Hospitals are one of the most depressing places on earth. Everything reeks of antiseptic and disinfectant, the food is bland and the portions are small. Plus, you can't have a moment's peace to yourself and you have no privacy whatsoever. And guess what? I'm going to be spending my Easter Weekend here on the fifth floor of Mississippi Medical Center because mother nature hates me.
Okay, all joking aside, it's really a very severe case of seasonal allergies or “Hay Fever” that landed me here. That and a summer cold that somehow turned into pneumonia. You see, a few days ago after my sixteenth birthday, I started to sneeze a little. I thought nothing of it at first. Well the sneezing turned into coughing, and coughing turned into more sneezing and from there, everything kind of just snowballed. At first I tried to treat it with some over the counter allergy medicine. That helped a little, but only a little. I did feel better for a few days. One day, about a week after my birthday, I got caught in a sudden downpour while I was walking home from cheer practice.
And I got soaked to the bone. Despite rushing right home and jumping straight into the tub, and getting a nice warm shoulder and then into a nice, clean, and warm change of clothing. I still came down with a case of the chills.
It was just the chills at first. Anyway, I thought I was coming down with a summer cold, yes, you can get a summer cold in spring. Anyway I dosed myself with more cold medicine, more allergy medicine, and vitamin C tablets. And hoping for the best I kept chugging right along. Then one morning I woke with a sore throat, took some medicine for it, had a light breakfast of warm grits, scrambled eggs, and a small cup of warm milk that was flavored with chocolate powder and then I returned to bed. I'd hoped to just sleep it off, but when I woke up from my early morning nap, my sore throat had not gone away as I'd hoped, instead it was worse and my head was so hot you could figuratively fry an egg on it.
On top of that, I had shortness of breath, and it felt like some professional wrestler had crept into my bedroom while I was sleeping and had then proceeded to put me through the paces, in other words everything hurt, everything was sore and I felt totally drained. Mommy at this point had had enough. She told daddy to get the car ready and told Lily my older and only sister to get me bundled up in a blanket. Lily did just that and before I knew what was going on, I'd found myself being wrapped tightly in a woolen blanket and ushered from my warm bed into the backseat of the family car.
An hour later, mom was pulling into the brightly lit parking lot of Mississippi Medical Center that was located in the heart of downtown Jackson, Mississippi. Once the car was parked, I was ushered into the ER. From the ER I was ushered back into an exam room. Once I reached a room I was given a breathing treatment, a penicillin shot, they then hooked an IV up in my arms and ordered me to get some rest.
So that brings you guys up to speed on me. That was yesterday on Maundy Thursday, that makes today Good Friday and I'm honestly starting to feel a little better, still fatigued, still aching, but I'm breathing a lot easier than I was a few days ago and I'm starting to grow reckless too. One can only sleep so much and despite still being sick I wanted to get up and move around a little. But the head nurse wanted me to stay chained to my bed and get some rest. But speaking of nurses, here's one now. I think she's my night nurse.
My night nurse was a petite woman with shoulder length brunette hair that she had pulled back in a nice, neat ponytail. She wore pink hospital scrubs and the name badge that was pinned above her right breast read. 'Dawn Sharbrough'.
“Good evening Ms. Potter.” She said as she pushed a trolley into my room. It must be dinner time, because I can already smell the flavorless food the hospital staff has so tenderly prepared for me. “Tonight's dinner is oven roasted chicken, green beans, butter peas, a cornbread roll, and a chocolate pudding cup for dessert.” She said in a cheerful tone of voice as she pulled the tray toward me. “And of course, unsweetened tea to wash it all down with.”
I bleached at the last part. For us southern belles, sweet tea was the beverage of choice, you always had sweet tea with every means. I mean heck. I think we were even nursed on the stuff. I've often said this before and I'm going to say it again. Down here in Dixie Land we often take in sweet tea right along with our mothers milk. And to not have sweet tea with chicken was a tad amount to trampling upon the Holy Cross.
“Something wrong sweetie?” She asked as she pushed the serving tray up to me and smiled. I forced myself to lean up a little.
“Plenty.” I said, sighing a little.
“Oh? Care to enlighten me?” Dawn said as she started to check over the machine's I was hooked up too. Oh that another thing, they had me hooked up to more machines and more monitors than you could shake a stick at. Most of them were perfectly harmless, but their constant beeps and pings would get on your nerves before long. I mean I guess they needed to keep a constant check on my breathing, heart rate and all that. But flipping Jesus, I felt like blooming Frankenstein hooked up to all those things.
