Chapter Eleven

AT THE END OF HIS SHIFT, JAMES KNEW HE wouldn't be going home anytime soon. Tucker had taken a turn for the worst. Dr. Clark had heeded Dr. Hamilton's advice and brought in Dr. Jeffries, a specialist from the teaching hospital in Peoria, to do a consult. She’d invited Dr. Hamilton and James to attend as well.

He felt honored being there but, at the same time, knew how much he could bring to the table. He called Fern just before the meeting and let her know he’d be late. He also called Gideon.

When his son didn't answer, James left a message. “Gideon, I’ll be late tonight. Not sure when I’ll get home. Make sure your mom gets something to eat. I thought you might want to know that Tucker has taken a turn for the worst. He said you came by last night. Love you, Dad.”

James closed the phone, took a deep breath and stepped into the conference room.

An hour later, the four doctors and James filed out. Bottom line was that Tucker would be going into surgery again. The GI doctor from the teaching hospital would perform the surgery with Dr. Clark assisting. Since the nuclear test failed to show a specific bleeding spot, all they knew was that it was coming from somewhere in his abdomen.

Dr. Jeffries indicated that they would look for bleeders and at the same time check for pockets of infection, then start Tucker on a course of the antibiotic cocktail James had suggested. The GI doctor had used it before, and the team agreed to give it a try.

Dr. Hamilton had suggested James assist with the surgery.

James figured he’d be lucky to be home by midnight. He went back to the floor to tell Tucker the news.

“You’ll be there the whole time?” Tucker asked.

“I’ll make sure the doctors do everything right, buddy.” James found it hard to speak. He clasped Tucker's hand. “Your parents will both be here.”

“Okay.” He closed his eyes.

James sucked in a deep breath and pulled himself together while he removed the gown and gloves.

Out in the waiting room, he spotted Dr. Clark and Dr. Hamilton talking with the Blairs. Mr. Blair signed the consent forms. “He's good with it.” James attempted a smile. “I told him I’d be there to make sure the doctors did it right.”

John Blair pinched his lips together and shook James's hand. “Thanks.”

Gideon came in as James was leaving. He gave his dad a hug. “Thanks for calling me.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” He watched with pride as Gideon took a seat beside Tucker's parents and asked if he could bring them anything.

On the way to the surgical suite James called Anabelle and asked her to put Tucker on the Good Shepherd prayer chain. Their church had people in place specifically to make phone calls when intercessory prayer was needed. To ensure confidentiality, no specific details were given, just the name. Each person called the next until the chain came back around to the first caller. In this case Anabelle was first.

“I’m sorry, James. These are the tough ones. I know. I’m praying. I’ll call Candace and Elena too.”

“Thanks.”

James paused outside the surgical suite, then plodded to the sinks to wash up. Dr. Jeffries and Dr. Clark were already there. Once they had scrubbed and stepped into their sterile garb, the procedure began. After years of practice, James managed to shift into his objective mode. He needed to let go of his feelings and focus entirely on his task.

Dr. Jeffries used a balloon endoscopy to examine the colon and found numerous lesions and two small veins that were issuing small amounts of blood. There were several large pockets of infection that the doctor was able to drain. Dr. Jeffries felt that as long as the medications worked, he had a good chance of making it. James wasn't so sure. As a medic, he’d seen his share of abdominal wounds; Tucker's was bad.

By eight o’clock that evening, Tucker was awake and responding, his vital signs stable. James and Gideon headed home around nine. Morning would come far too soon, and James had a lot to do at home before going to bed. Having a clone would have come in handy.

Thursday morning, Anabelle sat in her favorite chair near the patio, letting her devotional for the day seep in. It had been about God's will. Did anything happen outside of God's will? Some people thought no, but Anabelle felt differently. God did not will Adam and Eve to sin. They ate of the forbidden fruit on their own. God did not choose that path for them.

God certainly did not will for people to do bad things. And oh, there were so many bad things people did to themselves and others.

As a nurse she often heard patients ask, “Why did God let this happen?” She’d asked that herself when her little girl had come so close to death. She finally realized that God had never wanted people to do evil, and He certainly never wanted harm to come to His children. God had not willed the accident that had nearly killed Kirstie. That horrid man had caused it. It had been his choice to drink, not God's.

Anabelle sighed. Such a philosopher she could be, especially when she felt maudlin like she did this morning.

