Religious Liberty On Trial

by Debbie Lawrence

When he lifted the skirt, he saw the remains of Ted's male anatomy. "What the hell IS THIS! I'm not treating no Tinkerbelle sissy faggot. Get IT out of here! Take it to Colorado General."

  Just then, another doctor, a resident, came out "Doctor, how DARE you! You have a patient here, and he, or she, needs our help. Let me look"

  The older doctor barked "Touch that THING and you will never practice medicine at this hospital. We're Seventh Day Adventists here, they pay for the facility. The bible teaches that this THING is an abomination and IT should be put to death!"

  The nurse shouted at the doctor "She's already cored twice, if she dies in route, her family could sue this hospital and you for everything! How DARE you refuse to treat a patient who is possibly dying! How DARE you place your religion above your Hippocratic Oath, or HER religion!"

  The doctor snarled "I doubt that THING has a religion. Get IT stable and then get IT out!"

  The intern and the nurse worked as quickly as they could. Tina had broken ribs, she was bleeding from her groin, she was barely breathing, and her heart rate was down to 40 BPM, her blood pressure was 90 over 60 and falling.

  "Give me 25CCs of epinephrine! Let's see if we can keep you alive long enough to get you to another hospital."

  Just then, Tina stopped breathing.

  The nurse called "Doctor, I've lost the pulse! No respiration!"

  The intern nodded "Thank you nurse, bag her." He looked at the Ambulance attendants, "Do either of you know CPR?"

  One said "I ain't touchin' that. I ain't no fag!"

  The other was stunned "Yes, I can do it. Let's get her stable, then we'll take her to Colorado General. I just hope she can make it, at this time of night, it will take 45 minutes to get there."

  The driver had been watching "I'll bring her in code 3, we should make it in 20!"

  The doctor slowly pumped in the drug as Tina got CPR.

  She came out of it suddenly, and with a start. "Where am I, what's happened, why are you on my chest. Oh, God it hurts! God, thy will be done, but do it quickly!"

  The nurse smirked "So much for no religion!"

  The doctor looked Tina in the eye "We can't treat you here, because we aren't equipped to treat your situation, these guys are going to take you to Colorado General. I'll give you something for the pain, but you have to stay awake!"

  Tina nodded as much as the neck brace and backboard would allow, and the Intern and the helpful attendant loaded her back into the ambulance.

  The intern went up front, "Both rides are on the hospital, here's my card, now go!"

  There were a dozen nurses on the floor who came out when they heard the two doctors screaming at each other. They knew what had happened. The senior nurse sighed "We'd better hope she makes it to Colorado General!"

  Colorado General

  The driver kept his word. They rode with siren and lights running and drove all over the road to get through the traffic. They arrived in 17 minutes, according to the log.

  The Attendant started talking to the ER nurse immediately. "She's been really badly beaten, she even cored in the other hospital. The doc gave her some eppy and we got her here as fast as we could."

  The nurse didn't even pause, "Good, let's get her into the examination room, what other hospital?"

  "We took her to Phillips, the 7th day Adventist hospital, but they refused to admit her. The chief ordered the resident to get her stable and get her here"

  "Why the hell wouldn't they treat her there!"

  Just then, the doctor of this ER came in. "Yes, why didn't they admit her? She obviously needs care!"

  The ambulance driver lifted Tina's skirt. "He saw this and freaked"

  The doctor looked again "That's really bad news. Let's take her vitals and see what we have. He called out "WE NEED THREE MORE NURSES HERE, GET ME DOCTOR CHADWICK, STAT!"

  The nurses hooked Tina up to monitors and started taking vitals.

  "Pulse thready and week, 42 BPM"

  "BP 90/60, but stable."

  "She needs blood!"

  The ambulance attendant nodded "A positive".

  "Let's cut away these clothes, see what we have!"

  As the doctor cut away the dress, the nurse gasped

  "Nurse, call X-ray. We should see what's broken. Also, see if we can get a blood and urine panel. I'm suspecting kidney damage, maybe a ruptured spleen, and a punctured lung."

  Another nurse turned to Tina "Is there anyone we can call?"

