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Physician Heal Thyself
Nothing in the wilderness text had prepared me for this hell. I hadn’t even held a gun since I was twelve years old and even then it was just a rite of passage to appease my old man.
I’m a surgeon, a healer, not a revolutionary.
Sulfur and dust curled under my nose and mixed with the sweat. Tears of inadequacy clouded the pages as I searched the tome for anything that would help. I knew the bullet had to come out but I didn’t know if I was brave enough to make the first cut before I exsanguinated.
For more 100 word tomes, go to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for your weekly Friday Fictioneers Fix.
Tracey Delaplain, MD 
Powerful and traumatic piece!
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Thank you.
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Traumatic indeed. The vocab however is superb- great job, well written and unique take.
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I struggle to avoid using medical terms in general, like exsanguinate, but that’s how a physician would think so it felt right to me. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Follow your gut feeling I’d say 🙂
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Dear Tracey,
Is he getting ready to remove a bullet from himself? Either way, written as only you can and very at that.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, the thought of cutting myself makes me queasy so I would be looking for a better answer in that book. ha ha
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This resonated, though I didn’t understand it. Is the surgeon reading the book for instructions? Removing a bullet from the book? Are the surgeon and the book one and the same? You can see why my confusion made it resonate
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She has to remove the bullet from her own body. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Good stuff, Tracey. The doc is trying to remove a bullet from him/herself? It has some good grit to it.
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Yes but maybe a tourniquet would be a better idea. I imagine rational thought is difficult when bleeding to death.
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A unique dilema, I think. Only you have the skill to save yourself, but physical frailty is likely to prevent you using it. An interesting thought. Well done.
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Pain or survival? Food for thought there.
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It sounds like an easy choice to survive above all else, but it isn’t painful to bleed to death especially if you’ve been thrown into a war zone. There’s more to this story. Thanks for reading Emmy.
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No, it isn’t an easy choice. I didn’t mean to imply it was.My apologies.
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No apology necessary. I hope neither of us ever has to choose because I would be hopeless operating on myself. I get nervous cutting words from my fiction. Thanks Emmy
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The personal trauma and the dilemma make for a really good story. It’s certainly an interesting scenario. Also, I like that I learned a new word (exsanguinate)! The voice/vocabulary worked very well and definitely added authenticity
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I’m glad to give you a new word although it doesn’t usually come up in polite conversation. Although my son, the other surgeon, and I are known to throw it out at dinner time much to the dismay of the rest of the family. ha ha 😷
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That makes me shiver, I couldn’t do it either. If she’s alone, she has to though. Great story, unique take on the prompt.
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I’m not sure that I could do it but one never knows what they are truly capable of doing. Thanks Gah.
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Sounds like a bad situation turned worse. It must be very frightening to have to operate on yourself. Great piece!
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I need to figure out how she got tossed into a revolution. There’s more to this story
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Great piece, loved the line”Tears of inadequacy clouded the pages” 🙂
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I’m more likely to cry in frustration than I am over sad things.
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Tears of Inadequacy I understand. Exsanguinated, not so much. Really good story ,,, but exsanguinated? I can’t figure out the word, let alone exsanguinate myself!
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Well thank God for that. No exsanguinating yourself today please. It’s messy and deadly.
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Horrible dilemma, but it doesn’t sound like there’s much choice. Working on yourself would not be an easy task.
Shouldn’t that be “rite” of passage?
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I don’t like her choices either. Thanks for pointing out the rite word.
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Learnt a new word! I sensed his/her panic. Good story.
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I hope you never have to use that word unless you’re writing a thriller 🏹🗡🔫
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Wow, that one really hits ya’ – right here… pounds the old, healed wound. Great story.
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Ouch! Sorry? Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Don’t be sorry. That was an awesome write. You captured it perfectly.
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I love it… the tension of when you have to operate yourself.. knowledge is not all, courage is part of making it too.
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The rest of the story seems to be how she finds the courage.
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Great tale. And I for one love the word “exsanguinate” here. I love how the word looks and sounds. It really rolls off the tongue and often I read these tales aloud. I think, in many ways, the oral telling is the purest, right? Enjoyed this — been in Bermuda for two months so just getting back to Friday Fictioneers. Now, if the weather would be as good as the tales here….:)
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I was lost in Mexico for two months this year and I came home to snow so I hear ya.
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Hey, if Rambo can do it, so can she!
Grit your teeth, girl, and just do it! 😉
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Yes ma’am. I think I could do it with you as my sidekick. “Dale, hand me the whiskey and the scalpel. Let’s do this thing!”
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Yeah, Baby!!
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Oh man, that would be so awful to have to remove your own bullet or do anything surgical to yourself. If only you could put yourself under while you did it. Haha That’s never going to happen. Great story, Tracey!
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I love the approach you took with this. I can feel the character’s agony – she’s really got to ‘bite the bullet’ and do what needs to be done.
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Not for the faint of heart. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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It would no doubt be extremely difficult to operate on yourself, especially if you were suffering blood loss. I looked the word up. It was quite right to use it as a doctor thinking to herself. It’s absolutely the way she’d think. Well written, Tracey. —- Suzanne
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Thanks Patricia. It’s exactly the way I DO think. ha ha
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A horrible dilemma, very well written Tracey.
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Thanks Dee. I’m not sure how she got there but there’s more to this story.
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The Devils in the detail. [sulfur] Let him or Count Dracula loose on the blood, better then exsanguination. For they will both want to come back for more, that way you will survive. But keep the book handy for a quick escape.
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Ooo, there’s a plot twist that I didn’t see coming. Thanks for that!
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This is a very suspenseful scene. Nice job!
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Thank you Josslyn.
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You’re very welcome. 🙂
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