Good Medicine - Residency II
Copyright© 2025 by Michael Loucks
Chapter 18: I Have A Friend
April 20, 1990, McKinley, Ohio
The consultation room was occupied, so I walked with Jenny Leonard to the ambulance bay, as the weather was sufficiently warm to stand outside to talk. Fortunately, neither of the two smokers on duty was outside, giving us some privacy.
"How is school going?"
"Great! All A's. I'm really glad you weren't hurt in the gunfight."
"Me, too."
"How are the two doctors?"
"Doctor Lindsay, my surgical mentor, is working again. Doctor Gibbs, my mentor in the Emergency Department, is undergoing rehab and probably won't be back to work for at least six months, possibly longer."
"That's terrible!"
"It is, but she's alive, and she's recovering, unlike the Sheriff's Deputy."
"That was so sad."
"It was. What's up?"
"I know how this will sound, but it's really true. I have a friend who had sex with her boyfriend, and they didn't use protection. I would have suggested she go to the Free Clinic, but they're closed. What should I tell her?"
I believed Jenny, as she didn't strike me as irresponsible, though I also knew that teenage hormones were one of the strongest forces in the universe.
"Unfortunately, the closest clinics are in Cincinnati, Columbus, or Dayton. Does she have a driver's license?
"No. She's fifteen."
"You have yours, right?"
"Yes, but I don't have my own car; I borrowed Mom's to come see you. There's no way I could drive to one of those other cities without her knowing and asking questions."
"And your friend doesn't want to say anything to her parents?"
"No. They're pretty strict, and they'll lose their minds because they don't like the guy."
"Is he at Hayes County High?" I asked.
"No, he goes to the Catholic school; he's a Senior."
"And she's a Sophomore? Or a Freshman?"
"Sophomore. Her birthday is next month."
"Has she taken a home pregnancy test?"
"No. She's afraid her parents would find out 'cause you're supposed to use them first thing in the morning."
I considered what to do, and I couldn't reasonably have her bring her friend to the ED for a pregnancy test without a valid medical complaint of some kind. On the other hand, I could probably ask Candace Forsberg to see her as a favor.
"The rules won't let me care for your friend," I replied. "Let me speak to a friend who is an OB/GYN at the hospital and has offices in the medical building. If I can arrange for her to see your friend, that would be her first step to deciding what to do."
"When can you ask?"
"Right away, though, I want to ask you some questions first, OK?"
Jenny laughed, "I know what you want to ask! No chance. I have a boyfriend, but we only kiss. I am not even close to being ready to do that with him or anyone, for that matter."
"Is he a good student?"
"Yes. He's a Senior and is interested in doing research. He'll start at Taft in the Fall uncommitted, but some kind of science."
"When the time comes, you need to be very careful, both about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases."
"I promise!" Jenny declared. "But as I said, not even close!"
"Hormones have a way of changing teenage minds. Adult minds, too!"
Jenny laughed, "I totally get that, but I have a goal, and I'm not going to do anything to mess it up!"
"Good. How do I get in touch with you?"
"You can call the house. Mom and Dad know I talk to you, and Mom knows I'm here right now. I just said I needed advice about school."
"Science, math, and computers, plus psychology and philosophy, besides the requirements for English. What foreign language did you choose?"
"French."
"God help us all!" I chuckled.
"Why? You're married to a French girl!"
"It's not her; it's her annoying sixteen-year-old sister who revels in teaching my daughter to speak French to annoy me!"
"Too funny! I'd like to meet your wife and daughter."
"I'll speak to Kris, and we'll have your family over for dinner soon."
"Great!"
We walked back inside, and I walked her to the door to the waiting room. She gave me a quick hug and left, and I went to the nurses' station to use the phone.
"What's with the jailbait?" Nurse Amy asked with a smirk.
Jenny was sixteen, so she wasn't 'jailbait', but I wasn't going to get into a debate with Nurse Amy, and I wasn't going to stand for rumors or innuendo about Days of Our Lives or General Hospital shenanigans.
"Do not say that again," I said firmly. "There is nothing untoward going on, and I won't stand for rumors. Got it?"
"Er, uhm, sorry, Doctor."
"Don't let it happen again."
She frowned, but I didn't care if she was upset. I picked up the phone and dialed OB to discover that Candace was in her office. I ended the call, then dialed Candace's office. She was between patients, so she took my call, and I explained what Jenny had said to me.
"You're sure it's really a friend?" Candace asked.
"I've known Jenny for about two-and-a-half years, and I don't believe she's lying to me. I did counsel her about birth control and safe sex, and she made the point that she has a boyfriend, but all they've done is kiss."
"Is this girl a relative?"
"No. Her brother died in a rollover MVA on the way to school in October 1987. She had a fight with him just before he left, otherwise, she'd have been in the truck with him. I helped Psych calm her down, and she expressed interest in being a doctor."