Last night's meeting with the Bike Smarts committee had ended around nine. It looked as though they were all set for their school programs. The meeting had gone well but it seemed the older she got, the less stamina she had for those long evening get-togethers.

Of course, it hadn't helped to learn about Tucker. She’d read about the accident. Anabelle jotted a few notes down in her journal and prayed again for those on her list.

When Anabelle entered the hospital for her shift, she knew someone had died. It wasn't any sort of superpower—she had worked there long enough to pick up on the sorrowful tone. Though they had an excellent cure rate, death was certainly no stranger at Hope Haven. But because they counted every patient as a part of their family, they took losses hard.

She checked on her own patients, and Debbie assured her they were all doing well. “Dr. Hamilton went home last night around nine. Said he wanted to get some sleep. Did you know he was seeing patients and acting as a consultant yesterday?”

Anabelle tsked. “That man.”

Debbie shook her head. “You have to admit he’s dedicated.”

“True.” Anabelled smiled. “James called last night to tell me about Tucker's surgery. Have you heard anything?”

“Not recently. I do know he went from recovery to ICU.”

Debbie hesitated and looked over Anabelle's head. “Speaking of ICU, here's Elena.”

Anabelle turned.

“Hi, Debbie, Anabelle.” There were no dimples in Elena's cheeks this morning, only sadness in her dark brown eyes. “I have some bad news.”

“I had a feeling. Let's go into my office so Debbie can get her charting done.”

“What's up?” Anabelle hitched her hip up on the corner of the desk.

Elena sat in the chair. “We lost a patient last night.”

James knocked and stepped in. “Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to talk to you.” He glanced at Elena. “Did you tell her?”

“I started to.”

James lowered himself into the second chair and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.

Anabelle touched his shoulder. “Was it Tucker?”

He lowered his head. “He died early this morning.”

“James. I’m so sorry.” Anabelle closed her eyes for a moment to let the news sink in.

“We thought he was doing better,” James said.

Elena nodded. “He was for a while. But his immune system just couldn't fight that level of infection.”

“His parents must be devastated.” Anabelle wished there was something she could do for James. He seemed to be taking the boy's death especially hard.

“I can't believe it.” James rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe I should have stayed with him. I might have been able to…”

“Don't do this to yourself, James,” Elena said. “Tucker was getting the best possible care.”

“I know. Everyone did their best, including me.” James got to his feet, shoulders still slumped. “Doesn't make it any easier.” He hugged each of the women. “I need to get back to the unit. Thanks for listening.”

Once Elena and James left, Anabelle closed her eyes for a moment to pray for Tucker's family. What a tragic loss. She reflected on the devastation she had felt when she’d learned of Kirstie's accident and knew how long the road to healing could be, how long it could take to experience joy again.

Anabelle asked for focus and the ability to tend to her own responsibilities—one of those being Seri. Becky had written another note about Seri's being a social butterfly.

After report and making her rounds, Anabelle found Seri at the nurses’ station chatting. “Seri, would you mind coming into my office for a few minutes?”

“Sure. Like, now? I have to help Olga with her shower.”

So what are you doing here? Anabelle held back the retort. An employer should never express disdain for an employee in front of their peers.

Anabelle smiled. “I don't think Olga will mind. I’ll just need a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Seri eased out of the chair and walked with Anabelle to the office. Anabelle indicated for her to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Rather than taking the intimidating approach of sitting with the desk between them, Anabelle took the chair beside Seri.

“How long have you been with us, Seri?”

“Um—a couple weeks.” Seri twisted a silver ring around on her finger.

“Do you realize that in that time, I’ve had at least three complaints about your work—or I should say lack of it?”

She fingered one of her small hooped earrings. “Um, no. Well, Winona griped at me a couple of times to quit talking so much and to help the others.”

“How did you feel about that? Was Winona being fair to you?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure because I do everything on my list.”

“On your list?”

“Well, yeah. Becky tells us who our patients are and what needs to be done. I figure when I’m done with that, I’m okay to do whatever. I’m pretty fast so lots of times I finish before the others.”

“I see.” Anabelle glanced over the memos.

“Please don't fire me, Mrs. Scott. I really need this job. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

“I’ve been looking at your personnel file. You graduated at the top of your class.”

She shrugged. “School is easy for me. Sometimes too easy. But my teachers put me on a fast track and into gifted programs so I wouldn't get too bored.”

It was Anabelle's turn to smile. She wasn't dealing with a lazy young lady, but a bored one. “You like keeping busy?”

