Excerpt from The Winds of September

Mail came to the valley twice a week on the freight wagon. Mary Burns walked over to Dr. Thomas’s and handed a letter to him. “I thought this might be important,” she said.
“Thanks, Mary,” he told her as she left. He saw it was from Fulton Laboratory in Memphis. A puzzled look crossed his face as he opened the letter. After reading it, he collapsed in his desk chair and called Greta. She entered the room and saw that he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped together. He pointed to the letter, and Greta silently read:
March 10, 1881
Dear Doctor Thomas:
I regret to inform you that our lab sent the wrong diagnosis for Judith Hodge. The bronchitis report was for a Justin Hodge. It is understandable how this could have happened, but we do acknowledge our negligence in this matter. We understand this puts a great burden on you to inform her of the tuberculosis. It seems to be in the early stages, and we advise that Mrs. Hodge travel to Memphis and stay at one of the treatment cottages. The home we recommend is located at 1165 Shelby Avenue. Their success rate is over 50%. There she will get the rest required, and will have access to a vaccine that will be available shortly. If all goes well, Mrs. Hodge should be there approximately a year.
I remain respectfully yours,
John Fulton
Fulton Laboratory
Greta looked up and whispered, “Glen, how will you ever tell her?”