Musings of S.M.

By Bharat Desai

S.M.-Siobhan Murphy was brought up in a loving family environment by her parents-Peter and Molly. She realized her childhood dream of becoming a doctor having graduated from McKenna Medical College. Her romance with Patrick Piasso culminated in her marriage with him. Soon after, she faced a daunting task of balancing her professional endeavors with her family life. Patrick found it difficult to resist the overtures of another attractive woman during this turbulent period in their young married life. With each patient encounter, Siobhan learned the lessons of actual art of practicing medicine which she could never have acquired in the class rooms of her medical school. She realized that 'one-size-fits-all' approach did not work when she was confronting patients with different background and diverse mental make-up. She would have to modify her healing potion depending on each individual patient's preferences and prejudices. With every interaction, she strove to become a better physician. Then one day, she got news of advanced cancer of Molly. Did she fall apart? "MUSINGS OF S.M." describes her struggle to handle this devastating blow which befell her soon after Patrick has left her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645594901

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Musings of S.M.

Bharat Desai

ISBN 978-1-64559-489-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64559-490-1 (Digital)

Copyright © 2020 Bharat Desai

All rights reserved

First Edition

This is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places are fictional in nature. Any resemblance to present or past character, event, or place is purely coincidental.

Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Names: Desai, Bharat, 1947-author.

Title: Musings of S.M./Bharat Desai.

Description: First edition. | Murrells Inlet, SC: Covenant Books, Inc., [2020]

Subjects: LCSH: Women physicians—United States—Fiction. | Work-life balance—Fiction. | Medical care—United States—Fiction. | Man-woman relationships-Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION/Medical. | FICTION/Romance/Medical.

Classification: LCC PS3604.E7548 M87 2020 (print) | LCC PS3604.E7548 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Growing Up

Romance

Struggle

A Day at the Races

Emergency Room Calling…

Hospital Rounds…

Office Encounters…

Life Goes On…

To Judy, Laura, and Sheila—my three companions on the journey.

Growing Up

SM—Dr. Siobhan Murphy—was a family physician affiliated with Pleasant Valley Hospital in the town by the same name. She joined the hospital staff soon after getting her board certification in family medicine. She also at the same time opened her solo practice of family medicine, a few blocks from the hospital. Her hard work and dedication soon established her as one of the successful family medicine practitioners in the area.

After a spell of hectic hospital rounds, SM finally would find a window of about thirty minutes for what she would describe as a coffee break. Actually, she would call it a tea break because, you see, tea was her favorite drink. During her childhood, while sipping a cup of tea, her mother would tell her stories of their past family events; she would recount their experiences of trips to foreign lands, plus she would elaborate on their memories of encounters with various neighbors. Siobhan fondly remembered those cozy moments of society with her mother—Molly.

The beverage, so much historically and perhaps romantically associated with the history of American Revolution, held a strong, magical fascination for her. She believed that tea activated the gray cells of cerebral cortex in a salutary manner. Her conviction was confirmed when, after consuming a cup of Molly’s well-brewed English Breakfast tea, she vanquished her competition in the countywide spelling bee contest during the freshman year at her high school. She edged out her rivals by correctly spelling the words Mississippi and phenolphthalein. She almost always felt a sense of tranquility after imbibing a cup of well-brewed English Breakfast tea. It seemed to revive her dulled senses. She could think more clearly. The challenge of tackling mysterious ailments of her patients would become much less daunting. She would prefer to linger longer, enjoying her heavenly beverage, but then she would say, Alas, the duty calls. I still have more patients to attend to and considerable paperwork to complete. Time to move on!

Peter Murphy and Molly Quinn grew up in the same neighborhood. They often played softball together. Peter was always protective of Molly. When other children made fun of her, he would come to her rescue and always tried to mollify her with encouraging words and frequently with a piece of hard candy. In grammar school, he offered to carry her books when coming home. In high school, he helped her with math and science while Molly assisted him with language assignments. He escorted her to their senior prom. After the high school graduation, Peter went to college and excelled in finance. Molly did enroll in a college and wanted to become a teacher, but after one year of college study, she quit. She felt it was not for her. Instead, she helped her family run their farm.

As expected, Peter proposed, and Molly delightfully accepted to marry him. They were a happily married couple. Peter worked hard as a mortgage officer at a local bank and eventually moved up the ladder to become the bank manager. Molly kept a tidy home. She was an accomplished cook and delighted Peter with her extraordinary culinary skills. The couple was blessed with two beautiful children—John and Siobhan. John was three years older than his sister.

