Page 16 of A Hidden Hope
Annie Fisher glanced around the crowded waiting room.
The workday had just started and it was already one of those mornings where everyone needed Dok’s attention, all at once, right now.
Three mothers with fussy children, an elderly man with a walking cane, and two noisy teenagers filled the small space.
Hank and Edith Lapp had just walked in the door, asking if Dok could squeeze them in.
If only! Dok was running late and hadn’t arrived yet. Annie sighed, sensing it was going to be a long day.
The basement door swung open and Charlie appeared at the top, soaking wet, dripping water. “Annie, I wonder if you might know of a plumber?”
Annie followed him back down to the basement.
She hadn’t been down there since Charlie had finished carting away all the things that had been stored in the basement.
Now, wall studs were up, and an actual door to the exterior had been installed, replacing the slanting cellar door that you had to duck under.
Impressive! Everything except the large puddle of water that was spreading across the floor, gushing from a geyser in the small bathroom. “What happened?”
“I was branching in a new pipe with a fitting,” Charlie said, brushing wet hair from his forehead, “and, unfortunately, the original pipe broke at the shut-off valve.”
Eyeing the mess, Annie sighed. Oh no. Squinting, she put her hands on her hips. “Does that mean there’s no running water in the entire office?”
Charlie’s face scrunched up in an apology. “Not until we get a plumber here.”
With that, the door creaked open, and Hank Lapp hollered down the stairwell. “ANNIE! What’s this about needing a PLUMBER?”
That man! He could hear like an owl when he wanted to. Annie waded over to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at Hank. “Charlie said a pipe broke.”
“Old pipes,” Charlie said, wringing water out of the ends of his shirt. “I should’ve known.”
“I’ll have a LOOK,” Hank said, in the way that men do, assuming they can fix everything.
Annie started up the stairs. “I think I’ll just make some calls and try to find a plumber.”
Hank chuckled, shaking his head. “NO NEED! I’ve got PLENTY of experience with plumbing. I know JUST how to fix this.”
Oh dear. Dok wouldn’t like this. “I think I’d better call a real plumber.”
Hank looked hurt. “I’ve run into more brOKEN PIPES in this town than any REAL plumber. Ask EDDY! She’ll tell you.”
No way was Annie going to ask Edith Lapp anything, not if she didn’t have to.
That woman terrified her. She bit her lip, glancing over at the rapidly spreading water.
They were in a bind, and Hank sounded like he knew what to do to fix it.
On the other hand, Hank always sounded like he knew what to do and he rarely did.
“You need WATER to keep the office open, RIGHT?”
“Right.”
“THEN I’ll fix this in the BLINK OF AN EYE.”
It wasn’t like Annie had many options at the moment. Maybe she could let him fiddle around with it while she called around for a plumber. “All right, Hank. If you think you might be able to fix it, give it a shot. But please be careful. Do no damage.”
“Don’t you WORRY, Annie. THIS BOY and I will have running water for you in no time.”
Annie stepped aside to let Hank pass on the stairs, watching as he approached the problem with a determined look.
She leaned over the railing to see him crouch down to examine the pipes, muttering to himself in a voice loud enough for all to hear.
After a few moments, he started tinkering with the fittings, his hands moving with surprising deftness.
Annie’s skepticism slowly gave way to hope. Maybe Hank really did know what he was doing. She doubted it, but she might be wrong.
Back upstairs, she found Wren had arrived at the office. The last couple of days, she hadn’t been coming in with Charlie and Evie in the mornings. Dok didn’t even seem to notice.
“Annie,” Wren said, “I’d like a few minutes to talk to Dok.”
“You could if Dok were here—” Before Annie could finish the sentence, a commotion erupted from the corner of the waiting room.
Mary Yoder, an elderly woman with a kind face, was clutching her chest, struggling to breathe. Her wheezing filled the room, causing everyone to turn and look.
Annie rushed over to Mary.
Wren was right behind her. “Everyone, please step back and give her some space.” She knelt beside Mary Yoder. “I’m Dr. Baker. I’m here to help.”
Mary Yoder nodded weakly, her eyes wide with fear. “Asthma,” she said, patting her chest.
“I’ll call Dok,” Annie said.
“I need a nebulizer,” Wren said, calm but authoritative, as she took charge of the situation. “Do you know what that is?”
“Of course.” Of course Annie knew what a nebulizer was. “But I’ll call Dok.”
“No time. She needs it now.”
