The evening air felt colder than usual.
After supper, Joan found herself unable to settle down. The events of the day lingered in her thoughts, refusing to leave no matter how many times she tried to focus on something else.
Instead of returning directly to her room, she put on her coat and stepped outside.
The grounds around the nurses' residence were quiet at this hour. A few windows glowed warmly against the darkness, while the distant sounds of carriage wheels drifted through the cold night air.
Joan walked slowly along the path, her hands tucked into her coat pockets.
The winter wind brushed against her face, clearing some of the heaviness from her mind.
For a while, she simply walked.
Then her thoughts returned to the ward.
The helpless feeling that seemed to follow her whenever she watched someone grow weaker despite receiving care.
She remembered the discussion between Dr. William and Dr. Harrison earlier that day.Neither of them had been foolish men.And neither of them wanted their patients to suffer.
Yet they had reached entirely different conclusions. Although dr. Harrison was already searching for a different path, but even he remained bound by the medical understanding of his era.
The records themselves were not the problem.
Physicians across the country filled them every day with symptoms, treatments, and outcomes.
What differed was the meaning they drew from them.
The same observation could lead two doctors to entirely different conclusions.If anything was going to change, then people would need a different way of looking at those records.
The day after tomorrow is her day off.
The library had an entire medical section she had barely explored.If she truly intended to do this, she would first need to learn the right medical terms to be written.
If her words carried no weight as a trainee nurse, then perhaps a carefully documented record could speak on her behalf.With that thought in mind, Joan finally turned back toward the residence.
For the first time all evening, she felt as though she had found a direction.
"Is she still sleeping?"
"Yes , Mrs Laura is still sleeping since her last procedure "Edith answered Dr Williams and his entourage of Dr Harrison and the two new interns.
While Joan who was spacing out was quite pale and heavy hearted. Although those around her noticed her pale expression, no one paid it much attention, as it was a normal reaction to the harsh treatment as a new nurse.
"Call me as soon as she wakes up"
Dr William instructed briefly as he long knew Edith for her competence.
"Ahm, watt ... .water" Laura opened her tired eyes reluctantly, feeling thirsty.
"Here you go…" although still feeling confused, she heard a soft, comforting voice, while a warm, firm hand wrapped around her shoulders.
After she had taken a few sips, Joan gently helped her lie back down.
Not long after that, as Joan attended to the patient in the bed next to her, she heard quiet sops behind her, turning around, she saw Laura's shoulders trampling,
Tears streamed down the woman's cheeks as she bit her lower lip in an effort to keep herself from crying aloud.
"What if I don't get better?" she whispered.
Edith who just finished with another patient, pulled a chair closer and sat beside her bed.
"Right now, you do not need to worry about next month or next year," Edith said gently while pouring a glass of water.
The woman accepted it with trembling hands.
"Your only task is to rest and recover one day at a time. Leave the worrying to us for now."
The patient lowered her gaze.
"But what if the treatment doesn't work?"
Edith paused briefly before answering.
"I cannot promise what tomorrow will bring. No honest nurse or doctor can."
The woman's expression dimmed slightly.
"But I can tell you that you are receiving care, and that everyone here is doing their best for you."
Edith adjusted the blanket around her shoulders.
"Many patients spend their strength fearing things that have not happened yet. Save that strength for getting through today."
The patient took a slow breath and nodded faintly.
"There now," Edith said softly. "Drink a little water and try to rest."
Later that afternoon, Joan stopped by the bedside to check on her.
To her surprise, the woman appeared calmer than before.
"How are you feeling?" Joan asked.
"A little better," the patient replied quietly.
They spoke for several minutes about simple things—the weather, the hospital garden, and a letter the woman hoped to receive from home.
By the time Joan moved on to the next bed, some of the tension had left the patient's face.
Across the ward, Edith noticed the change.
"She seems more relaxed around you," Edith remarked while reviewing her notes.
"She mostly needs a distraction"