MRS.

                                                                DOCTOR

                                                                                                                                                Book Excerpt

The month of May was here again. A year had gone by since I graduated from college. And almost a year had gone by since Mama's death. It had been a very difficult year for me. The abortion I had a month prior was depressing me as well. My life was unbearable at this point. My continued dependency on Matthew was killing me. I had to wait a year for my son to turn fourteen before I could do something about my miserable life. It was going to be a long wait.

This weekend would be the exact one year anniversary of Mama's death. I expected Vivian and my other sisters to go to mass this weekend and offer prayers for Mama. I had to call Vivian. I had not spoken to her in three months.  It was the longest I had gone without speaking to her. I had to find out if there was anything I needed to do to help. Most likely, I would have to send money. I made a promise to myself to call Vivian before the week was out. Thursday came and I had still not called Vivian. I was on my way to the supermarket when I remembered, I felt guilty.  I would call Vivian as soon as I got home, without delay. The phone was ringing as I entered the house.  I rushed to answer it, almost dropping the grocery bag I carried from the supermarket.

It was a call from Ghana.

               "Is this Lucy?"

                "This is she."

                "My name is Mona, I'm a good friend of Vivian." 

                 "I remember you, Mona. How are you doing? I'm supposed to call Vivian today."

                 "Vivian is gravely ill. That's the reason I'm calling you."

                 "My heart jumped. Vivian is ill? What's wrong with her?"

                 "I don't know the details.You need to call her. I went to see her yesterday and she did not look good."

"She asked me to call you."

                   "How long has she been ill?"

                   "I believe she's been in the hospital for two months now."

                    "Which hospital?"

                    "Volta Hospital in Tema."

                   Many things were going through my mind. If Vivian was seriously ill, as Mona was saying, why was she at Volta Hospital which was a very small hospital in Tema? Why was she not at Korle Bu, which was better equipped teaching hospital in Accra with many specialists? And why had no one called to tell me about this? Mona gave me the phone number to call the hospital. I thanked her and called the number right away. The call went through, fortunately.  I introduced myself and asked to be connected to my sister's ward. Within seconds Vivian's weak and tired voice came on the line. "Hello." I was so shocked.

"Vivian, what's the matter with you? Why hasn't anyone told us that you are ill?"

"I thought John had called," she said. 

"I know nothing about this. What is the matter with you?"

"I'm very ill. My stomach is so hard and I cannot eat anything."

"Stay calm," I said. "Matthew and I will do everything we can to help you.  I'm going to ask him to speak to your doctor so we know exactly what the problem is."