September 2010 – At the Surgery

Chloe knew there was something wrong. She may have been only nineteen, but her mother’s instincts were sharply honed.

Her doctor was a middle-aged woman, maybe forty, or a little older. She was a little dumpy, with hair that was just starting to turn grey. Lately, she had taken to wearing glasses in the surgery. The GP had been the only doctor that Chloe had ever known. She was the person who Chloe had gone to with colds, flu, and other minor ailments. When Chloe had fallen from a tree at the age of ten, she had been the doctor who had reassured Chloe that nothing had been broken. And of course it was her GP who Chloe had seen throughout her pregnancy. The doctor had been a comforting female adult presence throughout her life. That day, the GP had been her usual cheery self when Chloe walked in with her daughter. She gave Eve a smile.

“Well, haven’t you grown young lady?”

Eve wasn’t having a good day and just sat on her mother’s lap with her face clamped tightly to her chest. The doctor looked at the girl’s notes on the computer screen and then at Chloe.

“It’s been a while since you were last here. Since Eve had conjunctivitis last Christmas. What’s the problem today?”

“It’s her stomach. There’s something down there that I’m not quite happy with.”

“Right. Pop her down on the table and let’s take a quick look at her.”

The doctor needed all of her bedside manner to prize the little girl from her mother, and to lay her down flat on the black plastic couch in the surgery. Then she felt around the girl’s abdomen, and kept feeling. Her casual joviality dissolved. She became more business like and serious.

“Mmm….. I think we may need to do a few tests here. Twenty-four hour urine to start with I’d think. I’ll send a letter off to the General to get you an appointment. Should be within a month.”

The journey home was a bit of a blur. Eve was left in the middle of the kitchen, still strapped in her trolley. Chloe raced straight to the laptop. A quick google of stomach, lump and twenty-four hour urine test, did absolutely nothing to reassure her.

The next morning saw Chloe and Eve, back at the GP’s surgery. This time Chloe didn’t wait to be asked.

“A month won’t do. I need to get her tested right now.”

The doctor just nodded. She hadn’t been entirely happy with her decision from yesterday. The best choice would have been to provide more timely escalation in this case. She reached for the phone, already decided on which consultant to call.