“Okay, well first off, my bottom hurts.” I said in a flat tone of voice.
“And as expected, the doctor gave you a full round of shots. And in a few minutes we are about to give you another full round of shots before you go to bed this evening. And depending on how you're breathing, the doctor might suggest another steroid shot.” She said with a sigh. “I know sweetie. Shots are no fun at all. And trust me when I say this, I have given you them, just as much as you hate having to get them. We got to, doctors ordered and all.” She said, nodding her head.
“Right!” I said huffing as I rolled my eyes to the side. “Oh and lets not forget, no WiFi either.” I said pointing toward my phone. “I mean, how else am I supposed to check on my news feeds? You know Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, and Facebook? How am I supposed to keep in touch with all my friends and family.” I said leaning back into the bed with a huff.
Dawn looked at me for a good few moments. It was kind of a hard look, the look your mom or dad give you when you'd said something really dumb or rude. A kind of disbelief look. “First off young lady.” It was then I knew I was in for a scolding. “This is not a motel Ms. Potter, this is a hospital. Instead of focusing on your Myspace or what ever you kids are using these days, You should be focusing on getting better.” She said in a commanding, almost scolding tone of voice. “She paused and took a deep breath. “But if you're a good girl and you somehow manage to finish all your dinner and you take your shots while kicking up a storm. I'll see about bringing you something to read tomorrow morning when I start my shift Anything you might like? Because we have a vast collection of YA novels in the reading room down the hall.” She asked me with a hopeful smile on her face.
Now, I know that Dawn was just trying to be nice to me. But right now I just wanted to pout and fuss, and to pour out all my frustrations on her. But I decided if I wanted something to keep my mind entertained, I better be a good little girl, and eat all my veggies and clean my plate, and take my lumps with some sugar as the old saying goes. But once more I decided to put my foot into my before and before I could catch myself, I found myself saying.
“Yes ma'am Nurse Ratched.” I said as I lifted the pink plastic dome from my tray and breathed in the bland aroma of hospital food. The small plastic tray held two pieces of oven roasted chicken, a leg and a thigh, and like the nurse said a small mountain of green beans that looked more like pieces of green string that beans and beside them a smaller mountain of green peas that looked like tiny-lime colored wads of paper. I swear to God, Jesus, The Holy Ghost, The Holy Family and Mother Mary, when I get out of this place, I'm going to get some real food in me. Anyway I was just about to put a fork full of green beans in my mouth when I noticed Dawn peering at me.
“First off, curve the attitude young lady. Second, my name is not Mildred Ratched. It's Dawn Sharbrough. And Third, I'll have you know we have a special nurse here in this ward that keeps bratty teenagers like you in line. So unless you want a late night visit from that special nurse I would suggest you again curve that little attitude of yours young lady.” She warned in a stern tone of voice.
“Oh you mean the 'Phantom Nurse' I've heard that was just a silly little urban legend you guys like to use to keep children from misbehaving in the ward.” I said, spearing my fork into the mountain of green beans. I then popped the fork into my mouth and chewed them up and swallowed hard. The veggies tasted bland as heck, I'm used to my mom's cooking, who like all southern women, season their veggies with bits of bacon, ham, or salted pork.
“Oh.” Dawn said, shaking her head. “Trust me when I say this, 'The Phantom Nurse' is no mere silly urban legend. We nurses tell us to keep misbehaving brats like you in line. She is as real as you and I.” She said winking her eyes as she jotted down some notes on her clipboard.
I had to roll my eyes hard at the last part.
“So are you going to tell me the story behind 'The Phantom Nurse' or what? I mean there has to be a story behind it.” I said, huffing out a stream of hot air.
Dawn blinked as she slowly turned her head toward me, she eyed me for a few long seconds before she nodded her head again. “Do you want to know the story?” I gotta warn you it's pretty scary? Your not going to have nightmares if I tell you this story, are you?”
I blinked and blinked again as I reached down and took another big bite from my roasted chicken leg, okay the chicken did taste pretty good, not as good as my mom's roasted chicken mind you, but decent enough. I quickly swallowed and took another bite and swallowed again before giving Nurse Dawn my answer.
“I mean, me and my friends gather in the forest behind our houses each Saturday night to exchange ghost stories and stuff. And none of those stories have ever bothered me. So sure, go ahead and tell me this super scary story about the 'Phantom Nurse'. Heck, I might even write it down and share it with my friends once I get out of the hospital. I said finishing off the roasted chicken's leg.
