Page 24 of Lessons in Love at the Cornish Country Hospital

‘I can’t leave him. His mum and dad are with him, but I still can’t go.’ Lauren looked completely exhausted as she steppedback from Danni. It was as if she was being pulled in two directions and Danni didn’t know what to advise. She had no idea how she’d have reacted in the same circumstances.

‘They’re ready to take Freddie up to surgery.’ It was Zahir who broke the silence in the end, as he came into view.

‘Oh, thank God.’ It was a good job Danni was close enough to reach out and steady Lauren, otherwise she suspected the other woman might have ended up in a heap on the floor. The tears didn’t stop flowing, even as she turned to look at Danni, and then towards Eve, who still hadn’t said a word, but there was a tiny spark of hope in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t believe I lashed out like that, but I was so scared.’

‘Don’t worry, I just hope he’s okay.’ Eve’s chin wobbled as she finally spoke, the intake of air afterwards shuddery as she breathed in.

‘I need to see him before he goes. Just in case.’ Lauren was already pulling away, desperate to say a goodbye to her husband, which none of them knew whether he’d be able to hear. The hardest thing about Danni’s job was that sometimes the outcome for her patients was completely out of her control. She’d done all she could for Freddie and his family. The rest was in other people’s hands now, and the forces of fate. But what she could do was talk to Eve, and try to get to the bottom of what had caused her new colleague to completely freeze. Danni just hoped it wasn’t something that would affect what had seemed such a promising future at St Piran’s for Eve.

‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened. I just had no idea what to say to her.’ Eve hadn’t even given Danni a chance to ask thequestion when they got into Dr Moorhouse’s office, where she’d suggested they go for a chat.

‘We all have moments that affect us in unexpected ways, but you must have had to deal with family members going through this kind of thing before.’

‘More times than I want to count.’ Running a hand through her dark, glossy hair, Eve seemed so put together and in control, yet she’d been like a rabbit in the headlights when Lauren had approached her. It didn’t make any sense, unless it had reminded her of something far more personal. Danni had been there herself, and she was going to take a chance that her hunch was right.

‘My dad died of cardiac arrest when I was ten years old. It was what made me want to become a doctor, but it still hits me hard every time I find myself in a situation like my dad faced that day. The first couple of times I froze, and for a while I wasn’t sure it was something I could get over. But with the support of my colleagues, I found a way. If the situation with Freddie and Lauren is like that for you, I want you to know you can talk to me.’

‘My f…’ Eve hesitated for a moment, then swallowed hard and met Danni’s eyes. ‘My friend sustained a serious head injury in an accident, and I was with him at the hospital. Like Lauren, I was waiting for someone to tell me he was going to be okay, but they never did, and he never was. Nothing anyone said to me that day helped, and I desperately wanted to find something to say to her today that would – even a little bit – but I couldn’t seem to open my mouth.’

‘I want to say it gets easier and it does, but not all by itself.’ Danni reached out and gently squeezed her arm. ‘I don’t think I’d ever have got past it if I didn’t get some help to process what it feels like to be back in a moment when you felt so helpless. Have you spoken to anyone about this before?’

‘No. It’s just that the circumstances today were so similar in a lot of ways. Freddie was the same age as my friend, and I was there by the bedside with his parents, who were distraught too. I didn’t realise it could still hit me so hard, and I’m scared I’ll let everyone down and won’t be able to do my job.’

‘Of course you can do your job, and with the right support this will make you even better at it. There’s nothing the families of our patients need more than to be shown some empathy; you can do that in a way that people who haven’t experienced something similar just can’t do. I do think it would help you to speak to someone about it though. Maybe one of the hospital counsellors would be a good starting point?’

‘I think it would.’ Eve nodded. ‘Thank you so much for understanding and not just tearing a strip off me for being useless.’

‘You’ve been great today, and I can already tell you’re going to fit in perfectly. Do you do hugs?’ Danni smiled, as Eve nodded. Hugging her new colleague, she hoped she was right, because there was no doubting Eve had a lot to offer. She wouldn’t be around soon, because of her maternity leave, but the team at St Piran’s had a way of pulling together unlike any other she’d ever worked with, and she couldn’t be leaving Eve’s future at the hospital in better hands.

15

Wendy had been laying the groundwork to get a puppy for the past few weeks. It seemed like the perfect antidote to her increasingly empty nest, and she knew now which breed she wanted. From what she’d read, it would also be a good fit with Gary’s Border Terrier, Stan. The breed was supposed to be incredibly affectionate and very loyal to their favourite people. It was exactly what she needed, a little dog to depend on her, who she wouldn’t have to share with another household. Gary had questioned whether now was the right time for a second dog, considering their plans to get married, and the hope that they might be able to have an exotic honeymoon somewhere, but she could tell she was starting to win him round, and he’d begun to send her videos of dachshund puppies falling over their own feet and doing other impossibly cute things. She was just watching another video Gary had sent her, when her phone started to ring. It was Zara.

‘Oh Mum, thank God!’ Her voice was high and reedy, and even without seeing her face Wendy could tell she was close to tears.

‘Are you okay? What’s wrong?’ Fear prickled her skin, and she was already in flight or fight mode with the need to get to her youngest child.

‘Yes, no… It’s not me, it’s Chloe.’ Wendy’s immediate reaction was to sigh with relief; all the scary scenarios that had flitted through her mind in less than ten seconds had disappeared, but then she heard the panic that was still in Zara’s voice.

‘Mum? Mum? Are you there?’

‘Yes, darling, but if something is wrong with Chloe, why haven’t you called Dad?’

‘He’s not answering. He’s away on a golf trip with Uncle Tony and you know what it’s like when they’re playing, he won’t even look at his phone until he comes off the course. Mum, please, I know it’s weird me phoning you about Clo, but I think she’s really poorly and she won’t let me call an ambulance. She keeps crying because of the pain.’

‘Where does it hurt?’ Wendy felt as if her blood had gone cold, and she had a horrible feeling she knew what Zara was going to say before she said it.

‘Near the bottom of her bump and she’s been sick a few times too. I don’t know what to do, and she just keeps saying she wants Dad. I can’t do this on my own, Mum. I just can’t.Please.’ Zara was pleading now, but she didn’t need to, Wendy had already snatched up her keys and she felt close to tears herself.

‘Okay sweetheart, I’m coming straight over now, but I want you to call the ambulance. Never mind what Chloe says, she needs medical help.’

‘Thank you, please be as quick as you can. I’m really scared.’

‘I know you are, sweetheart, but it’ll be okay. I’ll be there in ten minutes, I promise.’ Ending the call, Wendy dashed towards the front door. From what Chloe had said there was every chance this had something to do with either the pregnancy itself, or thecyst on her ovary, and Wendy had no idea how dangerous that might be to either Chloe or her unborn baby. All she knew was that she desperately wanted them both to be okay.

Zara was standing in the open doorway when Wendy pulled up outside Mike and Chloe’s house. Her face was almost as pale as the white shirt she was wearing, and her eyes were red rimmed and puffy.

‘I’m scared she’s dying; she can’t even stand up now and when I phoned for an ambulance they said it was probably a miscarriage, but they might take two hours to get here. They’ve got a backlog of jobs.’ Zara threw herself into her mother’s arms as Wendy reached her. ‘Don’t let her die, Mum, you’ve got to do something.’

---