The Protégé

By Louis Fabre

Stuart Montgomery MD, the English psychiatrist said in a meeting that the United States is the only civilized country that doesn't take care of their mentally ill. He is right. But I'm not sure the US is a  civilized country. I am looking for a protégé. Anyone who has the guts to work very hard and learn the right way to do things can

• Language: English
• Publisher: Travivo Tales
• Release date: Dec 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986946054

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Copyright © 2022 Lou Fabre

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Travivo Tales—Houston, TX

ISBN: 979-8-9869460-4-7

eBook ISBN: 979-8-9869460-5-4

Title: The Protégé

Author: Lou Fabre

Digital distribution | 2022

Paperback | 2022

This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my wife Lean Fabre without whose help The Protégé would not be possible.

Preface

In my first two books, Dog Flu and The Secret Clinic, I have tried to relate psychiatric principles embedded in the format of a novel. I would say Dog Flu is about 75% novel and 25 psychiatric textbook, and The Secret Clinic is 50% novel and 50% textbook. This book is 25% novel and 75% textbook.

I have been careful to define this book as fiction. Some might say it's an autobiography and some sections might be close to the truth. But it will be hard for the reader to decide what is truth and what is fantasy. There are no footnotes, and I will not defend anything that is here.

What I hope is the reader will enjoy the story and if some wisdom rubs off, no harm intended.

In truth, I would like a Protégé if anyone is smart enough and tough enough to attempt such an endeavor.

LFF 12,2022

One

Despair

Patrick was sitting in his room near the University of Chicago Medical School, and he had been crying. His girlfriend and roommate, Caroline Steven’s was out with a friend for a few hours.

For a 28-year-old boy, crying was not an acceptable behavior. He got on his phone to the only person he could comfortably show his feelings to, his father.

Connor O'Hara, Patrick's dad was the pastor at the Lutheran Church in Alton New Hampshire. His father was successful in his profession and was greatly admired in his small town where he had held his position for 30 years.

Patrick told his father, I'm just about ready to finish my psychiatric residency and I don't know anything. I am not sure I can help anybody, and I am extremely disappointed in myself.

His father said, When I was your age, I didn't think I could do my job either. God showed me that I could take lost souls and show them the way. It took me several years to get God’s message. Sometimes the right path is difficult to find and the effort that must be put out is overwhelming.

Patrick said, I know that, but I went to college, I did four years of medical school, and I did four years of internship and psychiatric residency. I have put in a huge effort. It has cost you and I a lot of money. And I know that you're still paying, even though you tried to hide it from me. But I haven't gotten anything for my effort.

You can take a lost soul and guide them to the path. I know that you've been careful not to try to be helpful to patients with psychiatric illness.

God has chosen me for that job. But I don't think I can do the job. I don't think I know the tools. I don't have the knowledge or experience.

Patrick, you know God has been good to you. You have the intelligence and the perseverance to get the best grades at all levels of your education. You have had the great honor of finding Caroline who I hope will become your wife. You didn't find Caroline, she found you. And she found you because God's sent her to find you.

Now you've come to a bump in the road. This happens on all of God’s missions. It's a test. It's a test to see if you have what it takes to really fulfill the mission in life that you were chosen for.

Patrick, you know I love you and you know that I have sympathy for the problem that you now are facing. But what I've taught you over the years is the outcome has already been written. You will learn, you will succeed, you will be able to take these poor souls with psychiatric problems and make them whole again. There is no doubt in my mind that this will happen. Let the game play on and go forth with confidence.

Patrick stopped crying. This is what he needed to hear, and he knew in advance that that would be the outcome of his discussion with his father.

He was able to calm down and go to sleep. Caroline came in shortly afterward and was able to comfort him and give him the energy to continue his journey.

Two

More Despair

Patrick was just coming home from a meeting at the University where he received his diploma for his psychiatric residency. There was no big celebration for this. The head of the department of psychiatry just handed out the diplomas to those who had completed the program.

Patrick took his diploma and started walking home, where he and his girlfriend Caroline lived together. But Patrick was not happy. He was thinking that now he had spent four years in college, another four years in medical school and yet another four years in residency and he was not sure that he knew anything or had the ability to help anyone with psychiatric problems.

However, he had several invitations to join corporate medicine programs that would pay him as much as $30,000 per month. A normal person would be thrilled with such a prospect, but Patrick was not a normal person. His father’s mission was to help people and that's what Patrick thought he was going to do too. But he didn't think he was going to be able to do that in a corporate medical situation.