Peter was a loving father. Whenever convenient, he took both children to local carnivals. He would ride with them on a carousel. They would then enjoy a hot dog or a hamburger with a glass of lemonade or an orange soda. The entire family would go to a baseball game for a fun-filled outing. Siobhan was the apple of his eye. He fondly called her my sweet little lammie. Often, before the children’s bedtime, he would read them Pat the Bunny, Good Night, Moon, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Both children, but especially Siobhan, loved this kind of precious parental attention. Peter would frequently pick Siobhan up in his arms and swing her as though in a hammock, calling out, Weeeee… Siobhan would excitedly cry out, Daddy, weeee me again, please. Peter would oblige most eagerly. Molly would observe these activities with quiet satisfaction and would thank God for providing her a blissful family milieu. Both of them would often address Siobhan as Shivie lovingly.

Peter encouraged both John and Siobhan to take lessons in self-defense. Both of them excelled in the martial art of Taekwondo. Master Lee Cho, the instructor, used to say Siobhan was emblematic of perfection in the areas of high kicks and nimble footwork. Siobhan received a black belt for her expertise in this art. Peter was amazed to observe how she had trounced an opponent eight inches taller and sixty pounds heavier than her during an annual championship exhibition. She had received a trophy for her accomplishment, and this was proudly displayed at the kitchen mantle at the Murphy family’s home.

Siobhan still remembered the words of wisdom Master Cho offered on the final day of their training. He spoke, Yes, it is important to have great physical strength. The beasts of burden have great physical strength. But we, human beings with lofty goals for our lives, need great spiritual strength also. To cultivate this aspect of our nature, we need to have humility and respect for our fellow human beings. It is my sincere hope and prayer that the skill all of you have acquired here will be used for self-defense or for the protection of the weak around you and not for self-glorification, ostentation, or bullying others.

Siobhan and John were expert swimmers. They spent a chunk of their summer vacation at the local swim club to which the Murphy family belonged. In winter, both of them enjoyed long hours at the local skating rink.

Siobhan was also musically inclined. She would sing popular musical melodies while assisting Molly in the kitchen or doing other household chores. Often, she would hum or whistle a song even while reading a book or playing outdoors. She played a clarinet in her high school band. She boasted a vast collection of music boxes in her bedroom. These played classical tunes such as Johann Pachelbel’s Canon, pieces from The Nutcracker Suite, Swan Lake, themes from the popular movies like Gone with the Wind, Love Story, Doctor Zhivago, Godfather, and many more.

She was also an avid reader. Local public library was her regular haunt. During her elementary school years, she devoured most of Nancy Drew mysteries. She loved the part of red-haired Anne of Green Gables and thoroughly enjoyed reading about Anne’s exploits on her beloved Prince Edward Island. She was enchanted by the experiences of a village schoolteacher in the quaint English hamlet of Fairacre as narrated by Miss Read.

During her high school years, her reading interests shifted to the romantic novels by Dame Barbara Cartland, famously acclaimed as the queen of romance in her time. She also enjoyed various exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. How Sherlock Holmes used his keen powers of observation to find a solution to an intriguing mystery made a great impression on her. Her reading list also included mystery novels by Agatha Christie portraying clever art of detection by Hercule Poirot as well as Miss Marple. In addition, several hilarious episodes of faux pas by Bertie Wooster and his subsequent successful extrication by his incomparable, one and only, fiercely loyal, masterful gentleman’s gentleman—Jeeves, as described by P. G. Wodehouse, delighted and amused her immensely.

Her linguistic teacher remarked that her writing style was poetic and inspiring.

Both Peter and Molly noted that Siobhan was a gentle, kind, and compassionate child. They sensed presence of a blithe spirit in her. She would run to help injured birds or animals. During Halloween, she would dress up as a nurse or a doctor. So when she announced in her senior high school year that she wanted to be a doctor, they were not surprised. Peter started a financial strategy to fund her medical education as well as setting up her medical practice when she was ready.

John was always fascinated with airplanes. He started his career as a commercial airline pilot. He was proud of his little sister—Siobhan. When Siobhan was accepted at McKenna Medical College, John arranged a huge celebratory party.

