Page 52 of Prognosis So Done

Crap.That was not good.

Katya arrived back and handed the portable ultrasound

machine to Gill. He flicked it on, applied some gel and ran

the transducer over the suspect area. Harriet groaned and

tried to push the transducer away, guarding the tender area.

Katya clucked and soothed in Russian and took Harriet’s hand so Gill could complete the procedure.

He located the ovary and it looked normal. It wasn’t her

appendix either but there was an alarming amount of free fluid and he flicked a quick, worried glance at Joan. Looking further, Gill thought he could see an irregularity in her remaining Fallopian tube and felt his heart sink.

A problem tube, extreme pain, hypotension, tachycardia and a lot of free fluid added up to only one thing.

He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, which was

thudding so loudly it could have been mistaken for a helicopter landing outside. ‘Harry, could it be possible that you’re pregnant?’ He switched off the machine and passed it back to Katya.

‘W-what?’ She shook her head like she couldn’t quite compute what he’d said. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean I think you have an ectopic pregnancy that’s ruptured your Fallopian tube.’

She stared at him her fevered brow scrunched. ‘Pregnant? But ...how? I’m sub fertile and on the Pill.’

Yeah, Gill knew all that but there was no doubt in his mind what this was. ‘I need to operate. You need a laparotomy.’

‘What? No.’ She placed her hand protectively over her

abdomen. ‘No.’

And she burst into tears.

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