Sometimes All You Need Is An Ear

“Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are ready to meet with you Ms. Vega.” The main lobby buzzed my office.

A few moments later, I heard a knock on my office door. I invited in whoever was at the door. When my door opened two older looking women walked into my office.

“How can I help you two ladies today?” I asked.

“Well, one of your patients here is a dear friend of ours and we were wondering what exactly was wrong with her.” One responded. “I’m Mrs. Peters and this is Mrs. Hale.” She clarified. “We never got the details on her state of mind and we were just wondering if you could shed some light on the situation.”

“I understand how you two must feel but, I’m not allowed to share classified information of patients.  I can only share this information of the patient with immediate family, medical doctors, or lawyers.”

“But Ms. Vega,” Hale began, “Is there any possible way that we can help Minnie? Could you re-analyze her and see if she is doing better and shorten her days here?”

“I don’t think that I can do that either ma’am. Our institution runs on strict guidelines. Once a patient is analyzed here, they are immediately put on a plan and they have to stick to it until final evaluation.  The plan is only subject to change if the patient shows exceptional change, negative or positive, and from the looks of Minnie,” I paused for a moment to grab her file and skim through her records, “By the looks of it she’s nowhere near ready for an evaluation.”

“PLEASE!” Mrs. Peter’s exclaimed loudly. “Please reconsider. You don’t know what she’s been through. Her husband was a horrible man that kept her under his foot like an animal. She has been through so much and I can’t stand to see her sit in a place like this and rot because of something he did to her!”

 I sat there for a while before speaking. “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise you two anything. When I am scheduled to meet with her for her weekly check-up I will take care to look for signs that could speed up her process here, but like I said earlier, nothing is promised.”

“Thank you so very much Ms. Vega! I am sure that you will do your best.” Ms. Hale seemed cheerful.

“Thank you both for your visit. Come back in a week or two for the update.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello Minnie, I’m back again to check on you, how are you feeling today?” I asked as I entered Minnie’s room.

“I’m feeling alright Ms. Vega. I’ve settled in quite nicely here. The staff is so kind to me.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Can I ask you a few questions? And I also need you to do a few things for me today.

“Well alright I’ll do them to the best of my ability.”

“Do you remember why you are here in this facility?”

“Yes I was going through some tough times and had an emotional breakdown. Many thought I was from my husband’s unexpected death….” She trailed off.

“Well do you remember why you had that break down? What changed? What caused your stress?” I asked and soon after, the room fell deafly silent. Time seemed to move slowly from that moment on.

“Well…” She started. “I was once a free spirit. A lively one that enjoyed all things, I was told that I always had a smile on my face. When I met my late husband everything seemed to be even better. He made me so happy, but soon after our marriage he completely changed. He didn't allow me to do anything to bring me joy. It was almost as if I were his dog. I couldn't even sing songs aloud anymore.”

“A had a song bird. It made me so happy… but he took that from me too, but in the worst way.” She stopped and sighed deeply. “He took my bird’s life with his own hands. I couldn't take it anymore; I was completely through with him. And then the best yet worse thing could have happened. A murderer killed him in his sleep, the same way he took my bird’s life…”

“Wow that was intense; you had no friends to confide in during your hard times?” I asked this because I wondered if Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale were there for her.

“No there wasn't  My husband cut off all contact with my friends and most of my family. I felt like a caged bird in that marriage, but now I feel… I feel so free.”

I felt like I was starting to understand her. She wasn't completely unstable; I was starting to believe she needed simple counseling services to work her through past experiences. It seemed as though those two women knew she only needed a friend.

“Well Ms. Minnie thank you for sharing your story with me. With some luck you might be able to get out of our institution a bit earlier than expected.” I gave her a small wink and a big smile. “I will see you at your next checkup.”

As I left the room I was starting to realize just how much work I was getting myself into. The paperwork wasn't going to be easy, but I believed that with time I could get Minnie out of this institution and back with a family that will love her, in spite of how her husband treated her.