Siobhan had already completed her medical school, and the next year would be the final year of her family medicine residency. During her clinical rotation, she earned the sobriquet SM, for Siobhan Murphy, and it stuck. When she was home, she often recounted her hospital experiences.

During her rotation through the surgery instructions, she was assisting a surgeon performing an intestinal operation. Suddenly, there was panic in the operating room. Siobhan saw a fountain of blood squirting the bright overhead lamp. You see, the patient’s aorta was accidentally punctured. The operating surgeon blurted out some obscenities and was beside himself. The whole atmosphere was chaotic for a few minutes. The chief of vascular surgery was brought in quickly on the scene. With his expert handling of the repair of the damaged vessel and after several blood transfusions as well as meticulous care in the intensive care unit, happily, the patient was saved.

Then there was the story of an operating room blooper. A female patient in her sixties was to undergo a procedure on her left knee. The surgeon was about to use his scalpel on the prepared area when the anesthesiologist at the head of the operating table remarked, Weren’t you planning the procedure on her left knee, Doctor? I see you are working on the right knee at present.

Oops! I believe you are absolutely correct. It is the next patient who is scheduled for the right knee. Thanks for noticing it in the nick of time, commented the operating surgeon. A collective sigh of relief was clearly audible in the operating room.

She also narrated a story of a diabetic patient who developed a gangrene of his foot and how the stench in his room made her and a couple of her fellow colleagues incurably nauseous. One of them fainted and had to be carried out of the room. Siobhan could not eat properly for the next two days.

Her saddest moment came when she had to pronounce a five-year-old child dead, having succumbed to multiple injuries resulting from an accidental fall from a third-floor balcony in a nearby tenement building. She shed tons of tears while breaking the dreadful news to the distraught family. There was not a single dry eye in that room when the death was announced.

Of course, there were happy moments too. She had correctly diagnosed acute appendicitis in a child of eight years with a history of fever, nausea, and abdominal pains. She was assigned to finalize the discharge instructions for that child when treatment was successfully completed. There was much happiness and mirth in that room that day.

Peter assured her that he had saved enough money for her to start her own medical practice when she would finish her residency. She grabbed every chance to be with her parents during these busy years of her medical training. She would assist Molly in the kitchen preparing different meals when she was home. She would also try to fit in her schedule a visit to the local skating rink in winter and, of course, a baseball game in summer.

Romance

Siobhan had met Patrick during her frequent shopping excursions to the Piasso Department Store in the past. Patrick was the only child of George and Anne Piasso—the owners of the only department store in their small town. Patrick often worked as the store manager.

He was smitten by the charms of this five feet, six inches tall slender young lady with luxuriant growth of lustrous pale-brown hair on her head, sparkling brown eyes, and enchanting smile adorning her sweet face sprinkled with a few fetching freckles. He thought of her face as a brightly illumined full moon. He thought the pinkish tone of her facial skin was redolent of the sky color just prior to a glorious sunrise. When she spoke, he felt an angel was playing a harp. She was well endowed from her waist up. She walked erect with her firm chin drawn up.

Patrick described her gait as simply regal. At the sight of her, his heart strings vibrated with high frequency. He would start dreaming of kissing those enticing lips and scooping up her lissome, tender, sublime frame in his strong, sinewy arms. He was so besotted with her that he would have eagerly kissed each and every stone she ever touched or walked upon. He thought she was extremely easy on the eyes. If the art of tattooing the body parts was in vogue at that time, he would have proudly displayed an elaborately crafted tattoo with Siobhan’s name on the left front of his chest. While daydreaming, he wondered if she was Venus—the goddess of love herself—personified, casting her spell on him. To sum it up, he felt she was simply the bee’s knees.

Often, he had discounted the store merchandise for Siobhan’s benefit, saying the sale was going on. During her years at the medical school, her visits to the department store became less frequent, but Patrick was in no hurry to make his move. He mustered up enough courage one day to ask Siobhan if they could go out on a date.

Patrick was five foot ten, well built, swarthy with sharp black eyes and boyish face. Siobhan’s feminine instincts told her that Patrick was genuinely falling for her. His deportment showed nothing but adoration and admiration for her. She secretly enjoyed this special attention.

She accepted the invitation and joined Patrick that evening at the Silver Moon restaurant. She wore an outfit of cream pants and a bright-pink shirt. A purplish scarf was wrapped around her pretty