The Lobotomist's Wife(60)

Tonight, she thought she might never have been more eager. And as they began to move together, and he caressed her soft middle, her drooping breasts, she didn’t feel ashamed. When he sat up and grabbed her waist, whispering, “You are so beautiful,” she even believed him a little bit.

Afterward, they lay together in serene silence, her head on Frank’s strong, damp chest. He stroked her gently, and then whispered, “I’ve missed you, Mags. I love you so much.”

The deep relief in his voice was clear and, suddenly, this simple phrase told her everything she needed to know. She couldn’t risk the darkness creeping back in. She had to stay this woman for her marriage. For her children.

“Frank.” She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him. “I want to do something. It is a little bit scary, but Dr. Apter says it will help. Cure me. It’s an easy procedure really, in and out in an hour, he says. I think I should do it.”





Chapter Thirty-Five


Ruth shut the door to her office. As a general rule, she preferred to have it open, a signal to her staff that she was available as needed. But, right now, she required privacy and concentration. Jeremy Mandrake had finally finished his report, and now, on her desk sat a thick folder. As she put on her reading glasses, she chided herself for not having done this sooner. She was generally thorough and diligent about monitoring everything at the hospital. But with her bumpy start as head of Emeraldine and then with Moniz winning the Nobel . . . lobotomy had become so widely accepted that she had simply stopped following up on the recipients. She was nervous. She opened the report to the succinct summary of findings and read hungrily. What had he concluded?

Study conducted across 400 patients . . . variety of conditions prior to lobotomy, most commonly those who failed to respond to other treatments . . . overall finding is that baseline condition improved by lobotomy.

Improved! Ruth breathed a sigh of relief. She began to feel her pulse return to normal as she turned to the data.

OVERVIEW OF RESULTS



Only 20 percent of patients left the hospital? She knew some remained—more than she’d hoped—but still, one of the key benefits of lobotomy was its ability to return inmates to the world. Ruth remembered sending so many people home. She thought of sweet Estelle Lennox, who, last Ruth heard, was now married with two children. How was she part of such a small subsegment of results? Still, Mandrake had concluded that lobotomy led to improvement. Even if only 20 percent of patients left the hospital, more than 50 percent were better off. That was really an excellent result.

She turned to the detailed pages. What were Mandrake’s criteria for classification? Who, she wondered, was considered a good outcome?

Classifications were developed as follows:

Good: those no longer requiring isolation, who have been moved from the secure wing to continuous care, and who have exhibited no violent or dangerous behaviors in the past year.

Fair: those who are generally able to cohabitate with other inmates in continuous care, but require periodic instances of isolation, restraints, or additional ECT.

Unimproved: includes both patients who exhibit symptoms consistent with their initial intake diagnosis without change, and/or those who have deteriorated since initial assessment.

Operative death has been very rare and is consistent with broader hospital surgical statistics.

She was slightly unnerved by his classifications. They weren’t as promising as she had hoped. Still, Mandrake was a levelheaded and reasonable man; if he deemed these results appropriate, surely, she would agree.

She was about to move on to the individual patient descriptions, eager to see examples of the individuals who fell into each classification, when her secretary rang. She had been so anxious to receive Jeremy’s report that she had completely forgotten her lunch with the president of the School of Medicine. Satisfied for the moment with Mandrake’s encouraging conclusions, she closed the binder and gathered her things. The rest of the report would have to wait.





Chapter Thirty-Six


Margaret had been mortified when Dr. Apter’s wife first discovered her lingering on the property, but Ruth was so kind. She felt like a long-lost aunt, and when Margaret saw Ruth waiting for her the following week, she was overjoyed. They quickly became friends. Ruth even confided in Margaret about the loss of her brother, Harry. Margaret was so lucky that war hadn’t changed Frank one bit. No, she was the one who had changed. But Ruth made her feel a little brighter. Now the highlight of Margaret’s week was when she and Ruth met on the bench in the lilac grove for their walks. Especially on a day like today, when her session with Dr. Apter had left her so on edge. Frank had made it clear that he was not in favor of the lobotomy. But he would support whatever she decided. Maybe his reluctance was the reason that every time she made up her mind to schedule it, she got cold feet. Whatever the reason, the doctor seemed to be losing patience with her wavering.

“Margaret, are you all right?” Ruth looked concerned. Somehow Margaret already felt calmer.

“I feel a little . . . unsure today. I’m worried I angered your husband.”

“I doubt that.” Ruth looked at her with surprise. “His role is never to be angry with you.”

Margaret realized that wasn’t how she felt in her sessions. Instead, she felt chastised and inspected for flaws that needed fixing. And there were many. But she couldn’t say that to Ruth.