; not expecting to discuss the subject so soon. “To be honest with you, Emily, I haven’t thought about. I’m just so happy with the time I’m getting to spend with him…getting to know him. It even occurred to me that maybe he never needs to know.”

  Louise wasn’t alone in being taken aback by that remark, but she was the first to speak up, “What on earth are you talking about. Of course he needs to know. You can’t come this far and then back out.”

  “It’s not a case of backing out, I’m just been wondering lately, with all that has happened to him, whether it is his best interests to dump this on him. I’d never forgive myself if I caused a setback in his condition. Right now, I have a vicarious connection with him that will allow me to be a small part of his life for some time to come. He can know me as a friend of the family, without any further involvement. He doesn’t ever have to know the truth, not if it might cause irreparable harm. I could live with that.”

  Louise countered, “That’s ridiculous, Miriam. You know that he has been harboring a deep seated need to know about you. Surely you must realize that it wouldn’t be right to let him go the rest of his l
ife without ever knowing that you brought him into this world.”

  Emily backed up Louise, “I agree. I was his foster mother for over twenty-one years, so that’s got to count for something and I’m telling you that if you don’t make yourself known to Thomas now that you have this golden opportunity, it will be the biggest mistake of your life. It will be even worse for Thomas if you withhold from him the one chance he has to know the wonderful woman who brought him into this world. It would be a far worse tragedy than the mistake you made when you were a scared young woman. Now let’s not hear any more of that kind of talk. We’ll get through this together.”

  Mike put his arm around Miriam. “You should listen to these ladies. They know Thomas a lot better than you do. We have time yet. Thomas is getting stronger every day. You are an important part of that. Of course, I can’t know for sure, but I’d be very surprised if Thomas didn’t welcome you with open arms. You have the opportunity to be an essential part of his life from now on. It wouldn’t be fair to him and it certainly wouldn’t be fair to you.”

  Miriam was bewildered by the outpouring of support. “Maybe, you’re right. I just thought that something as mindboggling as this might have the opposite effect and set him back.”

  Emily took exception, “I don’t believe that at all. I think that if we handle this properly, it could be the very thing Thomas needs to complete his recovery. I said if we handle this properly because I think we have to do some careful planning about how and when you tell Thomas. We should probably involve both doctors in this before we do anything.”

  “I hadn’t thought much about that, but you’re right, of course. So you all think I should go ahead and let Thomas know about me?”

  Walter looked around the room and said, “I think it’s unanimous. The trick will be to determine the best time. I don’t have any doubt at all that Thomas will be happy to have you in his life. I remember when he was about eight, when we asked him if he would want us to formally adopt him. His answer was no. He was very happy living with us but felt that if he was legally adopted, it would make it hard for him to learn his true identity. What that tells me is that he has a deep need to know about his birth mother. Nothing that I have seen since that time would lead me to believe that that need has gone away. Also, you heard Louise say that they had discussed the subject on the day of the accident and he agreed to their hunting for you together. Now if that doesn’t prove that you have to tell him, I don’t know what does.”