[ WP ] Write a story about a doctor living in a world in which the technology exists to physically connect to another person and feel their pain .

I had resisted the temptation for a long time. My daughter told me it had actually become popular where she was. Doctors that promised to feel your pain. She liked the idea. Even said she was using it with some of her patients so she could decide just how much to dope them up. When they first rolled it out lots of doctors dubbed it `` the empathizer''. I had stared at that machine with dead eyes during many of the long nights, slowly reading and re-reading the fine print. I can see the instructions now as I close my eyes. Apply lubricating gel to the pads. Do not operate under the influence of alcohol. Do not stick pads to close to the heart. Do not stick pads to close to the heart... 
 
 When she first got into the hospital I would sit and hold her hand and beg her to use it. I told her I wanted it. She just kept giving me that look, like when I came home reeking of booze and started kissing her ear. `` Not tonight''. It hurt more now than it ever did on those hazy nights. 
 
 It was late November when I trudged through the snowy streets all the way to St. Elizabeth's. My breath was heavy and underneath my layers I was starting to sweat out some of the whiskey I had snuck into my coffee at the office this afternoon. I rode the elevator up. First floor. Second floor. Third floor. Ding! I stepped out into the quiet hallway. Some of the florescent lights had been put out and the whole floor had an eerie, abandoned quality to it. I stepped into room 307. The night lamp shone onto her bald head. She slowly let her eyes crawl my way, her acknowledgment that I had finally showed up. Without asking I pulled that heavy machine towards the bedside. I wanted her to know I meant it this time. I put the pads on my chest first, the chilled lubricant made my skin rise and form goosebumps. I lifted up her hospital gown. Let my hands drag along her sagged skin, and then grabbing the pads placed them on her chest. I let my hand scrape acrossed her heart and replaced the gown neatly. I pressed the on switch and let the machine hum and charge. I leaned into the hospital chair and let it give to my weight a bit. I let myself look at her. She smiled. 
 
 I jolted back in my chair. I could feel my heart race. I gripped the rail of the chair hard. My head was pounding and sweat dripped down my forehead. I gripped my chest and dropped to the ground. She tried to help me but could n't move. I let myself lay down, and closed my eyes slowly.