  Alice walked in "That would be me. I have the contact info for her parents, but they may not understand the situation. She is 18 years old and can give consent."

  Alice turned to Tina "How are you holding up?"

  Tina smiled "Don't know. Everything hurts. Glad to see you."

  Alice smirked "Short answers! You must be hurt bad!"

  Tina tried to smile, but even that hurt.

  Parents

  "I called your parents, they're on their way down."

  Tina winced "Awkward"

  Alice nodded "Would you like me to explain Tina to them?"

  Tina barely nodded "Thank you"

  The doctor smiled "I'm going to have the lab take a bunch of pictures. The good news is that we have a new thing called a CAT scanner. It will help us see what's going on inside without us having to cut you open for exploratory surgery."

  The doctor and the nurses unstrapped Tina from the backboard and let her move.

  "Do you feel any numbness or unusual pain. Can you breathe?"

  Tina nodded "I'm in pain for the obvious reasons. I wish I was numb now."

  The doctor started poking Tina with the needles "One point or two?"

  "Two"

  They went at it for several rounds, but the doctor noticed that by the time the points were about 1/2 inch apart, Tina was feeling one point, but only in her left leg.

  "Nurse, I want them to do a full scan, head to toe, I have no idea what we're dealing with and I'm afraid if I touch her, I could do more damage than harm."

  To another nurse "Call admitting, she needs a room, preferably in about an hour if they can swing it. A room with no room-mate if they can."

  "Tina, do you have insurance?"

  She nodded carefully "Yes, Blue Cross through my parents. Alice called them."

  "Good, because you're going to be staying here a few weeks. We may see the damage, but hidden damage from an attack like this could kill you very suddenly."

  "Hurts bad, down here" Tina winced, touching her stomach gently.

  Tina was wheeled on a gurney to the machine. They carefully moved her to what looked like a long plank with a curve in it.

  Tina was strapped in, and had to lie very still as the doctors ran the machine. It was so strange, like something from a science fiction movie. After about an hour, they pulled her out and put her back on the gurney.

  The orderly who came to pick her up smiled "Good news young lady, your room is waiting. I'll take you up there now."

  Tina giggled "Thank you sir! I am very grateful"

  The orderly was so pleased to be treated with such respect. Not many people were so friendly and polite to black orderlies.

  When it was time to get into the bed, two orderlies and two nurses helped make the shift.

  A few hours later, Doctor Jeff Chadwick and Doctor Max Ginsberg were looking at the pictures together.

  Doctor Ginsberg stroked his chin "I've never seen anything quite like this, at least not in a living person."

  Doctor Chadwick nodded "This spinal damage is old, it looks like the T2, T3, and T4 have almost fused together right at the shoulder blade."

  "Jeff, look at these vertebrae, this is stenosis but old."

  "And three of his toes have been broken at least three times each."

  "The brain seems to be OK, there doesn't seem to be any bleeding, we can try doing a tracer picture tomorrow, but at least his skull is intact."

  "Yes, concussion is still a concern here, but I think we can let her sleep."

  "M
ax, he may have been born a boy, but the testicles are so mangled. One of them is flat and distended, the other is crushed. We have to remove them."

  Max nodded. "Not only that, but the penis is practically useless. It looks like the artery has been ruptured, she can't have erections."

  "If she hadn't come in wearing a dress, I'd be dreading having to give that news right now."

  "Yes, a normal man would be shattered, devastated. Tina might even consider it good news. There were signs of prior damage, and I saw scars on the scrotum when I inspected it."

  Jeff raised his eyebrows "I noticed that the center line was very crooked, almost like it had been cut and sewn back together."

  Max nodded "To make it worse, there was prior kidney damage, but there is a lot of new damage, and it looks like there may have been damage to the liver, stomach, and spleen. We must keep her for observation for at least two weeks.

  Bruce and Julie, Ted's parents arrived at the hospital. They wanted to see their son. The doctor pulled them aside.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Clark, you're Tina's parents?"

  "Tina, our son's name is Ted!" Bruce snapped.