"How old was she?"
"Thirteen. I've seen her about half a dozen times, always in the hospital, to give her advice or encouragement. She's a smart kid and is making straight A's. I know that's no guarantee against risky behavior, but I trust that it really is a friend."
"OK. Have her call my office, and I'll see her friend. Something has to be done about the lack of family planning resources in McKinley."
"I'm open to ideas, but per Gale Turner, their budget was about $1.3 million, of which $1.1 million came from grant money."
"I heard they offered him a plea deal for simple battery."
"And he told them to pound sand. His attorney expects the charges to be dropped. It appears to have been about forcing the Free Clinic to close."
"Well, we aren't going to solve that problem today. Have your young friend call me, and I'll see her friend."
"Thanks, Candace. I owe you one."
I ended the call, and Mary came over to me.
"There are three in the waiting room now," she said.
"Sorry for the interruption. I was helping out a friend."
"Pregnant?" she asked quietly.
"No, she was here about a friend who might be pregnant. She came to me for help because the Free Clinic closed. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything I could do except connect her friend with Doctor Forsberg."
"The effects of that disaster are multiplying daily," Mary groused.
"And I don't see a remedy anytime soon because who would risk it?"
"That sucks. How do you know her?"
I explained my history with Jenny Leonard, then asked Mary to get a chart. After we treated the first patient, I called Jenny to provide her with Doctor Forsberg's phone number. Mary and I treated five more walk-ins before dinner, and after dinner, there were two EMS runs that resulted in admissions but not emergency surgery.
April 21, 1990, Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville, Ohio
"Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked Frank Bush as we sat down in the visitor's room.
"Other than reading material, no, unless you know some way to legally get me out of here."
"That's a question for an attorney. I assume you've exhausted your appeals?"
"The worthwhile ones, anyway. I'd need a pardon or parole, and parole is off the table."
"I daresay a pardon is likely off the table as well."
"There's no chance of that."
"Then, short of a time machine to go back and make a different choice on February 22, 1986, I don't know of a solution."
"I probably should have just let them kill me. I can't handle another twenty or thirty years of this mind-numbing routine."
"I can't provide a complete answer, but I do know where it begins — repentance."
"To what end? The state won't care, and you know the Scriptures: 'Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God'."
"Neatly stopping before Paul gives the Corinthians hope: 'And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God'."
"I did it after I was baptized."
"Well, given you don't believe baptism is efficacious, my response is — so what? If the water does nothing except make you wet and is merely a symbol devoid of any substantive meaning, then it truly means nothing. You can't, in effect, have it both ways. The Christian West erred gravely when it resorted to academics over mystery and abandoned the historical faith in favor of modernism."
"You think Jesus and the apostles went around in fancy robes?"
"No, they didn't. They went around in plain street clothing, similar to the cassock I'm wearing, though mine has 'modern' wooden toggles and buttons. I can trace a direct line from the early days to now. And that's the key to understanding the Scriptures — tracing a clear line from the early Church to today. Let me put it this way — there was never a time when the New Testament existed and the Church did not."
"That sounds like sophistry."
"Well, unless you can show me where the list of Scriptures was handed down on tablets or revealed to Martin Luther or John Calvin, you have a significant problem. You only know what the Scriptures are because the Church told you."
"How about we just play chess?"
"That's fine," I replied.
We played our usual three games, and when we parted, I felt that I'd made some progress, but I wasn't going to push or belabor the point. He returned to the day room while I went to the chapel to lead a prayer service and met with the men. There were two new men, and after I had spoken with Kurt, Nick, John, Sean, Nate, Mark, and Clifton, Nick introduced the others.
"Doctor Mike, these two men are Vasily Drugov and Glen Rodgers. Vasily was chrismated as a baby but hasn't been to church since he was five."
"Nice to meet both of you. Vasily, you should attend the Typika next Saturday when Protodeacon Ivan is here."
"I plan to."
I sat down with him to speak privately and discovered he'd been involved with organized crime in Cleveland and was serving life without parole for three 'hits' committed in the 70s. Unlike Frank Bush, he seemed to have adapted to prison life and was in reasonably good spirits, all things considered. Nick had been working on him to return to the faith and was having some success. I verified he had no significant health concerns. Unlike some of the others, he had regular visits from his younger brother and his nieces and nephews, all of whom were in the Cleveland area.
After I spoke with him, Glen Rodgers sat down with me.
"Are you religious at all?" I asked.
"I went to church on Easter while I was married, not much after that."
"Which church?"
"High church Episcopal, you know, smells and bells. Not all that dissimilar to your church, I think."
"There's a lot of common ground, for sure. What did you do before you were incarcerated?"
"I taught High School math and science in Ohio and Illinois."
"How long are you in for?"
"Twenty-five years. I was too friendly with teenage girls."
That fit the general pattern of the men — young girls or murder.
