The memory is years old. I had been bearing with them, those little beasts that are well-known and feared in the time of the autumn weather, little beasts called “virus”. For weeks they were living in my body, making trouble, my nose was running, I lost my voice. Always the same procedure: fever, headache, blocked bronchia, antibiotics. There was no end in sight, I urged for relief in form of penicillin. The threats on the instruction leaflet however- in my case, they became true. The bitter pill had just reached my stomach, as my body was singalong “I am allergic” and my mucosa started swelling.
With one hand I was grabbing the phone, the other one was holding the aching entrails. But in the line I could only hear the monotone voices of automatons, who were ignoring my complains. I dialled through several available emergency numbers without success, while in my stomach was by now a firework of seizures. My caring husband was not at home and with him was the car. My worried neighbours wanted to drive but … where? Pure desperation directed my view towards a shimmer of hope in the community leaflet, with the number of the welfare centre of the Diakonie (charity organisation of German Protestant churches).
And the voice on the other end was “live”. I felt immediately that it belong to an angel that saved me. While “angels” are usually depicted male, mine was called sister “Monika”. And her voice sounded as if she had chosen to make “helping” her profession or at least her honorary appointment. By coincidence she just came to the office to do some desk work. And this is how my lucky streak in the misfortunate situation started. Yes, she was going to drive me to her half-god in white. The gods in white are the bosses of the angels. In this specific case, they were the general practitioner of the community.
We met him at home and asked to be heard, knowing that it was his free day. His friendly smiling face took a knowing expression and inside me grew the comforting certainty, that there was no danger for my life anymore. Quickly there was aid against all my illness noted on the prescription and thanks to his contacts to the pharmacy it arrived quickly in my pocket and at home into my mouth. Soon, the aching became bearable and were gone by the next morning.
He is not wearing white anymore, my half-god and saviour. He is dressing like a human, like You and me, and like that his practise is working as well. That is how I knew him for decades.
by KRina