the VA, but it satisfies my sex drive,” was Samantha’s short answer.
“Wait a minute. You are paid at the hospital, aren’t you?” David asked. He was positive the nursing positions paid pretty well at the federal government level.
“Well, $35.20 per hour that is taxed compared to my ‘reduced’ hourly rate of $250.00 cleared. Well, I think you can see why I might consider my nursing gig a volunteer position.”
David had to admit that her numbers and her logic were sound. He decided to take another approach. “Well, Ms. Littleton, you look well,” he said.
“I am still getting rid of the last twenty pounds from the prednisone, but I am nearly back to my old self,” Samantha concluded.
“So what brings you here, and what makes you think I am going to conduct treatment with you in the room?” David pressed. He knew that Samantha knew that he would not allow her in his sessions.
“I know you weren’t going to let me actually sit in on the session. In fact, I just wanted to give you a major heads-up about your new client. When he says he doesn’t remember what happened, I do believe him. But he knows that he knows a lot more than he recalls, and he is desperate to find out. And so is a bunch of people in the intelligence community and the Department of Defense. I was the triage nurse on call and was the first to meet with him. He had all the classic signs of trauma-induced amnesia … not that I am trying to do your job,” she said and smiled.
Samantha always had a great smile, rare but radiant. “I’m glad you left me something to do,” David replied. “Please go on,” he urged
Samantha handed him a full folder of information on his soon-to-arrive client. There was an extraordinary wealth of data, though it was unusual to have this level of information before a session. Samantha knew that too. She continued with her report in the way she always had when she had interned for psychiatry many years ago.
“I have never seen such a wealth of data and history available, and yet it doesn’t seem to fit his persona. They have his life all laid out in a neat narrative. More importantly, he does not seem to ‘fit’ his own history. He seems more depressed than extroverted, more reflective than a partier. And when you dig a little bit into his past, it doesn’t add up.” Samantha became quiet and then continued, “A private client of mine who just so happened to graduate the same year from the same college did not know him. A picture of Burns from his yearbook compared to my client’s did not match up.”
“Did you tell anyone about this?” David had to ask.
“No,” she replied.
David knew why—her survival instincts were always online. She could read people and situations better than anyone David knew. If she thought something was wrong with this client’s past, he would bet she was right.
“Well, I gotta run,” Samantha said as she began to stand up. “I don’t want him to see me.”
David was genuinely surprised. “I thought you were going to bring him back and forth and were planning to ‘sit in’ on the sessions?”
Thinking more, David went on, “Wait a minute. Why are you so interested in this client’s well-being?”
David waited as Samantha slowly answered, “He is different from the other veterans. He had a head injury, and usually, we bring them off of the majority of the medication they are on once they are stabilized to get a baseline. They didn’t do that in his case. In fact, I swear they kept him on a whole bunch of medication to keep him sedated.”
“Hmmm. So why is he now coming to see me?” David pushed.
“I think because the director of the hospital wanted some movement in his case and you were recommended,” Samantha said.
David didn’t want to know how that happened, and Samantha did not elaborate any more.
David was often confused by Samantha’s behavior and her actions. She was a survivor but seemed to be driven toward fair play. Someone
“Wait a minute. You are paid at the hospital, aren’t you?” David asked. He was positive the nursing positions paid pretty well at the federal government level.
“Well, $35.20 per hour that is taxed compared to my ‘reduced’ hourly rate of $250.00 cleared. Well, I think you can see why I might consider my nursing gig a volunteer position.”
David had to admit that her numbers and her logic were sound. He decided to take another approach. “Well, Ms. Littleton, you look well,” he said.
“I am still getting rid of the last twenty pounds from the prednisone, but I am nearly back to my old self,” Samantha concluded.
“So what brings you here, and what makes you think I am going to conduct treatment with you in the room?” David pressed. He knew that Samantha knew that he would not allow her in his sessions.
“I know you weren’t going to let me actually sit in on the session. In fact, I just wanted to give you a major heads-up about your new client. When he says he doesn’t remember what happened, I do believe him. But he knows that he knows a lot more than he recalls, and he is desperate to find out. And so is a bunch of people in the intelligence community and the Department of Defense. I was the triage nurse on call and was the first to meet with him. He had all the classic signs of trauma-induced amnesia … not that I am trying to do your job,” she said and smiled.
Samantha always had a great smile, rare but radiant. “I’m glad you left me something to do,” David replied. “Please go on,” he urged
Samantha handed him a full folder of information on his soon-to-arrive client. There was an extraordinary wealth of data, though it was unusual to have this level of information before a session. Samantha knew that too. She continued with her report in the way she always had when she had interned for psychiatry many years ago.
“I have never seen such a wealth of data and history available, and yet it doesn’t seem to fit his persona. They have his life all laid out in a neat narrative. More importantly, he does not seem to ‘fit’ his own history. He seems more depressed than extroverted, more reflective than a partier. And when you dig a little bit into his past, it doesn’t add up.” Samantha became quiet and then continued, “A private client of mine who just so happened to graduate the same year from the same college did not know him. A picture of Burns from his yearbook compared to my client’s did not match up.”
“Did you tell anyone about this?” David had to ask.
“No,” she replied.
David knew why—her survival instincts were always online. She could read people and situations better than anyone David knew. If she thought something was wrong with this client’s past, he would bet she was right.
“Well, I gotta run,” Samantha said as she began to stand up. “I don’t want him to see me.”
David was genuinely surprised. “I thought you were going to bring him back and forth and were planning to ‘sit in’ on the sessions?”
Thinking more, David went on, “Wait a minute. Why are you so interested in this client’s well-being?”
David waited as Samantha slowly answered, “He is different from the other veterans. He had a head injury, and usually, we bring them off of the majority of the medication they are on once they are stabilized to get a baseline. They didn’t do that in his case. In fact, I swear they kept him on a whole bunch of medication to keep him sedated.”
“Hmmm. So why is he now coming to see me?” David pushed.
“I think because the director of the hospital wanted some movement in his case and you were recommended,” Samantha said.
David didn’t want to know how that happened, and Samantha did not elaborate any more.
David was often confused by Samantha’s behavior and her actions. She was a survivor but seemed to be driven toward fair play. Someone
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