When he got to his apartment, blond-haired, blue-eyed Caroline met him at the door. She looked at the diploma he had in one hand and the look he had on his face, and she asked, What’s the matter?

Patrick said, I'm not happy with all the years of training that I've had. I really don't think I can help anybody. In talking with these corporate medical groups, I have asked, do they have a lot of protocols. They responded, of course, we have a protocol for everything, and we will expect you to use all of the protocols. What if the protocol doesn't adequately treat the patient, I asked. The guy replied, well that will bring the patient back for more treatment and it will bring us more money. I didn't like that answer. But I kept my mouth shut because I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

Caroline answered, Unfortunately, you're not the kind of person who takes orders from people who know less than you do. I don't think you're going to be happy in corporate medicine. All I want for you is to be happy. I have followed you through all this training and all this waste of time and it would be nice if you made some money. But that's not what's important to me. What's important is that you are happy, and you are helping people the way your father expected you to do.

Patrick's head was down, and he wasn't even sure it was worth it to bring up the next issue. but he did.

There were four or five super experts in this world who knew how to make patients well. But they were all old and all but one of them has died. That leaves me with one person in the whole world that I could respect, and I could learn from, and I could feel confident that I could make people better.

Caroline said, You should get in touch with him and see if you can work out some kind of an apprenticeship or something that will give you the information you need to do what you want to do.

I'm not so sure that's so easy, Patrick replied. I am not even sure where he is. Over the past few years, he's kind of disappeared out of sight. I do have an email address that he has left with one of the psychiatric associations that he once belonged to. But I don’t know if he opens his own mail. There may be a gatekeeper who filters things before he ever gets to see them. It might be a waste of my time.

What would your dad say? Caroline asked.

He would say that God is on your side and that God will take care of you and allow the improbable event to occur.

Thanks Caroline you are right of course but you also know that I don't have as strong a belief as my father does.

Well, I do, and that's why you love me. I believe that God will allow this unlikely event to occur and all you must do is make the effort.

Patrick lifted his eyes, I'll do anything for you Caroline and if this is what you think is the best choice, I will do it.

Can you help me draft the email,

Caroline said, Well, let's start it off like this. We must assume that he has lots of requests to donate money, to donate his time, to give unpaid lectures, to support students who are short of cash, etc.

We have to get his attention and not be judged as a part of those who want to get something for nothing from him.

"Let's start it off like this,

Dr. George Gross @ x mail.com

Dear Dr. Gross,

I have heard that you are a fair and honest person. It is in this vane that I send this message. I know that you are getting up into your 80s and that for a variety of reasons you do not have any assistants to help you carry on the tradition that you've established in your long career.

I would like to help you rectify this omission. I would like to offer you free work to help you with your daily tasks. Along the way, I hope to learn some of your techniques and some of your practices that make psychiatric patients well.

I have only one goal. That is to improve the quality of psychiatric treatment and to create a situation where psychiatric patients can improve and live a normal life.

I know that you know how to do this. Unfortunately, no one else does. I would like to work for you and in the process learn what I can about your techniques and practices.

I would like to meet with you for one hour anywhere, anytime to discuss these possibilities.

Sincerely,

Patrick O’Hara MD

Caroline I think this is fair and honest and I hope that he can respond in the same vein, said Patrick.

A week later Patrick got an email that said:

Dear Patrick:

Yes, I am getting on and it's true that I don't have any assistants to carry-on after I have retired or died.

If you are sincere and honest, I will give you one shot. On Tuesday, October 8 at 9 o'clock I will meet you and the Avalon Diner on Westheimer Ave. in Houston Texas. This is your only opportunity. If you can't make it, sorry but the deal is off. There is no back up.

Please let me know if this is acceptable.

George

Wow, Caroline said, This. Is better than I had hoped for.

Yes, Patrick replied, But it puts pressure on me. I must convince him what I really want."

Caroline laughed, If this guy is as great as you claim, he can read you before you have a chance to say one word.

Caroline helped Patrick send an email agreeing to the meeting. And they made flight arrangements to arrive on October 6 to give them time for any errors.

Three

Meeting

George, an 80-year-old psychiatrist and scientist opened the door of his rented home in River Oaks, Houston, Texas. To his surprise a fresh breeze greeted him, and the weather was perfect. Little did he know but this was fall open window day. No one remembers now, but 60 years ago this was common knowledge that there were two pleasant days in Houston. Spring open window day and fall open window day. These were the two days of the year that you didn't need air-conditioning or heating to be comfortable.

George remembered that and was going to enjoy his half a mile walk to