Evening star., 1933-06-25

The 60-odd members Of the grad
uate field nursing staff of the In
structive Visiting Nurse Society of
Washington habitually encounter ap-
pealing. curious and sometimes humor-
GUS cases and incidents in the course
of their extensive daily rounds. The
heads of the organization urged them
to write in brief form at least one OF
these, a prize being offered each month
for the best turned in. The little con-
test ran six months. The activities of
visiting nurse often go beyond the
limits of actual professional nursing;
she sometimes becomes the guide,
philosopher and friend OF the individual
or family for which she cares. The
winning efforts for the final two months
of the contest are printed herewith.
NO 5.
Didn't Suffer Alone.
The morning air, fresh with Spring
sunshine. poured into the street car
from wide-flung windows. The passen-
gers buried themselves comfortably in
their newspapers or chatted with their
neighbors. In the parks robins tugged
at fat wc-nlS and the early flowers were
bright in their soft Spring colors. The
whole world was acting as though 1t
was the beginning of an ordinary day.
Only Anne knew that it wasn't. 1t was
the end of the world for her. Yester-
day the doctor had told her she had
diabetes.
For more than 20 years she had
travelled to work on this same car.
Each day had been much like the one
before. There hadn't been much ex-
citement about clerical job with
large business firm, but she had earned
a living. What she really liked was to
putter about her kitchen and vaguely
she had planned some day, when she
and her sister had saved little, to
open a tea room. But who wants to
cook pies and cakes and biscuits for
hungry world when one can only eat
lettuce and cucumbers and spinach!
Rabbit food!
The doctor was sending the visiting
nurse to show her how to give herself
the insulin with a hypoderrnic. She,
who couldr.'t squash fly! She couldn't
do it, of course Perhaps if she didn't
learn and didn't take the insulin she
would die That would be a way out,
for herself, but what about her sister?
They were planning vacation together
in a few months. But heavens, she
couldn't have a vacation! The mex
pensive little mountain hotel they
could afford wouldn't bother with
diabetic diet! Her spirits sank lower
and lower and before she reached her
destination she was stepped in self pity.
The next day and the next the nurse
came, and day after day Anne wept
and protested that she couldn't do it.
She couldn't push the hypodermic
needle into her flesh. But the nurse
was unconvinced 1t might take week
or a month, but Anne could learn. and
the nurse stood patiently by until the
tears were over.
Weeks later, when the nurse visited
to see how Anne was managing alone,
she found her working contentedly IN
her kitchen.
You know. Miss Allen, you told me
anybody could cook with recipe and
good stove, but it took brains to
make something palatable out of rabbit
food Well, you should taste all the
really good things I can cook! And
do you know-my chefs wife has dla-
betes-and our elevator man has 1t,
too! And there is man in one OF
the departments at the Office who has
it. and he is going to rent one Of our
rooms so I can cook for him. Who
knows? Perhaps as there are so many
of us in the world, can still have my
tea room-for diabetes.
No 6.
Named Her Hope"
The fine hands moved nervously,
Strengthening scarf, moving the pot
of violet plants from table to window
sill, replacing toy, jerking the shabby
curtain into neat folds. The eyes, shad-
owed and worried, followed the hands
and refused to meet those Of the visitor.
Its no use, Miss Allen, don't want
this baby. We haven't enough to feed
the two we have and, oh!-we can't
afford another one. Sometimes hate
i'll"
The nurse, sick with the tragedy of
it, listened for the third time that day
to the tale of desperate struggle against
unemployment. A prosperous business
had failed and had been sacrificed for
job that paid little, but paid regu-
larly. The job had not lasted and the
comfortable home had gone with 1t.
Little Son had had an illness that used
up the savings and the family had
moved from their suburban neighbor-
hood into crowded rooms in the con-
gested section of the city. The father
was attempting to keep his family to-
gether by driving taxi and long, heart
breaking hours of work sometimes
brought in nothing at all.
The distraught woman poured out
her story in hating sentences, strug
Cling gamely for composure.
1T isn't the baby hate, OF course
it's myself and our circumstances. The
others have been so planned for and SO
loved-I can't stand having this one