The Kerfuffle

 

The announcement over the hospital intercom reported a kerfuffle in the Psyche Ward.

Some doctors scurried to lend assistance while others remained in the Doctor’s

Lounge, smoking cigarettes and sipping bad vending machine coffee.

Meanwhile, Alice Fulton was calmly folding her clothes into her travel bag.  She had

 pulled the IV lines from her arm and disconnected the annoying monitor.  Alice was

getting out.  She had enough of doctors and clipboards and green Jell-O.  She was

seizing this kerfuffle to be her distraction.  While everyone else was running to the

 Psyche Ward, Alice would calmly stroll past the nurse’s station, take the elevator

 down to the lobby and casually leave by the front door.   

Little did Alice realize – she was the kerfuffle.  It was the disconnection of her monitor

that had set the alarms in motion.  Completely unaware that she was the one in the

 Psyche Ward and that everyone was in fact scurrying towards her.  That’s when the

unexpected happened.  A split second before everyone burst into Alice’s room, a well-

 dressed man appeared.  He was standing just a few feet from Alice and calmly

introduced himself.  “Hello Alice, I am Phillip Wisenheimer.  I believe I can be of

some assistance.”

For whatever reason, Alice was neither startled nor concerned by his sudden

 appearance.  In fact, she simply glanced at him and said, “Help me fold these.

We’re running out of time.”  But as Alice placed her slippers on top of her folded robe,

She turned and said, “What kind of name is Wisenheimer?”

“It’s one I thought you’d appreciate”, Phillip replied.  “Do you know where you’re

Going from here?  Do you have a plan?”

Before Alice could answer her new friend, nurses and doctors came bursting into her

room, some trying to reconnect the monitor, others taking hold of her arms to help

her back into bed and a nurse attempted to reconnect her IV.

Alice didn’t struggle against any of their attempts but instead marveled at the fact

that none of them mentioned Mr. Wisenheimer standing there.  They all seemed

Oblivious to him being in the room.  She knew it wasn’t visiting hours and the place

had strict rules when it came to visitors.  Then Alice noticed that Phillip was not

wearing a visitor’s badge.  Now she wondered how he had gotten past the nurse’s

station.  Who was this guy and why didn’t anyone else mention him standing there?

For reasons known only to Alice, she didn’t mention Phillip Wisenheimer during the group session on Thursday but simply smiled slightly whenever she glanced at him standing against the side wall.  By the end of their group get together Doctor Ryan asked Alice to stay behind when everyone else was going back to their rooms.

“How do you think today’s session went, Alice?”

Alice wasn’t at all sure if she should bring up Mr. Wisenheimer or not.  She assumed that Phillip didn’t want to get involved, as he had said nothing throughout the entire meeting.  Even when Betty went on and on about her issues, he just stood there, not joining in.  And Doc Ryan hadn’t yet acknowledged this new visitor in the room.  So Alice, so far, had not responded at all to Doctor Ryan’s question.  She just wasn’t sure what she should do.

The doctor let the question just hang there a bit but then went on to Alice’s attempt at leaving the hospital. 

“The last time we talked Alice, you mentioned that there were certain parts of your life that didn’t have belt-loops.  You stated that most of your life was headed in one direction, but occasionally you felt tiny bits were headed off course.  When you packed your clothes to leave, where were you going to go?  Would you like to talk about that?”

Mr. Wisenheimer asked me the same thing.  He wondered if I had a plan.

“Who is Mr. Wisenheimer, Alice?”

What Doctor Ryan saw was Alice look back at him, as if she was trying to figure him out, then she looked over at the wall and got that same expression on her face.

To answer your question Doctor Ryan, I am choosing to go with plan B.  I will be checking myself out of here, I will sign whatever forms you have releasing you from liability, but I am going.  Then she looked back towards the wall and said, Come-on Phillip, we’re leaving.

“Alice, of course patients can leave whenever they wish, but if you are seeing someone who isn’t really there… don’t you think that’s cause for concern?”

Mr. Wisenheimer is very real Doctor.  He is well dressed, has a kind face, and seems to want what’s best for me.

“Do me one favor.  When you have your travel bag packed, ask him to carry it for you.  If he’ll do that then you have my blessing.”

The Doctor and two nurses on the fourth floor, Psyche Ward stood and watched as Alice walked towards the elevator to leave.  Her travel bag appeared to be floating next to her, as if being carried by someone else.

Neither nurse dare to acknowledge what they saw.  In fact, they quietly turned and headed back to the nurse’s station.

Doctor Ryan never entered any of that in his records.  His only comment at the bottom of the page was, Alice Fulton was discharged.