“She told me. I’m certain she wants me to be fully aware of what I’m getting into.”
“She really is a special girl. The way she deals with her illness – it’s inspiring. Are you afraid?” he asked with surprising bluntness.
“It’s hard to know how much fear is justified. Even the doctors aren’t sure,” I answered honestly.
“If you believe the doctors, her condition is severe. Very severe.”
“Yes, that’s what they say. But if it’s that bad, I don’t understand how she managed to play paddleball at the beach this morning. There seems to be a huge gap between what they say and how she looks physically.” I shared my thoughts openly.
“That’s who she is – always pushing to the very edge of her abilities. But…” his face clouded with worry.
“Dad,” she suddenly burst in, cutting him off, “are you talking about me?”
“As it happens, yes.” Her father looked at her and smiled. It seemed both he and her mother enjoyed seeing her so radiant and full of life. She really did look happy.
When she asked for ointment for her wound, her mother realized her ankle was bleeding again.
“Did you tear it open again?” her mother asked, her voice filled with concern.
“Yes, I played paddleball and fell – but it was wonderful,” Lily beamed.
“Do you even have limits?” her mother remarked, shaking her head in disapproval.
“At this rate, you’ll end up hospitalized because of that ankle,” her father scolded.
“It wouldn’t be the first hospitalization, and it won’t be the last. I can’t be a walking mummy.”
“No one asked you to be a mummy,” her father countered, “but maybe lower your physical expectations a little.”
“Did she hurt her ankle again?” asked her brother Saul as he entered the living room.
“Leave me alone, I’m a big girl,” Lily snapped, starting to lose patience.
“But you act like a little one,” her mother replied, returning with a bottle and a bundle of gauze pads and bandages.
“I’m putting this by the door. Don’t forget to take it.”
“I’m buying a bike,” Lily blurted out of nowhere, adding insult to injury.
“What??? A bike???” they both exclaimed in disbelief.
“Maybe first ask the head of Internal Medicine?” her father’s face showed deep concern.
“He doesn’t ask and he doesn’t interfere. To him, I’m healthy,” Lily quickly replied before I could think of an answer.
“Michael, what do you say as a doctor?” her mother turned to me. I stayed silent, embarrassed. I didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, I admired her courage; on the other, I fully shared her parents’ worry about her health.
“I know my health matters to me, to you, and to Michael –though maybe not in that order,” Lily declared. “But I’ll be the one to decide how and what I do. Not the head of a ward, not any doctor, not even the most senior one. Only I know my limits and boundaries.”
“You see? She’s stubborn,” her mother turned to me.
“You’ll never change her mind.”
“That much I’ve already figured out,” I nodded, forming a bold inner decision. I thought to myself: if no one has any chance of fighting her on the issue of her health, maybe it would be better if I just went along with her. Or would it?
Chapter 15
Münchausen
