Wanda's Secrets, Chapter 3

copyright 2001

Wanda's Secrets, A Story About a Girl with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Chapter 3: Mrs. Chester Checks

Mrs. Chester smiled from behind her desk. "Wanda, I've been noticing you wash your hands a lot." She looked at Wanda's hands, folded in her lap. "Your hands are red and chapped too."

Wanda squirmed in the seat between her parents and covered her hands with her sweater.

"I've tried all kinds of lotions and nothing seems to help," Mrs. Simpson said. "The doctor even prescribed a special cream. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, I don't know much about lotion, but I do have a few ideas about the hand washing." Mrs. Chester looked at Wanda. "I think you may have a problem like mine."

"A problem like yours?" Wanda's green eyes widened. "Do you wash your hands a lot too?"

"No, I don't wash my hands any more than most people. But I may have the same type of feelings you have when you feel like you have to wash your hands. Do you feel nervous and scared sometimes? And the only thing that'll help is to wash your hands?"

Wanda nodded her head and leaned forward in her chair. How did Mrs. Chester know?

"Then after you wash your hands, do you start feeling bad all over again? You want to wash your hands again and you can't wait for the next chance to wash?"

Wanda lowered her eyes and nodded her head again. "That's exactly how I feel. But . . . but how did you know?"

"You know how I check papers a lot?" Mrs. Chester asked. "Well, last year I checked them even more. One day I checked the class papers and gave them back to my students. I was so scared I had made a mistake I collected them again. I took them home and checked them over and over. That's when I realized I needed help. Besides checking papers, I checked the lights and the gerbil's food again and again before leaving the classroom every night. And I was always nervous. I was scared because I thought something really bad was wrong with me."

Wanda stared at Mrs. Chester. She really did understand! "You seem okay now," she said. "What was wrong?"

"I went to my doctor. He sent me to a special doctor, a psychiatrist. That doctor said I have obsessive-compulsive disorder - OCD. He gave me some medicine and helped me learn how to stop checking so much. I still get the urge to check things sometimes, but not nearly as much."

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