THE NIGHT NURSE, SUMMONED again to the surgery for an emergency, went in the middle of preparing the injection Dr. Lauzin had ordered for Rachel. In great pain and craving water, Rachel fought crying out for as long as she could. Then the subconscious prevailed.
The old man praying before Our Lady of Perpetual Help heard her cries. He made his way to her bedside.
“Water…Please, water.”
He hobbled down the hall to his own ward and got the glass from his bedside table. He borrowed the tube from the glass of the sleeping man in the next bed and brought Rachel the relief she craved. He supported her head while she drained the glass. He felt much better himself for having performed the charity and went back to bed knowing that he would sleep at last.
Within a few minutes Rachel was nauseated. She managed to edge herself to the side of the bed, but retching violently and now delirious, she flung herself from the bed. The wound opened.
At ten minutes to eight that morning Reverend Mother was summoned again to the hospital, but by the time she arrived the patient had died.