The Montana Doctor's Bride (New Brides of Montana) (2 page)

The main business area of Rockville showed the results of neglect, while the town’s menfolk had been off to war.  Many of the buildings were empty, and the paint was peeling, the boards on the sidewalk were loose and broken. 

He stopped in front of the office of Dr. Jim Gilbride, who had been his mentor prior to his attending Georgetown.  Pausing for a minute, debating whether to go in or not, he pushed the door open and walked in.  The office appeared empty; he heard noises in the back and called out. “Doc?  Jim Gilbride, it’s Carter Palmer.  I’d like to talk to you if you have a few minutes.  There was the shuffling sound of a chair being moved, and a silver haired man, clad in dark pants, white shirt and tie, and a vest, came through the door.  He appeared to be in his late fifties

“Carter?  I thought you were dead.  The casualty lists showed you as killed at Chancellorsville, along with so many of our boys,” the doctor said.

“That’s what Elizabeth Cartwright told me.  I was there, and it was horrible.  Our field hospital was overwhelmed with the dead and injured, but I made it through.  The Confederates pretty much left the doctors and hospitals alone, and even left their wounded with us.  It was probably the same on the other side.”  As he talked, a sad look came across his face as the memories crowded in.  He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the horror.

“Jim, tell me about Lucy,” he said.  “How did she die?  Elizabeth told me it was smallpox, but that usually isn’t fatal.”

Doctor Gilbride said, “When Elizabeth came and got me, Lucy already had the lesions and blisters on her face and arms.  They had already started suppurating.  It was quick for her.  I had her clothes and the other things she had been in contact with burned.  I know both of you were vaccinated, because I did it myself.  Hers must have not taken.  Even if I had gotten there earlier, I doubt it would have helped.  Since I thought you were dead, I did what I could to keep it from spreading.  Elizabeth did what she could also, and was there to the end.

“What are you going to do, Carter?”

“I don’t know yet.  After all I’ve seen and done, I’m not sure whether I want any more medicine.  Truth be told, I’m thinking of selling out and moving out west.  The further I can get from these memories the better,” Carter said.

“None of us have the amount of surgical experience the military doctors got during the war.  We could really use a man with that kind of expertise around here.  You could help a lot of people,” Jim said. 

“I don’t know if I can do it anymore,” he said.  “At Chancellorsville, we had the dead and dying lying on the ground, with nowhere else to put them.  We ran out of laudanum and ether at times, and had to use whiskey.  When a Minie ball hits a leg, it shatters the bone and there’s no saving it.  I’ve done so many amputations, I hear the screaming in my dreams.  After a while, I became so calloused, their begging me not to take their leg didn’t bother me.  That’s when I became disenchanted with medicine.”

“What of those you saved?  There must have been a lot of them,” Gilbride said.

“There were, but I remember the ones I lost more.  You know, when a boy knew he was dying, he didn’t call for his wife or his papa, his last words almost always for his mama.”

“Think about those you saved.  Take some time, then come in and spend some time with me.  If not for you, do it for me and our townsfolk,” Jim said.

“I’ll think about it, Jim.  Thanks for what you did for Lucy.  I know you did what you could.”  He shook his mentor’s hand, walked back to the street, and headed for the undertaker’s office.  As he walked in, the smell of death hit him and he almost left.  The tall, gaunt man behind the desk asked, “Yes, sir, have you lost a loved one?”

“Yes, I have, but it was some time ago, while I was away.  I’ve come to pay for your services.  I’m Carter Palmer and Lucy was my wife.”

Opening a desk drawer, the undertaker shuffled through some papers, and held one up.  “I have it here.  There’s no charge, sir.”

“There has to be a charge.  Mrs. Cartwright said she arranged the services, but didn’t pay you.  I insist I pay you.  Out of respect and appreciation, I want to pay your normal service fee.”

“Mr. Palmer, if you insist.  The normal charge would be $20.00 but it isn’t necessary.”

Carter retrieved a $20 gold piece and gave it to the undertaker.  “I appreciate what you did.  Thank you.”  He left, anxious to get away from the smell of the dead and the haunting memories.

Elizabeth Cartwright’s house…

Elizabeth had invited Carter for dinner.  It was a welcome respite from his attempts at cooking.  “I took care of the undertaker today, Elizabeth.  He didn’t want payment, but I insisted.  I also stopped in to see Jim Gilbride.  We had a nice long talk about Lucy and my plans.  That part was a short conversation.  I haven’t made any yet. 

“I stopped in at the bank and talked with the president about selling, or renting it out.  I have no need for such a place.  A room would be sufficient for me,” he said.

“I could let you have a room here,” Elizabeth said softly. 

“I don’t know if I want to stay in Rockville.  I’ve been thinking of going out west and starting over from there.”

