On Call At the John

By Randy May

On a humid southern night in a busy inner-city hospital, an inexperienced white male intern and a strong black nurse with years of experience are faced with the daunting task of changing a little girl's life. Estelle's laceration is just the tip of the iceberg, leading to the discovery of the worst wounds she's ever endured. As they delve deeper, the intern, May, quickly learns that abuse of all kinds is a daily occurrence in the inner city, perpetrated by both ordinary people and community leaders. Poverty, addiction, racism, and lost hope have created a breeding ground for unimaginable suffering.

Little did May know that this journey would lead him to confront history and look into the eyes of the killer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As he grapples with this revelation, May realizes that his own transformation is just as crucial as Estelle's recovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jul 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889100416

Randy May

Randy May has been a practicing physician for 46 years. In the 60s and 70s, while in training, he was thrown into the tumult of riots and racism in Memphis Tennessee where he grew up. Thus, began his journey over the following decades that placed him in medical leadership roles in numerous hospitals across the United States. Randy lives in Los Angeles California with his wife and two dogs.

Book preview

On Call At the John

Randy May

Austin Macauley Publishers

On Call At the John

About the Author

Dedication

Copyright Information ©

Acknowledgment

Synopsis

About the Author

Randy May has been a practicing physician for 46 years. In the 60s and 70s, while in training, he was thrown into the tumult of riots and racism in Memphis Tennessee where he grew up. Thus, began his journey over the following decades that placed him in medical leadership roles in numerous hospitals across the United States. Randy lives in Los Angeles California with his wife and two dogs.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my parents who taught me to respect all races. And to my patients who taught me forgiveness. And finally my wife, Julia, who kept me focused during the writing of this book.

Copyright Information ©

Randy May 2023

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, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloguing-in-Publication data

May, Randy

On Call At the John

ISBN 9798889100409 (Paperback)

ISBN 9798889100416 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023909138

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

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Acknowledgment

Thanks to Austin Macauley for taking a chance on a new author.

Synopsis

This is a story of my experiences as an intern in an inner-city hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. The story takes place just before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in April of 1968. The name of the hospital was John Gaston. It was run by the city of Memphis and was a facility used by the University of Tennessee Medical School for some medical training. I spent one year there as a surgical intern and was part of a team caring for mostly black people with little to no income. I grew up in a middle-income white family.

I am still in medical practice as an anesthesiologist. All the events in this story are based on true experiences. However, I took my experiences and added to some of them; fictionizing some of the outcomes. For instance, the little girl I sutured in the beginning of this story was real and she was sexually abused by her uncle as I narrated. The authorities did name him as the sexual abuser. I remember her like it was yesterday. However, I added that that the little girl received help and the abuse stopped. I don’t know if this is true; I hope it is.

Every experience is based on a true incident; like the pimps giving me attitude as I tried to help them, the young man shot in the riots, the female prisoner requiring a vaginal exam by me to check for hidden contraband, the maternity suite filled with drama, the strong black women nurses and nurses’ aides; all these are true. During this time, a strike against the city of Memphis was underway. It what was called a ‘garbage strike’ by some white residents. The strike was actually carried out by approximately 1300 men (all black)