\u00a0by Macgregor Douglas<\/p>\n
The fear is real. I know I\u2019m in a world of trouble and I must escape.<\/p>\n
I hear them, standing a few beds down, as if they think that I can\u2019t tell they\u2019re talking about me. This might be some sort of otherworldly, extraterrestrial hospital and I might well be a patient, but I can still hear like a bat.<\/p>\n
The problem is, they talk in such gibberish I can barely make out what they\u2019re saying. I\u2019ve heard them refer several times to the patient in bed number 27, but I am confused by the name they use as it makes no sense to me whatsoever. It\u2019s a woman\u2019s name, like \u2018Harriet Williams\u2019 or something and I catch phrases like: \u201c\u2026proper procedure\u2026\u201d and \u201c\u2026can\u2019t make an informed decision until\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve already worked out that I\u2019m suffering from a concussion and a certain degree of mild amnesia, but I\u2019m not crazy. I still have my powers of reason and observation and I\u2019ve always had a very analytical mind. Big pieces of my memory are completely intact, which is why I think my fear is entirely appropriate to the circumstances. Either they\u2019re going to torture me for information they think I\u2019ve got, or they\u2019re deciding whether, or not, an American fighter pilot is expendable enough to kill.<\/p>\n
I am a fighter pilot. I\u2019m privileged to be one of the chosen few of Tactical Air Command to train and fly the F-104 Starfighters supplied by the United States since the early 60s. We didn\u2019t know at the time, but the reason they were being so generous is that they had an ulterior motive. It wasn\u2019t until New Year\u2019s Day 1976 that we discovered what that was. I\u2019m now part of a top-secret anti-espionage task force that remains on high alert to fight any threat to national security.<\/p>\n
Wait: here they come again\u2026<\/p>\n
I must stay sharp, even if I\u2019m incapacitated. I\u2019ve tried to file away in my mind any details of conversation I\u2019ve had with them in the hope that, if I ever get away, the command team might be able to use it to find a chink in their armor.<\/p>\n
The way they pretend to be concerned over my health is disturbing. They even have actors coming in and claiming to be my daughter and granddaughter. I guess they don\u2019t realize that I\u2019d schtup the granddaughter who looks about my age, but never in a million years the hag troll they\u2019ve chosen to play my little girl. Proof positive, I guess, that their intel leaves a lot to be desired.<\/p>\n
The usual nurse that comes leans over me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you today Mr. Roosevelt, feeling more like yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
I pretty much say nothing unless severely provoked, so I stay silent and sullen.<\/p>\n
A new character steps forward, dressed to look like a doctor or maybe a psychiatrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Roosevelt; I\u2019m Doctor Segers. I specialize in helping war veterans deal with the traumatic experiences associated with active duty. I understand you feel that the staff here in the hospital are not who they say they are. Now, I know sometimes it is easy to get a little confused in an unfamiliar environment such as this, but perhaps you\u2019ve had time to relax and realize that you are surrounded by people who love you and want to help you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m feeling calm and perfectly in control until this reiteration of insult to my family.<\/p>\n
I remember like it was yesterday how I got to spend just two weeks with Marien and our new daughter before being flown to the Military Flying School in Jackson, Mississippi. She\u2019d only just given birth and my C.O. felt I should get to spend some time with my new family to give me something to fight for. My baby girl is the most gorgeous flower on the face of this Earth and even if I never get to see her again, I\u2019ll fight tooth and nail to preserve her future freedom.<\/p>\n
Bringing my family up again forces me to cry out.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop trying to poison my mind with your lies and propaganda! I\u2019m one hundred percent loyal to my country and my people. Now you take those vile\u2026 animals out of here and leave me be, I won\u2019t tell you anything!\u201d<\/p>\n
I feel myself spitting, but I don\u2019t care, the message seems to have gotten through. They\u2019ve moved away again and drawn the curtain around my bed. I hear them murmuring amongst themselves, but the thought of seeing my real family again spurs me on and I feel renewed vigor to get back to them at all costs\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2708\ufe0e<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Roosevelt, this is the last opportunity for you to reconsider this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand, Doctor. And I won\u2019t be changing my mind. I love my Father as much today as I did when he first returned from the internment camp thirty-seven years ago. The reason I want this for him is to preserve his dignity, instead of rotting here in a demented state, not knowing who he is or who we are. Did you know that he was a pilot? Captain Gerrit-Willem Roosevelt of the Royal Netherlands Commando Tactische Luchtstrijdkrachten. His experiences helped formulate today\u2019s standard anti-espionages procedures. I just can\u2019t stand to look at him like this anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe still has periods of lucidity though, Ms. Roosevelt – you\u2019ve said so yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, we\u2019re not having this conversation again Doctor. This is the Netherlands, is it not? And Euthanasia is legal, is it not? And as the legal guardian of my Father, I have the right to decide that it is in his best interest to be Euthanized. So, I would appreciate you signing the approval form and letting me get out of here and on with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2708\ufe0e<\/p>\n
The fear is real. I know I\u2019m in a world of trouble and I must escape\u2026<\/p>\n
****
\nEnd Note:<\/p>\n
Some license has been taken with this story, as the euthanasia laws in the Netherlands still allow the responsibility of choice to remain solely with the individual, not their guardians. So even if a patient previously indicated that they wanted to be euthanized under a certain set of medical circumstances, if later in any conversation they indicate the contrary, then the procedure is nullified.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0by Macgregor Douglas The fear is real. I know I\u2019m in a world of trouble and I must escape. I hear them, standing a few beds down, as if they think that I can\u2019t tell they\u2019re talking about me. This might be some sort of otherworldly, extraterrestrial hospital and I might well be a patient, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1356,77],"tags":[1357,1123,1359],"class_list":["post-12399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-egophobia-56","category-english","tag-egophobia-56","tag-english","tag-macgregor-douglas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6DakB-fear","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12400,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12399\/revisions\/12400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}