Epilogue
Worthy
Libby ran her hands through her short hair, and smiled. Even four years after she’d cut it all off into a layered bob, it still made her happy. No more grappling with elastic bands every five minutes. No more tension headaches from the sheer weight of her messy bun. It was perfect.
‘Hello,’ she said as she pulled the curtain of the cubicle back. ‘I’m Libby.’ They were all encouraged not to use their first names. Everyone reasoned that for some patients it felt over-familiar. But Libby just couldn’t ask children to call her Dr Grantham all the time. ‘Are you Milo?’ A mop of dark hair with two wide eyes peering at her below were visible above the blankets, but nothing else. And when she’d finished talking even that disappeared into the bed.
Mum sighed. ‘Come on Milo, love,’ she said, attempting to pull the blankets down with no success. ‘The lady’s here to help you.’ Milo burrowed even further down the bed until there was only a small ball in the middle. He whimpered once, and then there was silence. Mum looked up at Libby. There were dark shadows under her eyes and her lips were trembling. Her grip on the side of Milo’s bed was so tight that her knuckles were white.
‘It started yesterday. He won’t move at all and when he does he cries out in pain. I don’t understand it. He hasn’t fallen over, hasn’t hurt himself in any way, but he won’t walk. Libby sat down on the edge of Milo’s bed and fished in her pockets.
‘Well, if Milo won’t let me see what’s wrong I guess I’ll have to give this Luke Skywalker Lego mini-figure away to the little boy in the next room.’ She waited a minute, and then started to stand up. A small hand crept out from under the blanket and a little face followed. The movement caused another whimper of pain and the small face flinched, but he held out his hand for the figure nonetheless. Libby smiled and handed the Lego over. She had a never-ending supply of mini-figures she kept behind the nurses’ desk for difficult cases. Taking her opportunity, she whipped out her stethoscope to show him.
‘I’m going to listen to your chest and feel your tummy now, Milo.’ Her voice was soft but firm. ‘Mummy will be right here holding your hand, okay?’ Milo narrowed his eyes but gave her a slow nod. When she got to his tummy his knees were still curled up and she had to coax him to get him to lie flat. It only took a very brief exam to determine what was wrong.
‘Okay, Milo, we’ll get some medicine to make you feel better, then you’re going to have a sleep so that the other doctors can take this pain away.’
‘How they gonna do that?’ Milo asked.
‘They need to do an operation. One of your bits down there has got itself twisted and it needs to be put right.’
Milo looked horrified. ‘But it’s gonna hurt if they untwist somethin’.’
‘Okay, I pinky promise that it’ll be way less hurty once they untwist it – and you’ll be asleep the whole time.’ Libby held out her little finger. Milo frowned and then whimpered again in pain before he linked his little finger with Libby’s.
‘Right, I’m going to talk to anothertwodoctors about you because you’re such an important little boy today, and they’ll be here to see you in a jiffy.’
Milo’s eyes went wide again before he shot back under the covers. Libby explained the procedure to Mum whilst a nurse brought Milo something for the pain.
*****
‘Are you on CEPOD today?’ Libby asked into her phone and she heard Jamie sigh.
‘You know I’m not on CEPOD, Libby. I’ve just finished with the students and I’m about to do all my admin from the last two months.’ Jamie had long been reinstated as Programme Director after the disastrous run of Dr Maitland’s SIM teaching, which resulted in most of the student body complaining, and the Deanery threatening to withdraw the students altogether. As Libby and her cohort had received the best marks ever recorded in their OSCEs under Jamie’s supervision, it had all seemed a little pointless. There was also the small fact that Jamie and she had married some time ago.
‘Its just there’s this little boy …’ She trailed off and bit her lip. Paediatrics had always been her dream and she was loving the start of her rotation, but she tended to be a little overprotective of her patients. She knew the anaesthetist doing the emergency list today, and quite frankly he wouldn’t do. He was perfectly safe but as far as reassuring seven-year-old boys went – no. ‘Are you with Pav?’
Another sigh. ‘Yes.’
‘Please come down, there’s a torsion here and I don’t trust anyone else. Tell him I’ll speak to you-know-who again if he doesn’t.’
She could almost hear him rolling his eyes but she knew he wouldn’t let her down. ‘Come on you lazy arse,’ he said to what she hoped was Pav, and she smiled. ‘Have you had lunch? Libby?’
Libby started as she realised Jamie was talking to her, and then rolled her eyes, her hand going to her ever-expanding belly to rub in small circles.
‘Between you, Millie and Kira I’m the most well-fed pregnant woman alive. I’ll be the size of a small planet by the time this little chap puts in an appearance.’
‘And I’ve told the sister to make you raise your feet whenever you’re sitting today,’ Jamie went on as if he hadn’t heard her. ‘Did she take your blood pressure?’
‘My blood pressure is fine, you freak,’ she muttered.
‘Well, your ankles were really puffy last night and – ’
‘They’re just fat,’ she cut him off hotly, drawing a few curious stares from the nurses behind the desk. She looked up at the ceiling and contrived to lower her voice. ‘They’re just fat becauseI’mfat, because I’m carrying your big fat baby. Now stop fussing.’
‘I’m taking Rosie to swimming today. I swapped my on-call and – ’
‘Jamie,’ Libby said in a warning tone. ‘We’ve been through this. The swimming pool enclosure is a perfectly reasonable temperature.’
