Page 45 of Stranded with the Surgeon

Jennifer was having none of it. She raced behind the Toyota, seemingly oblivious to the muddy puddles soaking her boots and splattering her coat. The branch looked like a lethal weapon as she wielded it, and her angry shouts would certainly have been enough to prevent Guy trying to annoy her further. He was grinning as she climbed back into the vehicle.

‘I wouldn’t want to be one of your registrars standing in the wrong place.’

Jennifer pushed sopping-wet tendrils of hair behind her ears. She grinned back. ‘Haven’t had to hit anyone with a stick for a while, but I’ll keep it in mind. It was quite fun.’

There was nothing fun about the scene that greeted them at the farmhouse. Ellie lay on the floor beside her telephone, doubled over in pain, with a bloodstain soaking her clothing and an ominous puddle creeping out over the linoleum.

‘Have you got shears in here?’ Jennifer was already unclipping the catches on Guy’s large medical kit. ‘We’d better get those clothes off.’

‘Who’s she?’ Ellie was clinging to Guy’s hand.

‘Her name’s Jennifer,’ Guy told her. ‘She’s an emergency specialist from Auckland.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘Thought I might need some backup so I ordered her in.’

‘I’m scared, Guy,’ Ellie sobbed. ‘I’m going to lose the baby, aren’t I?’

‘Not if we can help it.’ Jennifer handed the shears to Guy then paused to smile at Ellie. ‘How long ago did the bleeding start?’

‘Just before I rang Guy. The pains started at the same time and –Ahh!’ Another contraction made the effort to speak too great.

‘I’ll start an IV, shall I?’ Jennifer queried. ‘Ellie could do with some pain relief.’ Her glance towards the spreading puddle of blood on the floor was pointed. ‘And some fluids.’

Guy nodded, busy cutting away a pair of maternity jeans and underwear. His gloves were heavily bloodstained before he even touched his patient. ‘We’ve got a foot and leg through the cervix,’ he said seconds later.

‘What does that mean?’ Ellie cried in panic.

‘Your baby’s almost here,’ Guy responded. ‘And he’s decided to come out backwards. I’m going to find his other foot and give him a hand.’

‘But it’s too early,’ Ellie wailed.

‘Are you allergic to any drugs that you know of?’ Jennifer asked.

‘No… I don’t know… Guy, what are youdoing?Ahh!’

The need for pain relief abated as Guy eased the baby’s forearm clear of its shoulder. He grasped the baby’s ankles and swung upwards, and the second arm appeared.

‘Take a deep breath, Ellie,’ he said calmly. ‘You’re doing well. We’re almost there.’

The warning glance from Jennifer was unnecessary, but Guy nodded anyway. The head of a breech delivery had to be as slow as possible to decrease risk of damage to skull membranes by sudden decompression and release.

‘Sharp scratch, Ellie.’ Jennifer had a bag of IV fluids and a giving set beside her, ready to hook up as soon as the cannula was in place. ‘Blood pressure’s a hundred on fifty-five,’ she murmured to Guy. With another glance at the blood around them, she added softly, ‘Not bad at all really.’

Guy was concentrating on his own task. He eased the baby back over Ellie’s abdomen, the tiny arms dangling as he helped the head negotiate its narrow exit. A rush of new blood loss accompanied the completion of the delivery, but Guy’s attention was still caught by the flaccid baby.

‘I’ll take him.’ Somehow, Jennifer had located the suction bulb, the paediatric bag mask and a clean towel.

She handed him the clips for the umbilical cord and then took the infant and placed it on the towel. She suctioned the airway and then gently inflated the baby’s lungs with the bag mask.

Ellie was struggling to sit up. ‘Oh, my God,’ she cried. ‘He’s dead, isn’t he?’

‘No.’ Jennifer’s tone was firm. ‘He’s got a pulse. It’s just not very strong yet and he’s not quite ready to breathe so I’m helping him.’

‘We’ve still got some bleeding going on here.’ Guy reached for his kit. ‘I’m going to see if we can help the placenta along with some oxytocin.’

‘Why am I bleeding?’ Ellie’s gaze was fixed on her baby in horror as Jennifer worked over it.

‘Your placenta wasn’t in a great position, as we knew. When your cervix started to dilate, part of it tore away from the lining of your uterus. You may have been in labour for a while without noticing.’

‘I had a sore back all night. I thought it was the way I was lying.’ Ellie was now looking at the blood on the floor. ‘I hope I’m not bleeding to death here,’ she said fearfully.

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