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 crankypatients 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...”
