Bec4: The Wrong Wardrobe
Chapter 2: Tuesday

Copyright© 2017 by BarBar

Editor’s Note:
The next group of documents includes notes taken of a meeting between Dr Koehler Snr (Psychiatrist) and Detective Mahler as well as further transcripts of meetings and patient interviews with Bec Freeman.

Notes of Meeting, Detective Mahler, Tuesday 11/30; 12:15pm

Mahler: I need to speak to the Freeman girl.

Dr K: I’m afraid that’s not possible at the moment. She’s still completely unresponsive.

Mahler: Is she going to recover?

Dr K: I’m confident that she will. This is a standard reaction for her when confronted with a major emotional crisis. Using her words, she is completely shut down at the moment. I expect her to progressively return to normal functioning.

Mahler: How long will that take?

Dr K: I can’t answer that. Usually she only shuts down for a relatively short time. By that I mean she’s usually completely out of it for less than an hour. But this time she has shut down for significantly longer. She’s been completely unresponsive since she was brought in yesterday. Medically, there is no cause for concern but I can’t predict how much longer it will be before she rouses. I should warn you that when she becomes responsive again, she’s unlikely to talk for some time after that.

Mahler: That’s unacceptable. How am I supposed to interview her if she won’t talk?

Dr K: Often she’ll communicate non-verbally for a while before she starts speaking.

Mahler: Non-verbal is no use to me.

Dr K: Well, in that case, you’ll simply have to wait until she’s ready to talk.

Mahler: This whole case is a mess. Can I see her?

Dr K: I’m trying to limit the number of strangers in her room. Even though she’s unresponsive, she may have some level of awareness of what is happening around her.

Mahler: I would like to see her.

Dr K: Very well. Come this way.

Detective Mahler taken into unit and to the door of patient’s room.

Dr K: Look through the window in the door and you will see her.

Mahler: Tiny little thing, isn’t she? You’re her doctor. Do you think she’s capable of the sort of violence we’re talking about?

Dr K: I am her doctor. That means doctor-patient privilege applies.

Mahler: I’ll take that as an off-the-record yes. So how long until you can get her talking?

Dr K: It’s too early to say. I should inform you that your policy of limiting access to her family members will significantly delay her progress. During her recovery process, she takes comfort from prolonged physical contact with her family. Without that prolonged physical contact, her recovery will probably take longer. Ideally, she should be at home. Given that she’s here, allowing extended visits from members of her entire family could make a huge difference.

Mahler: Just get her talking.

Meeting concluded 12:40pm


Notes of meeting, Nurse Cassandra, Tuesday, 11/30; 1:05pm

Dr K: Any update on Bec Freeman in Room 6?

N.C: I noticed that she had her eyes open about half an hour ago. About fifteen minutes ago, she seemed a little agitated. I sat her on a bed pan and she used her bowels.

Dr K: That’s something. Did she follow verbal instructions?

N.C: No. I had to physically move her into position. She didn’t resist me moving her. After she’d used the bed pan, I cleaned her up and lay her back down. She settled immediately.

Dr K: Hmm! Has lunch arrived yet?

N.C: No. It should be here soon.

Dr K: When it comes, bring it straight in. Keep talking to her. Lots of reassurance.

Meeting concluded 1:10pm


Transcript of Patient Interview, Rebecca Freeman, Tuesday, 11/30; 1:14pm

Dr K: Hello, Bec. It’s lovely to see those big brown eyes of yours. Can you hear me?

pause – no response

Dr K: Okay, Bec. I want you to follow my finger with your eyes.

Patient’s eyes did not track finger, eyes appeared to become focused on doctor’s mouth.

Dr K: Are you looking at my mouth? Are you looking at the movement or where my voice is coming from? What happens if I move my head while I talk? What happens if I stop talking and keep moving my head?

Patient’s eyes followed movement of doctor’s head – clearly tracking the source of the voice. When doctor stopped talking, eyes drifted away.

