Serve and Return

Serve And Return

David C. Russell

I was able to complete the tennis match with my friend, though this

Warm Spring day,  more stress and strain seemed required.

“You’re coughing a lot, and your eyes look a little inflamed,” he remarked as we had an after-game drink in the Student Union grill.

“You know how to make a girl feel charmed,” I quipped.

“No, really, I don’t mean to offend, but…”

“But in your estimation, I have appeared as death warmed over,” I said.

This occurred on Thursday, and final exams and comps would occur campus-wide beginning Saturday morning into next week. My comps were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

on one’s bucket list of accomplishments desired, sitting in the campus infirmary on a Saturday afternoon rivaled a tie for last place. The Resident whom tended to me would determine I needed  MMR Vaccination. My eyes were inflamed, throat sore, cough dry, little blotchy dots on my face and behind ears. He looked familiar, but my vision was blurred, and my other senses indicated he was a male, baritone voice range, and wore a light, gray sweater with the University Logo across the front.

“I think you’re coming down with adult onset measles,” he said, and typed something on his computer terminal.

“Coming down, or I have measles,” I pushed.

“Hate to tell you, but since you insist, you have contracted the measles.”

“I have exams next Tuesday and Wednesday. How will I take them and be quarantined?”

“Call your Advisor first thing Monday,” he said.

“You indicated you had measles some years ago as a child. Do you recall when that was?”

“I was four or five, I think.”

“Well, let me give you a titer, but you may be in the woods for a few days,” he said.

I sighed out of frustration. Support for acute student matters always seemed lacking when needed. Would the explorers of old  whom manned a ship with crew members simultaneously be emancipated if they suffered known maladies? Would the Captain have told the crew, “Chin up guys, you can do this or sink the damn vessel. What will it be?”

Saturday evening, home in my apartment, I looked up some facts about the measles. This virus still occurs mostly with children, but adults are not totally excluded. Untreated, or minimally treated, measles has been estimated to result in nearly 200,000 fatalities, annually. Measles are contagious and from start-to-finish run their course for up to 10 days. I had cans of soup, mostly vegetable or chicken-noodle, and that had become my meal of choice for a few days.

Sunday was spent in my apartment, secluding myself to the bath tub. I reviewed my books for the comps, felt like most the information sank like the draining water that I refreshed once an hour.

The human is said to have 10 body systems, and of course, comps are designed to poke and prod into one’s mind to see what is recalled. Questions could be about the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, lymphatic and urinary systems to name some. Being on one’s game on exam day had been clouded with measles that appeared to be contented and pleased with their accommodations throughout my body.

Off and on during that evening, I repeatedly took note that a sneeze is estimated to travel up to 160 km/h. Woo, I would ace all exams with that in mind!

Monday

“We have planned to set you up with a camera and proctor in a vacant room within the basement of the med/sciences building,” my supervisor said.

“May I take exams with the rest of my peers per their scheduled time?”

“Of course. I will arrange it to happen.”

Through my coughs, dazed feeling, inflamed eyes, rash-covered arms and face, I thanked him for the arranged accommodations. Like any young twenty-something woman, my femininity was thankful telephones still allowed for visual privacy. I did not want to be seen in my present state of affairs.

Exam Day

My comps were scheduled for four hours on both Tuesday and Wednesday. This would be about days five and six of my measles soiree. The eyes had started to show reduction in discomfort and inflammation.

I pondered, “Where are the faith healers when one needs them?”

On Tuesday morning, I sat alone in an undecorated classroom in the med/sciences building. I occupied a seat in the second row, and logged into the exam site. The dry cough too, had started to abate as well the previous afternoon. I noticed the camera, but the presence of a proctor was not revealed.

Soon, the Examiner spoke and I felt like an outsider as I noticed familiar faces with varying expression that ranged from insecurity to competence. Had anyone thought of me in those pretest moments?

The last section of Tuesday’s exam addressed the topic of human vital signs. I was too tired to give much consideration to the following true-or-false statements.

-         Vital signs in children are significantly different when compared to the adult population.

-          Pulse rate involves the measure of heartbeats per minute.

-          Normal body temperature range in adults is between 96.8 degrees F and 99.5 degrees F.

The answers to the first three questions were noted as true. Thankfully, my reasoning and recall skills kicked in and all was noted correctly on my exam.

By end of exam day two, I was a realist, so had not taken time to ask a higher power to do anything special to accommodate my efforts. Either I would know ‘the stuff’ or not.

All in all, Wednesday afternoon arrived and the comps were complete. I recalled feeling an abundance of elation at their conclusion. However, I felt more contentment that the measles diagnosed the previous Saturday were well into remission.

Graduation day was scheduled to be 10 days post final exams. It was a mostly sunny Saturday afternoon.

My immediate family were in attendance. My peers and I took to the stage, beaming facial expressions; the setting was the outdoor campus stadium. My name was called, and I held my head high, revealed a smiling countenance, as the Dean of the College of Nursing handed me my Masters Degree Diploma.

By the way, he was the acting attendant at the infirmary when I had presented the Saturday prior to exam week. He mouthed, “My dear, you have come quite a ways.” For a brief moment, smiles were exchanged between us.