It’s history now. But July 4th of my Deacon year, the last year before Ordination to Priesthood, is etched on my memory. Maryknoll sent four of us to an inner city Hospital in New York to join the resident interns for training in basic medical procedures. Maryknollers still worked in primitive areas where the missionary gave 속 only medical care available.
The week began with new experiences. I spent the mornings helping the nursery dietitian prepare formulas for new insistence on sterile procedures, the washing of hands and wearing of cap, mask, gown and gloves sticks in my memory. I spent the afternoons in the dental department learning to anesthetize jaws and teeth. This was a teaching facility where people of the inner city came for free care. I still marvel at my first patient’s courage. After the instructing dentist pointed out just where I was to stick the needle in the man’s mouth and how to pull his tooth, the patient encouraged me, “Go ahead and jab it in. Everybody’s got to begin sometime!”
We worked 24 hours shifts, moving at night from hospital floor to trauma-emergency room. This evening of July 3rd was busy with a skeleton staff on duty over the holiday. The evening began with a little girl whose mouth was open when a neighbor boy threw a firecracker at her. It exploded inside her throat. Several tables in the trauma-emergency room were already full when a phone call from the delivery room came demanding help. The head doctor jabbed his finger at me. “You! Get up to the delivery room and give them a hand.” A few minutes later I was helping the obstetrician and Nurse gritted through her teeth at me: “Push!” A moment later the baby came out. The obstetrician showed me the baby’s foot. “This baby’s got a club foot,” he said “but correctible.” I still say a prayer that that baby made out all right.
They dismissed me from the delivery room, and I returned to the emergency room where people were lined up waiting for care. Many were fresh from fighting with knives in the neighborhood bars. The hospital ran 12 ambulances and they were all busy this night. The head doctor saw me and pointed to a gig man lying on his stomach, his back covered with blood. “This man’s friend stuck him with an ice pick. He’s got over 40 punctures. I want you to clean out each puncture and suture those that have been tom. Like this.” He cleaned and sutured a couple of the wounds, and motioned a young Nurse to assist me. “Your patient won’t feel a thing,” the doctor said as he left me. “He’s completely drunk. But keep your gloves on and don’t stick yourself!” It took me four hors to clean and suture the man’s wounds. I was finally escorting my patient out the door when he suddenly came to life and turned to me. “Doctor, you forgot to take the sutures out from last week!” I looked. He had a knife wound in his head from which the sutures were ready to be removed. I sat him down and took care of his head. “Good-bye,” he said as he left.. I’ll see you next Saturday!”
It was 3 AM and things had quieted down. I accompanied a physician to the local police station to attend a young woman drug addict, screaming in the throes of withdrawal. As the physician gave her an injection I heard her ask in a quiet voice, “How much are you giving me?” On our way out he told the Police Officer, “She’s not really as bad off as she’s pretending. I gave her enough to hold her for another six hours.”
When we got home the ambulance driver left the doctor off and called out, “How many hamburger joint.” The siren wailed as we sped through the now silent streets of the City and pilled up with tires screeching by the “No Parking” sign in front of the hamburger stand. This driver was the same “character” who had walked, were witnessing our first autopsy. I barely caught the student when I hear an ambulance siren at night I wonder whether it’s some character going for a hamburger.
A little while later the staff of the emergency room was sitting in the office having a hamburger and coffee breakfast. The staff and patients I met and passed by that 4th of July are vividly etched on my memory still. I say a prayer for them as I wonder where they are now?”
제목 ; 내가사랑하는사람들
순서 16번 ; 지나가버린사람들
(1953년여름)
지금이이야기는옛날에있었던일입니다. 아, 사제서품식전에저의부제서품해중에 7월 4일이뇌리에새겨집니다. 메리놀은저희들네명을뉴욕안쪽에있는시병원으로보냈는데기본적인의술절차훈련을시키려고전문의실습생과정에합류하라는것이었습니다. 메리놀회원들은여전히원시적인지역에서일했는데거기서선교사는유용한의학적주의사항만주었습니다.