Dr K: Bec, I want you to know that you’re safe. You’re in the hospital. This is Dr Koehler – you know me. You call me Dr K. I’ve gotten so used to it, I’ve started introducing myself as Dr K when I talk to my other patients.

pause

Dr K: Bec, I’m holding your hand. Will you squeeze my hand for me? Come on now, you can do it. Squeeze my hand.

pause

Dr K: Not yet? Okay, maybe next time.

Detected a slow squeeze and then release from patient’s hand – more than ten seconds after the initial request.

Dr K: I felt that. So you are in there. That’s good news.

Nurse Cassandra enters

Dr K: Hello! Who’s this? Nurse Cassandra has arrived, bringing you some lunch. Are you hungry? I wonder what’s on the menu today.

N.C: Hello, Bec. I’ve got your lunch here. It looks like some lovely pasta with a Bolognese sauce.

Dr K: Mmm! That sounds nice. Are you hungry? Shall we get you sitting up so you can eat?

Patient allowed herself to be moved around without resistance but made no independent movements. Patient raised to sitting position.

Dr K: Here we go, let’s try a little spoonful of this. Open wide.

Patient still not responding to verbal instructions. Opened mouth when spoon pressed against lips. Chewed and swallowed, then opened mouth for next spoonful. Eyes tracked spoon. Patient also sucked juice through a straw when straw placed in mouth. Immediately after meal, patient closed eyes and went to sleep.

Interview concluded 1:48pm


Transcript of Phone Call, Nurse Cassandra, Tuesday, 11/30; 3:25pm

N.C: Dr Koehler?

Dr K: Speaking.

N.C: This is Nurse Cassandra from 5 East. I thought I should let you know that I gave Bec Freeman a bed-bath to clean her up a little. She lay there and watched each movement without reacting. She allowed me to shift her around without resisting but she was watching me rather than staring off into space. When I was done, as soon as I was done, she took a hold of the sheet and pulled it up to her chin to cover herself back up. It’s the first voluntary action I’ve seen from her. I thought you should know.

Dr K: Excellent. That’s great news. Thanks, Cassandra. Were you talking to her?

N.C: Of course. Almost constantly.

Dr K: How did she react to your voice?

N.C: She looked at me when I talked but there was no sign that she understood what I was saying. Until the very end, of course. As soon as I said I was done, she reached for the sheet and pulled it up to her chin.

Dr K: Excellent.

N.C: Oh, a little earlier, her father visited for a short time. He sat with her and held her hand but she appeared to sleep through the entire visit.

Dr K: I have to see another patient now but I shall come over in an hour or so.

N.C: I’ll be off by then. Raoul will be here.

Dr K: Okay, then. See you tomorrow.

Call ended 3:33pm


Transcript of Phone Call, Detective Mahler, Tuesday, 11/30; 3:48pm

Mahler: Have you got that Freeman girl talking yet? When can I interview her?

Dr K: We are making some progress but she is still a long way from being ready for any sort of interview.

Mahler: I need you to get her ready as quickly as you can. I won’t stand for deliberate delaying tactics.

Dr K: Detective, I assure you that I am not, in any way, deliberately slowing down or delaying her progress. I have some idea of the sort of pressure you are under with regards to this case. Nevertheless, you have no right of access to her until I, in my capacity as her doctor of record, sign off that she is ready to be interviewed. And I will not do so until I’m satisfied that she is indeed ready.

Mahler: I could get another doctor to check up on you.

Dr K: (laughs) You have the right to do so. Any doctor who saw Bec Freeman in her current state and signed off that she was ready to be interviewed would need to have their litigation insurance up to date. The malpractice suit that her parents could launch would be an open-and-shut case.

Dr K: I repeat, I’m not going to unnecessarily delay her recovery. Apart from anything else, I believe it’s in my patient’s best interests to have that interview with you. I am aware that the entire situation is in a kind of limbo until you can conduct your interview. Those charges against her can’t move forward until you interview her. The sooner that happens and the situation is resolved, the better for her long term state of mind.

Mahler: So when am I going to be able to interview her?

Dr K: I can only repeat what I said earlier. We are making some progress but she is still a long way from being ready to be interviewed.

Mahler: What does “some progress” mean?

Dr K: It means that she’s no longer completely unresponsive. I would now describe her condition as mostly unresponsive.

Call terminated (abruptly)

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