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DOCTOR PAINFREE
Poor little Daisy Cheney had been sickly from the day of her premature birth and suffered nearly every waking moment from some discomfort or other. Her parents considered it a miracle she had survived for all of her thirteen years and thanked God daily she had been given to them to love and care for. They worshipped the ground she walked on and submitted their will to her every whim.
Daisy seldom abandoned the safety and comfort of her house unless it was to visit the doctor and that was the reason she was out and about today. She had visited the hospital for a new blood check. After she had given up three vials of her life flow and was recuperating in the waiting room in preparation for her departure a kindly aged gent strolled up and passed her a doll. Their eyes met and neither spoke a word but conversation wasn't necessary. Smiles seldom enlightened her beautiful little face and it was the first time in weeks one appeared.
The second she laid eyes on the eleven inch tall doctor carrying a little black bag she felt a warm glow and once she held it in her hand she was painless. Holding it, touching it, was far more soothing to her sickly body than any medication she had ingested or that had injected into her frail body.
Every miracle worker deserves a distinguished name and there was only one that suited her little wooden benefactor, Doctor Painfree.
The microscopic germs wandering through her delicate body depositing pain wherever they pleased had been subdued, but her condition never improved. Actually she worsened by the day but she never uttered a word of complaint as long as her doctor was cuddled in her arms. This was a mixed blessing for her parents. They were euphoric she was without pain but never knew when a new affliction infected her. Slowly, gradually, they watched her color wane. They saw what little body fat she had disappear and were completely helpless to do anything about it.
It was one of those Saturday mornings intentionally designed to keep everyone in bed a few extra minutes. The sun was hiding somewhere high above the clouds and blustering rain was doing its best to ruin another weekend. Mrs. Cheney entered her daughter's room, hesitated for a brief moment,and turned to leave. Daisy was laying in bed, Doctor Painfree nestled in her arm, an angelic smile on her sickly face, and Mrs. Cheney's parental intuition told her all was not well. She approached her daughter and when all efforts to awaken her failed she dialed 911. Twenty minutes later a tiny comatose body was in the emergency room with tubes protruding from different parts of her body. Minutes can stretch into an eternity when worried parents wait for a report on the condition of their loved one and the Cheneys had aged a hundred years by noon when they finally heard from the Doctor.
"Truthfully folks I don't know what to tell you. We've done everything possible to find out what's wrong with her and we still don't know. Her heartbeat is way slower than normal, but strong. Her temperature is eight degrees lower than normal and right now we can't imagine why. We've been on the Internet with nearly every hospital in the country and no one has ever heard of a condition like hers. They've had people with lower temperatures and slower heartbeats but that isn't something that would put her in the condition she's in."
Before her parents could ask questions another doctor approached them and said Daisy was awake and they could go see her. As they walked into the room she turned her head toward them and asked,
"What am I doing in the hospital?"
"You were awful sick, Honey," her mother answered. "How do you feel now?"
"I feel wonderful. I was on a long journey and just got back a few minutes ago."
"Where did you go on you journey?" her dad asked.
"I don't know but it was a beautiful place and I had a reason for going. When I arrived at journey's end I was in green meadow surrounded by low rolling hills. On one of the hills was a small cabin and in the cabin sitting in a chair was a life-size Dr. Painfree. We talked for hours and he told me that someday I could be healthy again but first I had to learn the secret of the doll. He couldn't tell me what it was but somehow I must open the black bag and get out the pill that's inside. If I take the pill I will be healthier than I have ever been in my life."
"Then give me Dr. Painfree and I'll open the bag with a knife," her father said not believing Daisy's dream but wanting to appease her.
"You must never do that, Daddy. If anyone tries to open the bag by force the pill will disappear. It is something I must do for myself. Promise me you won't let anyone else touch Dr. Painfree."
"Whatever you say, Honey," both parents agreed, "no one will touch the doll but you."
Daisy closed her eyes and once again drifted off into unconsciousness. To some far off domain where events would occur only to her. Her breathing became very heavy, labored, and in small gasps. Mr. Cheney fearfully pressed the bell to summon the nurse. Upon arrival she directed the distraught couple to leave the room so the child could be checked again. Another eternity slipped away before the doctor joined them in the waiting room and informed them Daisy had water in both lungs, double pneumonia, and would be lucky to last out the night.
"There's absolutely nothing you can do to help her so I suggest you go home. If anything happens during the night we'll be sure to notified you." But they refused.
"If this is our daughter's last night on earth we want to be with her," voiced a very tormented mother. They despairingly sat by her side occasionally rising to shake off the kinks and pains that come from lack of movement. As it had done from the beginning of time the darkness of night gave way to the brightness of day and the sun peeked through the window brightening the room. Daisy's heavy breathing told one and all she had not departed for the netherworld. The nurse in attendance said there hadn't been any change in her during the night; neither improvement or degradation.
"Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" a tired father asked his wife. "I'll stay with her and after you have slept for a few hours come back and I'll go home for awhile. She may hold on for days like this and we can't go that long without sleep."