“In medicine?” she asked.  “There’s a need for a doctor here.”

“I just don’t know, Elizabeth,” he said.

In a wistful voice, she said, “I hoped you would stay here.”

He heard just the words, not the longing.

A budding relationship…

“Elizabeth, I’ve decided to rent my house out.  It is just too big for me.  I only use the bedroom and occasionally the kitchen,” Carter said one evening.

“Where will you live?” she asked.

“I’m thinking about taking a room at the boarding house on Frederick road, until I definitely decide what I’m going to do.”

“I’ve thought about taking in boarders,” she said.  “Instead of being in the boarding house with strangers, you could take space here, and you could have your office here.  That way, I could help, and it would supplement my widow’s pension.  It would be no trouble for you to move and it would keep me from having strangers in my home. 

“You wouldn’t have to cook, not that you do much of that anyway,” she laughed.

“What would the townspeople say, with me living here and all?” he asked. 

“Most of them would see the doctor helping out the widow woman and serving the community.  You’re the best doctor in the county and the people need you.” 
I need you, I’m lonely.
She left her thought unsaid.

The next day, he said, “I’d like to give it a try, Elizabeth.  I still think I would like to go west.  They just discovered gold in Montana, and found silver too.

“When can we start?” he asked.

“Would today be too soon?”

He laughed.  ‘If I’m to practice medicine, I’ll need to get my instruments cleaned and sterilized, and get some medicines.  Then I’ll hang out my shingle.  I came across it the other day, when I was cleaning out the back room.”

“I’m so glad you decided this way.  I think you will be happy here.”

Doctor Jim
Gilbride’s Office…

“Jim, I’ve decided to delay my decision. He laughed.  It sounds stupid, doesn’t it.  I just can’t make up my mind.  Part of me wants to go west; Elizabeth Cartwright has offered me the use of part of her home as an office.  I’m going to rent out my house, and live in the office.

“I don’t want to take your patients, Jim, but if you have any overflow, send them to me.”

“You got more experience during your time in the Army than I’ve had in my lifetime.  I want to slow down, and with your surgical experience, you are far superior to what I am.”

“Yeah, I’m an expert at whacking off legs.  Send me all of your Minie ball wounds.  I’m an expert in those too,” he said bitterly.

“Elizabeth would make you a good wife, Carter,” he said.

“In my mind, I’ve just lost my wife.  I am not looking to remarry,” he said.

“I understand,” Jim said.

With the patients sent him by Dr. Gilbride along with those that discovered him by word of mouth, Carter found himself seeing ten or more patients a day.  It was easy to see he could make a living here. 

Elizabeth was in heaven.  Her life had a purpose now.  She helped him in the office, and went with him on house calls.  Her assistance was particularly valuable in the treatment of female patients.  Carter had not treated female patients since he was conscripted into the army.  One of the difficulties he encountered in his new civilian practice was treating women.  Victorian modesty prevented nakedness, and it was necessary to perform examinations beneath the many layers of clothing they wore.  He always insisted on having Elizabeth in the room during such examinations. 

Elizabeth went along with him on deliveries.  On most of these, he performed the delivery beneath the clothing.  On the way back to the office and home, one evening after performing a difficult delivery that involved a breech, Elizabeth put her hand on his, and said, “That was exhilarating!  I can see what makes medicine such an attractive profession.  People are entrusting you with their lives and the lives of their loved ones.”

“It isn’t so exhilarating when you lose one.  It hits you right in the gut.  Some of them you don’t forget,” he said. 

Even after months of working and living in close proximity to each other, Carter still treated her like a neighbor, showing no interest in her as a woman.  One evening, as they sat in the living room, after dinner, she said, “You go to Lucy’s grave often don’t you?”

“I guess I do.  Coming home to Lucy was what kept me going through all of the blood and gore.  I still haven’t accepted that she’s gone forever.” 

“You need to let her go and get on with your life.  You haven’t even considered marrying again, have you?”

“I haven’t.  I would appreciate it if you didn’t bring this up again.”  He got up and went to his room, not noticing the moisture growing in her eyes.

A coolness between them developed over the next few days.  Carter was not present for most of the meals.  Unless there was a female patient present, he hardly saw Elizabeth.  One evening, after arguing with herself, she broached the subject of his distance. “I offended you with my advice, Carter, and I apologize.  I’m concerned about your well-being.  You seem somewhere far away.  I enjoyed helping you, and felt I was contributing to your work, but now, you’re shutting me out.  What can I do?”

“Look, I know I’m not good company.  I have a lot on my mind.  I’ve been going to the library and reading about the western territories.  I’ve spoken with the surgeon general’s office and inquired about being a contract surgeon in the Montana Territory.  They have a need, because of their frequent conflicts with the Indian tribes. 

“It’s not what you want to hear, but it’s what I want to do.”