"When were you convicted?"
"1984. I served five years of federal time on Fugitive Felon Act and Mann Act charges, but the federal and state sentences weren't concurrent."
"Did they charge you with statutory or the new sexual assault statute?"
"Statutory, because the offenses were before the new law was passed."
"Twenty-five years is a long sentence for statutory rape. How many girls?"
"Six. One of the girls became pregnant, and I took her for an abortion. That made things far worse."
"Students?"
"Yes."
"All under sixteen, right?"
"Fourteen or fifteen, except for the mother of my daughter, who was seventeen."
He wasn't just foolish; he was reckless and careless if two of the girls had become pregnant.
"Do you see the young woman or your daughter at all?"
"It's a complicated mess, and, well, I haven't really spoken about it with anyone. I think, for now, I'll just say that my parental rights were terminated because of the sex charges, but also because I tried to flee to Canada with the child's mom, and they ruled that by doing that, I put my daughter in extreme danger."
"Why did you come to the prayer service today?"
"Curiosity and encouragement from Kurt Bowman. He said you had a sympathetic ear and were the only one who helped him."
"If you're curious about the Orthodox Church, there are books in the prison library. Nick can show you."
"I think I'll just attend the services for now."
"That is our best form of evangelism — 'Come and see'. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Find out how my daughter is doing. I obviously can't contact her, but maybe you could."
"I'd have to check with Family Services about that," I said.
"Actually, you could go through a secretary at Goshen High who was a neighbor and would probably know how she's doing."
"If you give me her name, I'll speak to my stepfather, who's an attorney in Cincinnati, and make sure there isn't a problem. He's actually an expert in child custody cases — one of the best in the city — so he'll know. What's your contact's name?"
"A woman I dated briefly — Linda Kane."'
"I actually know her," I replied. "She's the contact for a band I'm in that plays for some Proms and Harvest Balls. What's your daughter's name?"
"Heather Newton. What's your stepfather's name, if it's OK to ask?"
"Stefan Chojnicki."
"He was Bev's attorney and later the attorney for the Newtons. I'm not sure he's a good choice, given the circumstances."
I considered what to do and decided it was safe to ask Linda Kane.
"Let me think about the best course of action," I said. "You just want to know how she's doing, right? No correspondence or anything like that?"
"I'd be in violation of the court order Family Services obtained if I did that before she turns eighteen."
"No promises," I said.
"I understand."
We shook hands, and as he was the last person in the group, I made my way out of the prison and headed home to Kris and Rachel.
April 22, 1990, Circleville, Ohio
On Sunday morning, Kris, Rachel, and I attended Matins and the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral, then headed home to prepare for a dinner we were hosting for Subdeacon Mark, Alyssa, Elias, Serafima, John Elias, Nathan, and Lara. Once we had everything in the oven or in a pot, Kris and Rachel went to take a nap and used the time to see if I could reach Linda Kane.
"Directory Assistance. What city, please?" the operator inquired.
"Goshen. A Mrs. Linda Kane."
"I have no listing for a Linda Kane in Goshen."
"What about any listing for Kane in Goshen?"
"There are no listings for anyone with the surname Kane in Goshen."
"OK. Thanks."
I hung up and considered my next step. I decided to call Kim and ask her.
"I have her home number," Kim said. "You didn't find it because it's in her husband's name."
"She didn't change her name when she married," I said. "Just like Kris."
"Not quite. Her story is more interesting. What do you need to ask her?"
"Someone asked me to speak to her, but didn't have her number."
Kim read it out to me, and I repeated it back. Once I had it, I flashed the switchhook and dialed the number.
"Judge Pierce," a man's voice said.
"Good afternoon, Your Honor. My name is Mike Loucks. I'm a physician and the lead singer for Code Blue. May I speak with Linda, please?"
"One moment."
She came to the phone about thirty seconds later.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mrs. Kane; this is Mike Loucks from Code Blue."
"Hi, Mike! Is there a problem with the Prom?"
"No. In addition to being a doctor, I'm a prison chaplain. Do you know a Glen Rodgers?"
"I do," she said flatly.
"I believe your tone of voice answers the question I was about to ask," I said.
"Probably, but I'd like to know the question."
"Glen asked me to find out how his daughter, Heather Nicole, is doing. He doesn't want to contact her, just to know about her."
"That is a very, very, very bad idea," Mrs. Kane said. "Jim and Julie Newton would absolutely lose their minds, and I don't see how any good could come from it."
"OK. I only promised to ask; I didn't promise any results. I'll drop it. On a related note, I believe you might know my stepdad — Stefan Chojnicki."
"I do. He handled the case, first for Bev, then for her parents."
"I'll tell Glen that I was unable to get any information. I won't mention I spoke to you."
"I'm not concerned about him for me; I'm concerned about him for Heather. You know his crime, right?"
"He provided the basic details."
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