This was exactly the kind of situation that Annie had hoped to avoid with the residents. The thing was, Wren was right that Mary needed treatment, fast. She blew out a puff of air. “Which med should I bring?”
Wren’s eyes flicked at her, impressed. “Albuterol. It’s fast-acting and will help open up her airways right away.”
Annie quickly fetched the nebulizer while Wren prepared the medication. She attached the albuterol to the nebulizer and placed the mask over Mary’s face, instructing her to breathe deeply. The room fell silent, everyone watching intently as Wren worked to stabilize Mary’s breathing.
“Just breathe slowly and deeply,” Wren coached gently, holding the mask in place. “You’re doing great.”
Gradually, Mary’s breathing steadied, and the color began to return to her face. The waiting room of patients, watching the drama, relaxed.
“Thank you,” Mary Yoder whispered, relief evident in her eyes.
Wren smiled warmly. “You’re very welcome. We’ll keep an eye on you for a bit, just to make sure you’re feeling better.”
The door opened and in walked a pharmaceutical representative.
Annie recognized him—the reps made the rounds to doctors’ offices on a regular basis to drop off product samples or brochures.
Annie would squeeze them in between patients to talk to Dok for a few minutes.
Not today, though. She was just about to tell him that Dok wasn’t in the office when Wren stepped in.
“I’m Dr. Baker,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m new to the practice. Dr. Stoltzfus isn’t here right now.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Baker,” he said. “I’m with Pharmogen.”
Wren stilled. “Call me Wren. I’d love to hear about your company’s products.” She pointed to the hallway. “Let’s go to Dok’s office.” And away she went, the pharm rep eagerly following like a golden retriever, wagging his tail.
Annie watched them go, wondering how Dok might feel about Wren Baker stepping into her shoes. With a patient, with a pharm rep.
But Dok wasn’t here. And, fortunately for Mary Yoder, Wren Baker was.
Annie heard some clanking from below. She hurried down the basement stairs. “How’s it looking?”
Charlie peered around the bathroom door. “Not too bad.”
“NOT BAD AT ALL,” Hank said, tightening one last fitting. “Just ONE more twist here ... and it’s good as NEW!” He stood up, wiping his hands on a rag. The water had stopped, and the puddle on the floor was no longer growing.
In the tiny bathroom, Annie stepped around Hank to turn on a sink faucet. It worked! She let out a sigh of relief. Who would’ve thought it? Hank Lapp saved the day.
Dok pulled into the parking lot, trying not to count how many cars and buggies filled the lot. “Evie, would you mind running into the Bent N’ Dent and getting us both a cup of Sarah’s coffee? I’ll meet you in the office.”
As Evie disappeared into the store, Dok remained in the car for just a moment to brace herself, resting her hands on the steering wheel and taking a deep breath.
She and Evie had been on an early morning house call that took longer than expected, and she was certain she’d be facing a waiting room full of cranky patients.
As Dok stepped inside, she was hit in the face not by cranky patients but by the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
By the sight of her patients chatting and laughing, doughnuts in hand.
Edith Lapp, who usually had a bone to pick over the smallest delay, was smiling, dunking her doughnut in her coffee mug.
It was like walking into a cozy café rather than a clinic.
Dok blinked a few times, convinced she must be imagining things.
What was going on? Dok stood there, nonplussed, trying to reconcile the cheerful scene before her with what she had anticipated. “Annie?”
Seated at her desk, Annie watched her with wide, concerned eyes, as if she wasn’t sure how Dok would react to this scene. Frankly, Dok wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
“Wren Baker ordered the doughnut delivery. She made everyone coffee too. She said the patients should be compensated for having to wait.” Annie handed Dok a fistful of pink phone messages.
“And there was a plumbing problem. But that’s been taken care of.
” Annie took in a deep breath. “And then there was a...”
Dok had been glancing through the messages, but there was something in Annie’s pause that made her freeze. “A what?”
“Mary Yoder...”
Dok turned to see Mary Yoder, seated next to Edith Lapp, stuffing half a doughnut into her mouth.
“Elderly patient started to have trouble breathing,” Wren said, walking in from the door that led to the exam room. “I administered a nebulizer treatment, and she responded well.”
“You did what ?” Dok said, in a low, none-too-pleased voice. “You’re not licensed to treat a patient without supervision.”
At first, Wren’s eyes went wide, and for a split second, Dok thought she was going to apologize. But then something shifted. Wren’s lips twisted and her back stiffened. “It was a situation, Dr. Stoltzfus, that required immediate attention.”