Excerpt from The Lacemaker: A Novel of St. Zelie Martin
Friday, December 15, 1876 It is nearly midnight and Louis is sleeping. I’m glad of it. I know that his heart is hurting and that I am the cause. And yet, what can I do? This illness is not of my making. I would not have chosen it. It hurts me a great deal to watch Louis and my children suffer, more even than the pain the tumor causes me. Emotional pain and physical pain are often two sides of the same coin. The emotional pain digs deeper. It sets its tendrils in the mind and heart and does not let go. I went to the doctor today. I had put it off as long as I could. I had been taking the medicine my brother Isidore had recommended, but the pain and swelling kept getting worse. I tried to keep my worry to myself. There was no need to concern anyone before that concern was unavoidable. Now, my whole side is numb and there is a dull ache on the right side of the swelling. I cannot lie on that side anymore. I doubted that there was anything that the doctor could do for me, b...