ONE

I am a newly minted doctor, and I'm terrified.

The year is 1984; the city is San Francisco; and the place is Ward 5B, the first hospital ward dedicated solely to the care of patients suffering from AIDS.

My job is to take care of these men during the long nights I'm on call.

Do I know enough? Will I hurt someone? Can I actually do this?

I spent the past 4 years learning the Latin-laced lingo of medicine. My brain is a maelstrom of facts and data. Yet, I cannot even seem to manage the task of clipping ...