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NECROTIC 4'?m2f Salvation, works, sin, denial, being good

AMY -- (enters wearing white lab coat and stethoscope, crosses)

LIZ -- (follows) Doctor? Doctor Johnson?

AMY -- (stops, turns) Yes?

LIZ -- Do you have a minute?

AMY -- I was just going off duty. (pauses, point) You were in
Mrs Lindstrom's room, right?

LIZ -- Yes. She's my mother.

AMY -- Doctor Jameson will be taking over for me....

LIZ -- ...Please, if you wouldn't mind. I just have a few
questions.

AMY -- Sure. Why not?

LIZ -- My mother's liver... You said it was neck...

AMY -- Necrotic, yes.

LIZ -- Necrotic. Yes. You said she needs surgery.

AMY -- That's right.

LIZ -- Isn't that a little harsh?

AMY -- Harsh?

LIZ -- Well, can't you give her some medicine?

AMY -- Necrotic organs don't respond to medicine.

LIZ -- How about exercise or a dryer climate maybe?

AMY -- I don't think you understand...

LIZ -- ...How about therapy or a change in diet? There must be
something she can do besides surgery!

AMY -- No. Surgery is the only recourse for a necrotic organ.

LIZ -- She's been working really hard lately. Maybe a few weeks
of rest will revive her, huh?

AMY -- When an organ is necrotic, it means that, for all intents
and purposes, it's dead. Surgery is the only option.

LIZ -- But why? Isn't there some miracle drug or some laser
gadget that could revive her liver?

AMY -- Let me ask you a question.

LIZ -- Okay.

AMY -- If your mother was dead, would any of those good deeds
bring her back to life?

LIZ -- Well, no.

AMY -- Your mother's liver is dead. And no good deed will revive
it. She needs to have it removed and replaced or SHE will die.

LIZ -- Oh.

AMY -- (backs away) Doctor Jameson is a good surgeon. He'll fill
you in on all the details.

LIZ -- I guess I was afraid to admit that her liver was dead or
that Mother was in danger of... in danger of...

AMY -- (stops) Dying? You can go ahead and say it. It will help
you make the right decision.

LIZ -- Actually, I'm not sure it's my mother I'm worried about.

AMY -- (approaches) What do you mean?

LIZ -- Mother is a Christian. If she dies, there's no doubt in
her mind that she will spend eternity in Heaven.

AMY -- And you're not?

LIZ -- Well, I'm kind of a control freak. I always thought that
getting into Heaven was completely under my control. But what if
MY state of affairs is just like my mother's liver?

AMY -- You lost me.

LIZ -- What if moving to a dryer climate or changing diets or
doing good works are useless in MY diagnosis too?

AMY -- Are you sick?

LIZ -- No. No. Not like mother, at least. I mean, what if my...
my SOLE is just like my mother's liver? I could eat all the
health food in the world or do whatever man prescribes for the
sole. But if my sole is dead, there is no treatment. I need a
transplant!

AMY -- A transplant.

LIZ -- That's what mother has been trying to tell me all these
years. There is no treatment for what ails me. I've been acting
as if there's something "I" can do to self-medicate me. But all
those good deeds have no effect on something that's already
dead. I'm just wasting my time and energy. (turns) Thank you!

AMY -- Why are you thanking me? I didn't say anything to help
you.

LIZ -- (turns) Your diagnosis and treatment of my mother is
exactly what I need.

AMY -- Which is....?

LIZ -- I need to give up on self-medication and rely on someone
else to transplant a new soul in me. (exiting) Thanks for the
diagnosis!

AMY -- (exiting opposite) That's an interesting thought. I
wonder what it takes to get a sole transplant.

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