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Show 294 "I do it all the time," I lie. I am telling her I want to go to the courtyard. It is next to the nurses' station on the wing next to this one. There is no functioning nurses' station on this dead wing. She and I are here alone, together. I am stiffly fransferring to my wheelchair in spite of her protests and wheeling down the hallway faster than she is able to keep up with any sort of dignity. I am glad for this wheelchair advantage. I have few of them. I am coming around the comer to the next wing's nurses' station and before she can catch up, I am speaking with a nurse who recognizes me. "I need a new nurse," I am saying. "I need to fire this one." The nurse at the desk is staring at me and I know I have breeched every unwritten rule about being a good patient but I am hoping they will understand that I have never, ever, done this before and my white nurse is frightening. Another nurse is stifling a laugh behind her hand as my white nurse finally catches up, breathing heavily. I turn sharply from the desk and she reaches out for me but I shove the courtyard door open with my wheelchair footrest and spin through the opening and out of her grasp, letting the door close behind me, without her. She is talking with the nurses at the desk. I take a deep breath of fresh |