Turning, she marched over to the producer and did her best to mask the anxiety and frustration that had settled just beneath her skin. “I think we are ready to start when you are.”
The producer blinked twice, then looked down at his watch and said, “All right, let’s get going. And remember, just relax. As long as we get the script down, we can cover the rest with B-roll.”
Sam didn’t know what B-roll was, but she smiled anyway. They wouldn’t need to cover anything. She was going to nail this and then get out of this hellhole. She might not be an actor, but she was a damn fine doctor, and she was going to prove it to Grant, Dr.Franklin, her mother, and anyone else who doubted what she could do.
Chapter Twenty
Sam looked at the numbers on Sheila’s test results and felt her heart drop. She had arrived shortly after Kaiya got a hold of Dr.Franklin. Apparently, the doula had stood at the nurses’ station and, true to her word, raised actual hell about Sheila’s stress levels and swollen fingers. The nurse at the desk thought she was nuts, but Kaiya was so persistent that they finally gave in and called Dr.Franklin. Just as Grant promised, Dr.Franklin took a look at Sheila’s hands, and while he thought it was likely normal swelling, her blood pressure had been higher than he liked, so he’d asked her to take a urine test and ordered blood work to check her liver and kidney functions.
And thank God he had. If Sam was reading these numbers correctly, then Sheila was very likely dealing with severe preeclampsia. Realistically, Sam thought she was lucky the woman could still see given her platelet count. She’d consult with Dr.Franklin to be sure, but if she was right, Sheila needed to deliver like yesterday.
Taking a deep breath, she marched toward the nurses’ station and asked them to page Dr.Franklin. While she waited, she looked back down at the results, hoping to see anything other than what she was seeing. Unfortunately, the numbers didn’t change. She’d delivered babies early, but thirty-three weeks was so small. Sheila and the baby would need to be in the hospital for a while. A thing no new parent wanted to hear. The poor woman’s blood pressure was already—
“What’s up?” Dr.Franklin called, his sneakers slapping against the beige linoleum floors.
“I think she needs to be induced or we need to schedule a C-section. Like, now,” Sam said, not bothering to mince words. If time was short, she might as well cut to the chase. “Taking all the other factors into account, I don’t think we can wait to see if her blood pressure comes down.”
“Huh,” Dr.Franklin grumbled as he felt around his head for his glasses. When he didn’t immediately find them, he grabbed the chart and squinted at it for a second. Adopting a tone as if they were talking about the weather, he said, “I think you might be right. We’ve got to watch this one like a hawk, you and me. You let the patient know. I’ll let the team know to be on standby.”
“That’s it?” Sam asked before her brain could stop her.
“What’s it?” Dr.Franklin said, setting the chart down and patting his pockets, evidently still hoping to find his glasses.
“You don’t need any more information?” Realizing her mouth was slightly open, she closed it, and Dr.Franklin started to smile.
“No. You read the results correctly. You have good instincts. I don’t need to second-guess that,” Dr.Franklin said, giving up on the search and turning to go get himself ready for what Sam assumed could be Sheila’s delivery. Right before he turned the corner, he stopped and added, “By the way, I gotta tell you, that doula of yours is a real crackerjack. She knows her stuff.”
With that, Dr.Franklin was gone, leaving Sam alone with nothing but his confidence in her and the program. She had been fighting to earn his trust for months. Knowing that she’d finally managed to prove herself to him was enough to make her float away with joy.
At least until she spotted the chart in front of her. As amazing as earning Dr.Franklin’s respect was, the comedown was twice as hard. No doctor wanted to tell a patient bad news. This was the part of the job that Sam knew was coming. At the same time, she hoped she’dmagically be the exception to the bad-news rule. Pulling her shoulders back, she walked toward the room Sheila and Kaiya were settled in. As she walked, Sam tried to remember every tiny thing she had ever learned in medical school about hard conversations. She didn’t have time to write this one out, but she could at least listen with compassion and try to be as gentle as she was direct.
Opening the door, Sam thanked her stars that no one else was in the shared room with them, so at least they had some privacy. Sheila was propped up on a bed, still in her street clothes. Next to her, Kaiya had pulled a chair up and was holding her hand. In the other hand, she held a small battery-powered fan, which gently blew Sheila’s hair away from her face. Kaiya had also taken out her phone and put on a relaxing playlist to cover up the sounds of the hospital outside their door and the machine that was monitoring Sheila’s vitals.
“Hi, Dr.Holbrook,” Sheila said, sounding tired but trying to smile just the same. “So what’s the verdict?”
“Well, I’m afraid it’s not great news. I can go over your numbers if you would like, but the short version is, Dr.Franklin and I think you need to deliver as soon as possible. We can try and induce you, which may take a day or so, with the caveat that if your blood pressure increases or the baby’s heartbeat changes, we may need to get you in for a C-section as soon as possible.”
“Oh.” Sheila’s face fell flat. “Is the baby okay?”
“Baby is okay for now, and that is good news. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to leave the hospital. With preeclampsia like this, we need to watch you and the baby very closely.”
Sheila’s eyebrows shot up as panic crossed her face. “That is bad, right? I watched this show where a woman—”
“While it isn’t good, TV is probably not the best source of information on this one,” Kaiya said softly as she switched off the fan and set it in her lap. Giving Sheila’s hand a squeeze, she said, “As Dr.Holbrookwill tell you, most people with severe preeclampsia deliver, and the vast majority of them are fine.”
“We were coming up with a whole plan.” Sheila’s lower lip trembled for a second. “I don’t have the crib built. And C-sections scare me ...”
“No one will force you to have a C-section; I’m only letting you know what your options are. As for the plan, you can revise it. It can take a while to get the OR set up or for the drugs to send you into labor, so we still have time. Kaiya can help you develop a whole new way of thinking about your first few weeks as a parent,” Sam said, praying that Sheila didn’t refuse to deliver at all. She didn’t want to explain all the profoundly scary things that could happen if she tried to walk out of here in her state.
Kaiya looked at Sam, then turned her full attention to Sheila. “I know this isn’t the birth we planned for. But I do trust Dr.Holbrook. And we have time. Ulysses is on their way, and the three of us can think about how to process and celebrate the baby’s early arrival. And I’ll be around after the baby arrives to walk you through each phase.”
Sheila closed her eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath and opened them. “Okay, I can do this. Can we try to induce first? Or does it need to be a C-section? I just want the best for my family.”
Sam made eye contact with Kaiya for a split second, hoping her eyes communicated a massive thank-you for her help, and then she returned her focus to Sheila. Smiling, she said, “We can try to induce first. I’ll have the team come get you ready. A few nurses will come in with paperwork. Then the baby will be here before you know it. In the meantime, hang in there. I know this is scary stuff, but Kaiya and I got you.”
“Thank you, Dr.Holbrook. For everything. Not just this but getting me connected to Kaiya. I don’t know that I could do this without you two.”
Sam tried to think of something to say as a lump formed in her throat. No matter what else the day held, this moment—the hardmoment that she’d been afraid of—made it all well worth it. Blinking a few times, Sam cleared her throat. “I ... you could ...”
