The Things That Stay

Notebook Entry 2: Holly - February 26th, 1965

4:02 AM, February 26th.

            Patient: Jane Doe [true name unknown]

            The patient—whose name is not known, as she has no means of identification upon her person and is unable to communicate properly due to a shattered jaw and damaged spine—was only conscious once during the sit-in before succumbing to her injuries. She has been my most agitated patient yet: very frightened indeed. Whether this terror was caused by her imminent death or the violence that befell her, I fear that I could do little in the way of calming her.

            The physical and mental trauma undergone by this poor woman was considerably horrific. The surgeons have surmised that her assailants beat her with various blunt objects as well as their own feet and fists for long stretches, though whether the worst of the violence happened before or after her sexual assault is still unclear. The worst of the damage was concentrated in her skull and her back, and her injuries include the aforementioned damage of jaw and spine as well as considerable brain damage, six broken ribs and a broken nose, as well.

            I spoke to her as softly as I could and I held her hand when she at last allowed me to. She was scared out of her wits and in a great deal of pain, and she looked at me a very long time before lapsing into unconsciousness. Her approximate time of death was twenty minutes ago.

           

            If my financial situation were not so dire as it is now, I would have surely turned down this transition. Crimes such as these are too appalling and frighteningly close to home for me to remain an unbiased and emotionally stable personage, and I do not think I am competent to handle another sit-in similar in nature to this one. I am used to death, but not like this.