“Sure. Who doesn’t?”

“The other day when you heard about the plan to put everyone through the disaster training course, you seemed upset and told me your date was more important.”

“Oh, that.” She bit her lower lip. “I was just griping.”

“Did you read the manual?”

“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “During my afternoon break.”

“I didn't get your signed form.”

“Oh no, that's my bad. I think I left it in the book. It's in my locker.” She started to get up. “Want me to get it now?”

“It can wait, Seri.” Anabelle wished she’d taken time for this earlier. “I think I know what the problem is here. Would it make you too uncomfortable if I shadow you while you work this morning?”

“You mean so you can see if I’m doing stuff wrong?”

“More to see how you use your time.”

“Sure.” Her blue gaze met Anabelle's. “Does this mean I still have my job?”

“That depends. Do you like working here?”

“Yeah.” She tipped her head to one side. “I like people, and I like helping people. In fact, I’d like to go into medicine, maybe become a nurse or a doctor.”

“All right then. I think if we make a few adjustments you’ll be fine.”

Anabelle shadowed Seri for most of the morning and was largely impressed with the aide's work and her ability to see patients’ needs and carry them through. She completed her assigned tasks thoroughly, yet quickly. She also had a wonderful bedside manner and seemed to make patients feel special.

When they’d finished baths and morning care, Anabelle suggested a break. She complimented Seri on what she’d observed.

“I think you’re going to make a fine nurse or doctor.”

Seri smiled. “Thanks. Like I said, I like helping people.”

“I think what has happened with you is that you are able to get your work done quickly while the others are still working. I’d like you to offer to help the others. You’re welcome to take your breaks and lunch, but if you see that someone is especially busy or having a rough time, come alongside them. We work as a team here. We not only look at our patients’ needs, but at what we can do for our co-workers as well.”

“So I should do more than what I’m scheduled to do?”

“Possibly, yes. Be available to run errands for the others or help with bed changes and patient care.”

Seri nodded. “I could do that, but it doesn't seem right to punish me because I’m more efficient.”

Anabelle grinned. “Rather than see it as punishment, maybe you could see helping others get their work done as an opportunity to commit random acts of kindness.”

“I see what you mean.” Seri's eyes brightened.

“And you’ll get more experience. I really think if you become more of a team member, the others will see you for the competent worker you are.”

“You got it, Mrs. Scott.”

Anabelle felt good about her encounter with Seri. The girl had a great deal of potential. She was not only intelligent, she had people skills. Anabelle made a special point of observing her interaction with her peers. She also called Becky in to talk with her about Seri and explain the situation.

“I’m glad you told me,” Becky said. “The more I get to know her, the more I like her.”

“Me too.” Anabelle laughed.

At 11:15 AM, Elena stepped into the nurses’ station wishing Sarah would call to cancel. Too often throughout the previous day and this morning, she had asked God to let something happen so she wouldn't have to go. Unfortunately, she was free to take her lunch as scheduled. Elena gave in and let Marge know she would be going over to the coffee shop.

“Oh, good.” Marge looked up from the computer. “Would you mind picking up a latte?”

“I’ll be happy to.” Elena smiled, glad for the distraction.

“Let me give you some money.”

“Oh, no need. You can pay me when I get back.” Elena waved and hurried off, wanting to get this unpleasantness over with as soon as possible. Truth be told, she didn't mind leaving the hospital this morning. A somberness blanketed the Intensive Care Unit, having lost Tucker. Elena hadn't personally treated him, but she had spent a part of the morning comforting the nurse who had.

At Cuppa Coffee, Elena looked around for Sarah but didn't see her.

“Can I help you?” A young, blond barista asked.

Elena glanced up at the menu board and ordered a mocha latte and nachos. She’d get Marge's drink just before she left. A few minutes later, with coffee in hand, she settled into a comfy chair in the corner where she could see everyone coming in. Elena had brought her notes for Isabel's party with her to work on if she had time.

As it turned out, she had a full half hour. Her drink and nachos were long gone. She ordered Marge's latte, decided to wait one final minute then left. She was both annoyed and relieved—annoyed Sarah had caused her so much angst and relieved she didn't have to face her. Now Elena knew everything she needed to know about where Sarah's priorities stood. Plus the time hadn't been a total loss. She’d managed to fill out and address all of the invitations for the party.

“Well, Lord, I did my part,” Elena muttered as she made her way across the busy street.

But it might not be that simple.