The Immigrants' Reality

Anna's Rescue

Anna’s terrified screams resounded as her father and brothers

dragged and carried her into the farmhouse.  They brought her

directly into the parlor where Mary waited, to avoid waking the

sleeping babies and little ones.

Stephan sat Anna down on a chair and directed, “Matthew,

guard the front door!  John, you go to the back!”

.

“Anna…oh, Anna,” Mary cried, attempting to embrace her.

Wild-eyed and unrecognizing, Anna sharply pushed her away,

and dashed into a corner, cowering on the floor.  Her parents

knelt beside her, Mary gently stroking her shoulder.  Anna

cringed and screamed and screamed.  The uproar awakened

Andrew, Katherine, and Thomas.  They stood in the parlor doorway,

gawking at their sister, shouting happily, “Anna’s home! “  Anna did

not move or respond.  Mary ushered the children back to bed, and

Stephan moved a few feet away from Anna.  She became quiet.

“Anna, it is Dada.  You are in your home with Mama and your

brothers and sisters,”  Stephan said gently.  “What is wrong, Anna? 

Why did stay away?”

Anna didn’t look at her father or respond. 

As Mary reentered the room, Stephan told her, “She does not seem

to know us.  She is so frightened of us.  We must not touch her.”

“She looks exhausted, Stephan.  We should let her sleep and watch

over her until morning.  She may talk to us then,” said Mary.

Indeed, Anna appeared to be asleep, still crouched in the corner.

Mary covered her with the blanket, and got blankets for the boys

as they sat on the floor blocking the doorways.  Her parents spent

the long night guarding Anna as she slept there on the parlor floor.

The morning brought no change in Anna.  She would not speak or

allow anyone to come near her.  She had soiled herself.  Her

parents knew then that they couldn’t help her.  Aware that Anna

would escape at her first opportunity, they decided that she needed

a doctor’s care.  The only doctor they knew was Dr. Michael Jones at

the hospital.  This was a crisis that required outside assistance.  They

sent John into town to enlist help from the police.

As Mary fed the children breakfast, leaving Stephan to watch Anna,

she explained to them that Anna was sick and they needed to be

quiet and leave her alone so she could get well.  Afterwards, she

put Matthew and Elizabeth in charge of the younger ones and the

babies in the cradle.  She brought Stephan coffee and an aspirin, and

a slice of bread with jam for Anna, sliding the plate toward her.  Anna

didn’t touch the food.  

At last, a policeman and John arrived in a horse-drawn carriage.  Mary

hastily put all the children in the room with the babies and closed the

door.   Anna screamed and fought like a wildcat as Stephan, John, and

the policeman wrapped Anna in blankets, put her in the carriage, and

brought her to the hospital.

Dr. Jones and Nurse Grace Smith were both on duty at the hospital that

day.  They recognized Stephan immediately, and Nurse Smith

remembered John and Anna, though Anna was barely recognizable

now, soiled, screaming, and noticeably underweight.  Dr. Jones gave

her an injection of heavy sedation, and Stephan and John told them

all they knew of Anna living in the woods and the events of the rescue

the night before.  Dr. Jones sent Stephan and John into the waiting

room while he examined Anna. 

Half an hour later, Dr. Jones came out to Stephan and John and said,

“Mr. Voloshin, I’m sorry.  Your daughter is suffering from a serious

mental illness.  I don’t know what it is or what may have caused it,

but we can’t help her here, and we can’t send her home.  She is a

a danger to herself.  I’m making arrangements to transfer her to a

state psychiatric hospital where they will evaluate her illness, and

take care of her.  She is asleep now, and the nurse has bathed her.

If you and your son would like to see her before she leaves, go in

for a moment, but I don’t advise waking her.”

Stephan’s heart broke as he viewed his sleeping daughter, his son

silent by his side.   She was so gaunt and pale.  She looked just like

her mother the day on the ship when Mary collapsed in his arms,

close to death.   Tears slipped down his face as his mind attempted

to process the unfathomable.  He kissed her gently on the forehead,

and grasped John’s arm.  Leaning on each other, they left her in the

care of Nurse Smith.   As they trudged dejectedly home, Stephan

was lost in thought, pondering how he would ever tell this to her

mother.