  Max decided to not push it "Ted has been seriously injured, but it looks like there were many prior injuries. Do you have his medical records?"

  Julie nodded "He's been to Children's Hospital several times; you should check with them."

  Max cleared his throat "The good news is that he will survive, he's been brutally attacked and almost left us while at the Phillips, but they revived him and brought him here. We are watching for signs of concussion and organ damage."

  Julie started to tear "How did this happen?"

  Max was careful. "He was attacked by a bunch of drunken cadets. It seems that they were mad at him for punishment one of their buddies got."

  Julie sat and held her head with both hands. "This is like elementary school all over again. Bullies beating him up for being a sissy, and him going to the hospital and being held for weeks."

  Max called up to Tina's floor. "Could you send Alice down here? Tina's parents are here"

  Bruce shook his head "Who is Tina and who is Alice and what do they have to do with Ted? Does he have two girlfriends?"

  Julie smiled "Or maybe just two girl friends."

  Alice arrived in a few minutes.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Clark, I am so pleased to meet you. Tina has told me so much about you!" She gave both nice warm hugs.

  "Who the hell is Tina? Are you Ted's girlfriend?"

  Alice touched Bruce's shoulder gently. "I think we all need to sit down; this is going to take a while to explain."

  They went to a quiet room outside the ward where Tina was staying. There was nobody else there. It was dimly lit, the colors, furniture and lighting were all designed to have a calming and relaxing effect.

  Alice started "I met Ted when through a mutual friend at school. I'd seen Ted clowning around with the theater people and decided to listen in. One day at lunch I heard him tell everybody he was a lesbian. It seemed that most of his friends knew this, even if they didn't believe it."

  Alice crossed her legs and leaned forward "I talked to this mutual friend. It seems that they had been lovers, but not in the usual sense. Ted was very good at pleasing this partner, but couldn't seem to accept any pleasure for himself. It was like Ted was asexual. He couldn't respond to men or women; he could only give THEM pleasure."

  Alice uncrossed her legs and crossed them at the ankles. "I got to know Ted, and found out that he had always wanted to be a girl. In the beginning, he just thought he was a girl, and even when he found out there were differences, he felt like there was a girl inside."

  Julie smiled and nodded "He's never been like other boys. He rarely fought, he was quiet, he could spend hours telling stories to his stuffed animals, and he loved playing with his little sister's dolls. I thought it was a phase, that he'd outgrow it."

  Bruce shook his head "I noticed that Ted was a bit of a sissy, even feminine, but I just figured he was queer. I was kind of girly when I was younger. I didn't have to become a girl."

  Alice sat back. "Ted was a bit worse than you. Ted is Transsexual. He has hidden it for many years, but apparently not very well."

  July nodded "He used to come home every day, crying in pain, saying how much he hated being a boy. I figured when he hit puberty, he would be glad he was a boy."

  Alice shook her head "Didn't you notice that right after he found out he was a bass, that he was getting drunk a lot more?"

  Julie nodded "Drunk and high. Sometimes it was funny."

  Alice nodded "Did you know he was trying to overdose? He made some pretty serious efforts too!"

  Julie nodded slowly still a blank stare into space "Yes, I remember he wrote some poetry once. It was filled with thoughts of death, romanticizing it, making it something to be embraced. It was right after his cousin died, so I assumed he was just trying to process Mark's death."

  Alice smiled at Julie "Do you remember when he was 6 years old and he begged you to let him be a girl?"

  Julie nodded "Yes, we bought him some blue tights and made him a skirt"

  Bruce barked "A waste of good money!"

  Alice smiled "Mr. Clark, how many times was Ted in the hospital?"

  Bruce furrowed his eyebrows and thought "Around 60 times. I lost count."

  Julie nodded "64 times. Including the diagnostics for Epilepsy and Chigella."

  Alice squinted at Bruce "Was 64 trips to the hospital less expensive than some pretty clothes?"

  Bruce shook his head "Of course not, but what does one have to do with the other?"

  "Why do you think he ended up in the hospital so many times?"

  Bruce huffed "He had asthma attacks, just like I did. He had really bad attacks, so they had to keep him."