Reluctantly she agreed to go for what her husband said made sense. She kissed her spouse, hugged and kissed her offspring, and left the hospital. Mr. Cheney sat in the chair next to his daughter's bed and after a couple hours his eyes closed in uncomfortable sleep as he drifted off, awoke, drifted off, and awoke in a never ending cycle.
Both hands of the hospital clock were pointing straight up at twelve when a refreshed Mrs. Cheney returned to her daughter's side.
"OK, Honey," she said to her spouse, "it's time for you to get some rest and for me to watch her. If there's any change in her condition I'll give you a call."
Mr. Cheney rose to his feet and after kissing and saying good-bye to both his girls departed for home. He shaved, showered, and slept a disturbed sleep until six o'clock when he returned to his daughter's side. Two loving parents sat by the bedside of their declining child waiting for whatever event would take place next. At midnight a nurse suggested they both go home.
"She's resting comfortably and in some ways it seems she may have improved a little. There's nothing you can do here and we'll notify you immediately if anything happens." They finally agreed and left the hospital.
"I probably shouldn't leave," Mr. Cheney told his wife, "but we both need to be wide awake and alert in case she worsens. We can come back early in the morning."
At seven o'clock next morning when they arrived there were so many doctors and nurses crowded inside her room they couldn't get in.
"She must have worsened during the night and they didn't call us," a somewhat disturbed father said looking at his wife. Mrs. Cheney grabbed her husband's hand and nervously gave it a squeeze.
"I don't think so. I'm sure they would have notified us if she had and there wouldn't be that many people in the room if she was worse. Something strange is going on here."
Mrs. Cheney was right. When they finally elbowed their way through the doctors and nurses they saw Daisy sitting up in bed eating breakfast. She had a rosy color to her cheeks they had never seen before and she looked radiant.
"What happened?" asked a couple startled parents.
Daisy's doctor turn to face them.
"We don't know. Her pneumonia has completely cleared. The X-rays show her lungs clear and free from all disease. The problem she had with her blood is gone and she's one of the healthiest girls I've ever seen."
Everyone moved away from the bed and departed the room so the parents could get near their daughter.
"Hi, Mom and Dad," she said between mouthfuls of food. "I feel wonderful. I found out the secret of Dr. Painfree."
"Do you think it was the contents of the black bag that healed you?" Asked a curious father.
"I don't think it was. I KNOW it was."
"Can you tell us the secret?" her mother wanted to know.
"I can tell you part of what happened but I can't reveal all the secret. If I do it won't work again and someone could remain sick because of me. At least that's what Dr. Painfree said."
It was then that the parents noticed for the first time their daughter wasn't holding her favorite doll.
"Where is Dr. Painfree?" asked her mom.
Daisy swallowed her last mouthful of food, placed the tray on the stand next to her, and began her story.
"Three o'clock this morning I had a visit from a little girl. She walked up to my bed and for some reason or other I became partially awake. She was looking at Dr. Painfree and she had a want in her eyes like the one I had when I first saw him. She told me her name was Helen and she was dying of cancer. She asked me what I called my doll and I told her but I was so weak I could hardly speak. When I said Dr. Painfree she said she wished she could be without pain for a little while. It broke my heart to see her standing there so I told her she could have the doll and I used every ounce of strength I had left to pass it to her.
I had Dr. Painfree by the head and handed it to her feet first. As soon as her hand touched Dr. Painfree she lost all her pain and the little black bag popped open. Inside there was a little white pill just like Dr. Painfree told me there would be when I visited him in the cabin. I tipped the doll up just a little and the pill fell into my hand so I released Dr. Painfree. I put the pill in my mouth and swallowed it as soon as I could and then I don't know what happened. I guess I must have fallen asleep for at six o'clock when I woke up I was as hungry as a bear and Dr.Painfree and the girl were gone. I rang for the nurse and asked for some breakfast and in a few minutes my room was full of people. They drew some blood and rushed me down to X-ray. When I got back all this food was here and there were so many people in my room I could hardly get back into bed.
I was told Helen took Dr. Painfree to her room and when she got into bed her temperature dropped eight degrees and her heart slowed down. Just like it happened to me. Now if she can find the secret of the doll she can be cured too."
"Can't you tell her the secret?" her dad asked feeling sorry that another little girl was going through pain like his daughter had.
"No, she must find out the secret herself or it won't work. She's a smart little thing and I think she'll figure it out. As soon as they get one more blood test I think I can go home."
"Can't you tell us the secret of the black bag?" a very curious mother asked her daughter again.
"No, I'm sorry but if I tell anyone the magic is gone and the black bag will never work again. Let's just be thankful I learned the secret in time."
That afternoon as Daisy was in the car on her way home her thoughts were on Helen and Dr. Painfree. She thought to herself, "I hope Helen finds out that she can only help herself by helping somebody else. She has to give away Dr. Painfree no matter how attached she becomes to him. That's the whole secret. A gift of life to someone you don't know."
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