The doctor visits the household and measures the son’s temperature at 102 degrees. He then gives the father medicine for his son and tells him that the boy has influenza, part of a mild epidemic of the flu. The doctor confidently declares that the boy will be fine as long as his temperature stays below 104 degrees and he doesn’t contract pneumonia. The doctor explains this diagnosis to the father but not to the boy himself—something that would have prevented the boy from silently fearing his imminent death.
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The Doctor Character Timeline in A Day’s Wait
The timeline below shows where the character The Doctor appears in A Day’s Wait. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
“A Day’s Wait”
The doctor comes to examine the boy. He takes the boy’s temperature and says that he has...
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...It’s 102.4, but the father says it’s only about 100 degrees. The boy responds that the doctor said it was 102, and his father tells him the temperature is nothing to worry...
(full context)
...father reassures him that he isn’t going to die. The boy replies that he heard the doctor say his temperature was 102 degrees. His father assures him that people don’t die of...
(full context)
