Ben Winston is a member of the Army Reserve Medical Corp and had been unexpectedly called to active duty. Catherine had to except a promotion to supervisor on the night shift in order to make ends meet. Ben's mother volunteered to come and help Catherine and the children while Ben was away on deployment.
When Michael and Jerry returned from summer camp their father had just received orders to report for active duty with the Army Reserve Medical Corp. His call to active duty had caught the whole family by surprise. Their father was already busy organizing his gear for his fast approaching deployment. He would be shipping out the same week fall classes began at the children's school. He would be able to celebrate the twin's birthday the week before he had to report for duty.
He would have only one full week to spend with his family and to set his personal affairs in order before shipping out to Afghanistan. Ben spent part of his reminding time getting an elaborate security system installed in his home. He wanted his family to be safe while he was half way around the world. He bought the top of the line security system that monitored all the doors and windows. It also included a video surveillance system with sound and motion detecting cameras all around the outside of the house. It also had cameras monitoring each room and corridor inside the house. Even though he would be thousands of miles away he would be able to manage the safety of his family through his laptop. He could see and hear everything going on in his home.
*********
It was a very hot dry day in late August when Captain Winston reported to the U S Army Base Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. This National Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan is Walter Reed's extended Medical Facility, where the most severely wounded troops go for life-saving care before being shipped back to the States.
On average, 400 to 500 outpatients are treated daily, including 50 in the emergency room. The 430-bed facility had room for up to 1,000 patients and a staff of more than 500, including 118 doctors. Kabul was also home to a 200-bed hospital for the national police. Together they are twin hearts of a nationwide network of military medical facilities.
Now as the U.S.-led NATO coalition prepared to end its combat mission in Afghanistan this year, the push to improve medical treatment at the military hospital and regional facilities near the front lines had reached a critical phase. They treated everything from major to minor gunshot wounds, traumatic brain injuries, and amputations from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs to hemorrhage, sepsis and shock. Enemy attacks were up and coalition medevac and surgical support was growing scarcer in the area. The hospital beds and gurneys are filled with bodies broken by the war.
When Captain Winston first reported to the hospital commander, he found there was no shortage of pharmacists. Therefore he was selected to be cross-trained as a surgical assistant and was told he would be assigned to assist a seasoned surgeon. His cross training took 12 weeks and he found he would be under the direct supervision of Dr. Constance McLemore.
He was told he would serve as her surgical scrub person for basic surgical procedures. Among his duties would be to prepare instruments and the operating room for surgery. He must also troubleshoot, report, and remove from service any faulty equipment. He would be responsible for inventories, instruments, sponges, and needles on operating field. He would also maintain appropriate quantities of surgical supplies and equipment. In addition to instruments he must anticipate the surgeon's every need in the operating room. It sounded overwhelming but Captain Winston was sure he could multi-task while managing to perform as expected.
The night of graduation several of the new surgical assistants met at the Officer's Club to celebrate and discuss their new assignments. Everyone was excitedly chatting about their new assignments and new commanders. Captain Winston asked if anyone knew anything about Dr. Constance McLemore. Suddenly all the friendly banter stopped and there was total silence at the table.
Ben looked around the table and said, "Well...hasn't anyone heard anything at all concerning Dr. McLemore?"
No one volunteered any information. They all sat wordlessly looking like the cat that ate the canary. He was beginning to get a queasy feeling in his stomach. He out ranked everyone at the table and expected an answer.
"Come on...surely someone has heard something about this mysterious Dr. Constance McLemore," Ben pleaded. He didn't want to pull rank, but he would if it became necessary.
Finally a young female Lieutenant spoke up and said, "I understand she is a very beautiful woman in her mid to late thirties."
"Okay...that's a start. What else have you heard about her?"
"I heard she graduated at the top of her class at Harvard Medical School and did her internship and surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston," she continued.
"And....?"
"And she holds the rank of Major in the military."
"And....?" He said while waiting for informative comments rather than generalities. Everyone remained silent. They were all acting strangely evasive. He found he was almost to the point of not really wanting to know what they were reluctant to tell him.
"Damn it...someone say something...let the other shoe drop," he groused.
The same young Lieutenant took a deep breath and hastily blurted out, "I also hear she is a nightmare to work with and that she changes surgical assistants like most people change their underwear."
Everyone sat around the table in silence, slowly sipping their drinks while lost in their own thoughts. The cheerful atmosphere had changed to somber. Ben finally broke the silence and said, "Okay, Lieutenant...I appreciate your full candor. At least I won't be walking into a total ambush."
Captain Winston downed the rest of his drink then excused himself. He went back to his room and opened his laptop to check on his family. The children were at school. Catherine was snuggled in her bed softly snoring and Nana was dozing in her easy chair while one of her soap operas played on the Television. Ben closed the laptop and hit the sack.
The next morning Captain Winston reported to Dr. McLemore's office. He found a young 2nd Lieutenant sitting at the desk in Doctor McLemore's outer office. He approached and gave the Lieutenant his name. He was instructed to have a seat and wait until Dr. McLemore completed a conference call.
"Lieutenant, what is Dr. McLemore like to work with?" He casually asked as he took a seat.
"I am sorry, Sir, but I am not at liberty to discuss the Doctor's personals."
Captain Winston was taken aback by the Lieutenant's response. He leaned forward and said, "Are you refusing to answer my questions, Lieutenant?"
