A Doctor's Confession. Dianne Drake

Alain asked an hour later.

      “Lice, like you thought. I did the treatment, and cut her hair a little to get rid of some of the mats. And she’s about ten pounds under her ideal weight, a little on the small side for a child her age. She has very bad skin, lots of bruises and cuts. Missing some baby teeth. No education, no attempt to teach her to read. But she’s very bright. And she loved her bath. I found an old bottle of bubble bath left over from Eula, and I think this child would have stayed in the water and played all day long if we’d let her.”

      “Any health concerns?”

      “Nothing significant that I could find. Heart and lungs sounded good, eyes are clear, ears turned out fine after I cleaned them. She does have a few open sores, probably infected bug bites. No real signs of physical abuse. More like extreme neglect. All in all, I think she’s a healthy child, but I would like her to be seen by a pediatrician at some point for a complete exam.”

      He sighed heavily. “So what do we do in the meantime?”

      “I’ve talked to my friend from Child Services and she’s going to come investigate, but that may take a couple of days. If we think the child is in imminent danger we can surrender her to the authorities and they’ll put her into the children’s home until the case can be investigated.”