I mean how scary could this story be really? I mean since Jamie life has thrown me nothing but one curve ball after the other. I've really been put through the ringer, lets see, first I was attacked at homecoming by some crazy girl, who threaten to have me raped by the whole football team, then I had a bright red target painted on my back by some bigot Southern Baptist preacher, who was supported by some “Good Old Boy” Headmaster and a old, fossil of a science teacher. Then I'd almost died on the operating table, in this very hospital about a year or so ago. Okay maybe I did die, my memories of that day are fuzzy. But I do remember getting rushed into the OR, the anesthesiologist putting me asleep.
Then having to fight to fight a shadow version of myself. And after defeating that shadow version of myself I somehow managed to get before the gates of Heaven I think? I don't know, and I don't care to remember.
So yes, since becoming Jamie I've had a number of hair raising adventures. And I've been through enough to make even a sane person question their sanity. So, sure nurse Dawn, tell me super scary ghost story, I might even get a chuckle or two out of it.
“Okay,” Dawn said, smiling as she peered toward me. “Okay, first off there are several different versions of this story, I'm going to tell you the one I know okay?” Dawn said as she took a deep breath. I started to attack the roasted thigh, getting entertained while I ate dinner, talking about living high on the hog.
“Okay according to what I heard, there was once a pediatric nurse by the name of Amanda Fairchild, she used to work on the floor back in the late eighties. Then one day around Halloween just as she was getting off she was killed in a tragic wreck right off Highway 80. We'll shortly after her death, some say a few weeks, others say a month, still others say it was not till the following Halloween that children in the ward started to report seeing a strange nurse, the nurse would visit them late at night and bring them books, juice boxes and sometimes even little treats.” Dawn said.
“Now, when she was alive Amanda, often called 'Mindy' by her fellow nurses, was a stickler for rules and often kept order by scolding misbehaving children and teenagers. She was even known to take really rambunctious teenagers over her lap.” I swear I saw Dawn blush when she mentioned that. “Anyway, a few months after her death, a few rambunctious teens started saying that a strange glowing nurse had spanked them for mouthing off with the other nurses or for being out of their rooms after hours. Now, we nurses are not allowed to spank troublesome teenagers, no matter how much we might want too. That's just a lawsuit waiting to happen. Anyway, we nurses just sweep it under the rug. Till one day, an RN named Isabella Bell, had her curiosity piqued and she started to keep records of all these encounters and even interview children and teenagers who swear they encountered this mysteries nurse.”
“Anyway, through her research Isabella Discovered that all these stories were connected via one thread, the nurse's name badge always read 'Amanda Fairchild' and the nurse always called herself 'Nurse Mind'. So naturally Isabella assumed the ghost of Amanda Fairchild had returned to keep her appointed rounds from beyond the grave.” She said, smiling sweetly. “And that about it, it's been well over forty years since Amanda Fairchild was killed in that tragic wreck, but every now and again her spirit makes an appearance.” Dawn paused. “I think the last reported sighting of the phantom nurse was about two or three years ago. A girl named Madeline Brewer was on the ward here, and according to her she encountered the ghost of Amanda Fairchild, who even gave her a book. Of course their have been other whispers of her appearing since then, but there was something about the way Madeline said she looked that makes hers the most believable account.” Dawn paused. “And not just another plea for attention.”
I blinked and blinked again. It was then I remembered one of Madeline's stories, indeed just a few nights ago when it was Madeline's turn to tell a ghost story around the fire, she had told us the very same tell of encountering a ghost nurse who had given her the courage to accept that she was indeed a girl, a very special girl.
“Anyway I said enough.” Dawn said, smiling. “I'll leave you to finish your dinner, and tomorrow I'll bring you a collection of books to read, just pick out the ones you want to read and put the rest to the side and one of our Candy Strippers will be around shortly to collect them.” And with that Dawn left.
And I finished my meal, a few moments after I'd finished my meal, another nurse came in, pushing another trolley, and again I was given another round of shots. Penicillin, steroid, and another antibiotic shot. After those shots, I fell asleep, and I dream, dreamless dreams. Though, when I woke up around midnight to go make water, I did stumble upon an idea. I decided that I'll push my luck and try to encounter this phantom nurse, and maybe I'll have my own ghost story to tell.
To be Continued.