  Alice saw Julie shake her head "Julie, why did he have to go to the hospital so many times, and stay so long each time?"

  July was tearing. "He would get so stressed and upset, the asthma would go out of control, and when he got to the doctors, they would see the bruises and insist that he be admitted"

  Alice nodded "How did he get the bruises?"

  Julie sniffed "The boys would beat him up for being a sissy. He was so girly that whole gangs of a dozen boys or more would beat him up. The doctors saw the bruises and realized there might be internal organ damage."

  Alice nodded "So you knew he was a girl on the inside."

  Bruce huffed "Yeah, people used to beat me up because I was a sissy too. I was hoping that he could avoid some of that. It sounds like he got it much worse"

  Julie was crying quietly now "Yes, I knew he was a girl inside. There were hundreds of times when he would come home from school, bawling his eyes out, telling he how much he hated being a boy."

  Alice smiled "He asked you to let him be a girl, didn't he?"

  Julie nodded with a sob "Yes! I caught him in the bathroom, dressed up in my clothes, he begged me to let him be a girl."

  Alice nodded "Why didn't you?"

  Julie sniffed "I talked to my therapist about Ted wanting to be a girl. He wanted me to bring him in immediately. He told me the only treatment was "conversion", It was horrible, shock, torture, no sleep, every day for three or four months."

  Bruce was stunned "Oh my God! He didn't know about your trips to Mount Airy!"

  Alice was confused "Mount Airy? The mental hospital?"

  Julie nodded "Yes. I went there several times, each time they would shock me, then feed me food that made me sick, then put me next to a room-mate who screamed all night. They didn't even talk to me, they just asked me what day it was."

  Bruce nodded "And they wanted to do the same thing to Ted? But Ted was only 6 years old!!"

  Julie nodded "That's right. I'd been through it, and there was no way in hell I'd let them do that to my little child."

  Alice nodded "So you made him keep it a secret?"

  Julie nodded, the tears were flowing, "Yes, it was so hard, but I told him he c
ouldn't tell ANYONE or something really terrible would happen."

  Alice smiled "You knew at 6 years old, that Ted was really a girl?"

  Julie shook her head "No, I knew he was a girl when he was about 2 years old, maybe even before then. He didn't play like the other boys, and when he tried, he would get hurt, often severely. But he also liked to dress up, he made skirts out of towels, he even made a dress out of a dry-cleaning bag."

  Bruce nodded "I remembered that! I got really upset."

  Alice stared into his eyes "That Ted was wearing a dress?"

  Bruce huffed "NO, that he might suffocate on the dry-cleaning bag. I didn't care if he wore a dress or skirt, but I just figured that was a phase. I dressed like a girl when I was that age too."

  Julie smiled "When she made friends with the girl next door, it became really obvious. He played with dolls, he'd tell stories to his stuffed animals. He'd make up songs. They were inseparable, and he very quickly became friends with all the girls in the neighborhood."

  Bruce smiled "I used to play with my cousin Sherry, we loved dressing up and playing house, and taking care of baby dolls."

  Alice turned back to Julie, "You knew he was a girl inside, but you had to keep it secret?"

  "Yes, he kept insisting that he wanted to be a girl, so I gave him all the housekeeping chores. He seemed to like it, and he was so good at it that I was able to get a job."

  Alice smiled "And did that solve the problem?"

  Julie shook her head. "No, several times, I came home early. I'd come in quietly and I'd see her wearing a dress or skirt and blouse, and my wig. She was a very pretty girl!" She was almost beaming with pride.

  Alice was surprised "But you never talked to him?"

  Julie shook her head slowly "I tried several times, but he'd been so badly battered and bruised that when I'd try to talk about it, he would just clam up and hide in his room. Sometimes he wouldn't talk to me for days after."

  Alice nodded and smiled.

  Julie leaned forward and looked Alice right in the eye. "You know something we don't, don't you? Something I've suspected for a long time but could never confirm, He's a girl, isn't he?"

  Bruce giggled "How could he be a girl? How could you know that? It's not like he's well hung, but that doesn't make him a girl!"