FTEC, Wednesday Night
Natalie hadn't been looking forward to her shift. The idea of standing idly by, waiting as Martha Kent died, was a less than appealing one. She didn't know why. Well, she did -- watching someone suffer was low on anyone's list of things to do, perhaps even more so on her own. Aside from her brief time on rotation, she'd never had to deal with the dying; she had always been left with the after affects, and just dealing with that had sometimes required no small amount of professional detatchment.
For family and friends, cancer was almost always a silent, invisible killer, often discovered far too late. Performing autopsies for most of her career, she'd seen the damage it could cause. Having seen that and now watching over Martha Kent made professional detachment something of a fleeting thought.
She plugged in the Christmas tree first thing, allowing the "over 1000" lights to brighten up the lobby. The tree itself took on an etherial glow, sparking a tiny gleam of hope in her heart. There was no hope for Martha Kent in this life. But, Natalie mused, there would be freedom in the next.
That done, she went and checked on Mrs. Kent's medication. It was going to be a long, long shift.
For family and friends, cancer was almost always a silent, invisible killer, often discovered far too late. Performing autopsies for most of her career, she'd seen the damage it could cause. Having seen that and now watching over Martha Kent made professional detachment something of a fleeting thought.
She plugged in the Christmas tree first thing, allowing the "over 1000" lights to brighten up the lobby. The tree itself took on an etherial glow, sparking a tiny gleam of hope in her heart. There was no hope for Martha Kent in this life. But, Natalie mused, there would be freedom in the next.
That done, she went and checked on Mrs. Kent's medication. It was going to be a long, long shift.