“What about the patients you have here.  They depend on you.  Dr. Gilbride depends on you.”

“That can’t be helped.  I told Jim from the outset that I wanted to go west.  With the Homestead Act and the Exemption act, I can get a good bit of free land.  I’ve been thinking about trying my hand at cattle raising,”

“You’d just walk away from medicine.  You’re a fool, Carter.  Lucy would be ashamed of you.”

“You leave Lucy out of this,” he snapped.  “If she hadn’t died, she would have seen what the war has done to me, and she would have understood.”

For the rest of the week, he told his patients he would be closing his practice and referred them to Jim Gilbride,  On Friday, he removed his shingle, and prepared to move his clothing items to the boarding house. 
 

At the bank, he
arranged for them to continue the management of the funds from the rental of his house.  The banker he had spoken with on occasion, verified they had a correspondent bank in Helena, enabling him to have funds transferred from his Rockville account to the new account he would open in Helena.

“I will make arrangements to remove the desk,” he told Elizabeth.

“You don’t have to do that.  Please don’t leave.  I will not meddle again.  I was only doing it out of friendship,” she said.  “I’ve lost my husband; I can understand what you’re going through.  It’s just that I’ve had longer than you to recover.  I would like for you to stay, even if it’s only until you decide what you want to do.”

“I have decided.  I’ve accepted the Army’s offer to be a contract surgeon, and I will be going to Helena, Montana.  I will be leaving on Monday.”

“Oh,” she said.  Then stay here until then.”

Sunday night…

All was in preparation for his departure the next afternoon.

10:00PM…

A loud pounding on the door startled him awake.  He pulled on his pants and padded to the front door.  A frantic man was raising his fist to pound on the door.  “Doc… you gotta come help.  My wife is in a bad way, she’s bleeding, bad.  You have to come help,” the distraught man pleaded.

“Come in, I’ll get dressed and go with you,” Carter said.

He turned away toward his bedroom.  “Who is it, Carter?  What’s the matter?”

Without slowing down, he said, “I don’t know him, but he says his wife is bleeding badly.  Will you go with me?”

“Yes, of course, I’ll get dressed.”

In less than ten minutes, they were in the buggy and following the man.  “Hurry, Doc.  She’s in the bedroom.  The midwife is with her.

When they entered the bedroom, they saw the bed sheets were covered with blood; the wife was pale from the loss of so much blood.  “What can you tell me?” he asked the midwife. 

“She began having pain.  They thought she had gone into labor.  When I got here, she was bleeding heavily, so I sent him after you.  It’s not something I’ve ever seen before,” she said.

“Would you leave the room, please?” he asked the husband.  “Turning to Elizabeth, he said, “I think the placenta has ruptured.  I’ll have to cut.  Would you get the ether, please?”

He turned to the husband, “Sir, You have to leave the room.  I need some hot water to wash my hands.  I’m going to have to operate, and you can’t be here for that.  Now go, we can’t lose any more time.  He administered the anaesthetic, and then sliced through the abdominal wall and into the uterus.  Working as fast as he could, to stanch the bleeding, he said aloud, “The placenta has separated from the uterine wall.  That’s the reason for all of the blood.”  He packed gauze pads around the area, but was unable to stop the bleeding.  He removed the lifeless fetus.  “It’s oxygen deprived, and is still born.”  He handed the fetus to the midwife. 

After an hour, he turned to Elizabeth and the midwife.  “With no blood to the fetus, there was no way for it to survive.  The mother lost too much blood.  She’s gone too.”  He looked at his watch.  “I pronounce her time of death at 1:12AM.

“I’ll tell her husband.”  He left to perform the saddest duty any doctor has, and one that never gets any easier.

He walked into the outer room.  The husband jumped up.  “She’s going to be all right, isn’t she, Doc?  She’s going to be okay, right?”

“I’m sorry,” he said.  “I don’t even know your name.  There’s no easy way to say this.  We did everything we could.  She lost too much of her blood to survive.”

“How?  Why?” The distraught man asked.

“We don’t know why these things happen, but the placenta ruptured and she lost her blood through the tear.”

It was two hours before they were able to return home.  Elizabeth was still crying when they entered the house.  Carter removed his bloody smock and wrapped it in an old newspaper.  He washed up and went to bed. 
Why do I do this,
he asked himself.

He was in bed, unable to fall asleep, when Elizabeth entered the room.  She asked the same question he had asked himself.  “How do you do this?” she asked.  “Why does God allow this to happen?”  She sat on the side of the bed.

“Carter, I don’t want to be alone.  Would you hold me please?  Just for a while.”

He opened his arms and she came into them, her body wracking with the uncontrollable sobs.  She clung to him fiercely, fitting her body against his.  The sobbing finally stopped, and she fell asleep.