Home » The Archives » Chapter 9 » Regrouping and Recouperation
| Re: Regrouping and Recouperation [message #248 is a reply to message #247] |
Mon, 23 July 2012 15:37   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
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Field Commander
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Wednesday, August 15, 2068, 11:50 a.m., Tracy Island
"Dianne! What the hell are you doing?" Drew walked into the sick room to find his niece sitting with her calf drawn up toward her body, prodding at her leg wound with both thumbs and examining it minutely. The bandage was cast aside at her feet. Maggie, who followed him, hustled forward, tsking under her breath. She took the bandage off to dispose of it, then washed her hands and began pulling down gauze and other supplies.
"What the hell took you so long?! As t' what Ah'm doin'... " She looked up and glared at him, grabbing the newspaper on the bedside table. She turned it toward him and jabbed at the offending article with a finger. "What the hell is this all about?"
Drew took the paper from her hand, then turned as Jeff came in. "What's going on?" the latecomer asked.
"That's what Ah wanna know," Dianne said as she folded her arms belligerently. "Ah was readin' the papuh an' saw an article..."
"Here." Drew, who had finished reading, handed the paper over to Jeff and indicated the article. As Jeff read, Drew headed over to the wash basin, saying, "Di, there's nothing to worry about."
"Really?" Dianne's arms went from folded in belligerence to wrapped around herself in concern. Drew dried his hands, then put on a pair of sterile gloves. "Ah'm afraid Ah'm havin' trouble believin' that."
"So am I, Drew," Jeff said as he dropped the paper back on the bedside table. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Because it wasn't really any of your business," Drew said sharply without looking up from where he was bandaging Dianne's leg again. "It was hospital business. It was being dealt with, in-house. In fact," he paused to ask Maggie for another piece of gauze, "I'm surprised it's in the news. I guess the investigation turned up some other iffy cases." He finished the job, stripped off his gloves, and sat on the edge of the bed, his arms folded. "I was in the surgical suite the whole time, Di. Yes, Dr. Willis left some fragments of metal in your leg..."
"What!?" "No!" Jeff and Dianne's cries of incredulity and distress sounded out in unison, but before they could say anything more, Drew put up a hand.
"Yes, he left the metal in there, but -- and this is important -- he also left the closing to Dr. Singh, who found the other fragments and removed them. All of them." He dropped his arms and gently put a hand on Dianne's ankle. "We scanned the leg again before we left the theater. There were no fragments left. The scan I did the other day showed no fragments. I'll be happy to redo it, or bring you the results on a laptop if it'll make you feel better." He cocked his head to one side, and raised his eyebrows. "You know very well, Di, that I'd never, ever have let you out of surgery with even the tiniest detail unaccounted for."
Dianne's head drooped; her eyes were closed and she nodded slightly. Jeff glanced back and forth between doctor and patient, then picked up the paper. "So, this Willis... he's done this before? To other patients? Left himself an opening for more surgery?"
Drew sighed heavily and shrugged. "So it seems. Dianne's surgery was the first solid evidence of it we've had... though trying to prove that he does this on purpose will be the hard part."
"Where will IR fit in all this?" Maggie asked, looking up from the article. "I mean, Di's surgery is probably the most recent incident and it's the catalyst for investigating his other cases." She indicated the paper in her hand. "But IR can't exactly come out and sue him for malpractice."
"I know," Drew replied. "But even so, the incident can be entered into evidence... there were plenty of witnesses this time, myself included. However..." he sighed again, "this won't do the hospital any good. Though they can't confirm that it happened to Dianne due to patient confidentiality, the fact that he was announced as the one working on her will give the hospital a black eye." He glanced over at Jeff. "Unless IR was to issue a statement..."
Jeff rubbed at his chin. "What kind of statement?"
"A statement of confidence in the hospital's handling of their case," Drew said hopefully.
There was a long silence as Jeff mulled over the possibilities. "I'll see what I can do. Check with our legal people and try to figure out a way to make a statement that will stick." He sighed. "I wish I'd known about this sooner, though."
"As I said, it was hospital business," Drew repeated firmly. He glanced at Dianne, gently squeezed her ankle and said, "I'm sorry you learned about it through the news, Di, but I had no idea that they'd found other cases and the whole sorry story had been leaked. If I'd known..." He let his words trail off as he shrugged.
"Don't worry about it, Andy," Jeff said wearily. "What's done is done. We just have to go on from here." He turned to his wife taking her hand and squeezing it a bit. "Are you going to be all right, love?"
"I guess so," Dianne said quietly. She waved a hand in the direction of her freshly-bandaged calf. "I was just so... concerned about it. Especially with this infection. I had antibiotics in the hospital to stop infection, and I still got one. Thought that any fragments left inside might have caused it."
"Ah, I see," Drew replied, nodding. "I don't know where you picked up this infection, but it's not from the surgery. Please believe me; we got them all."
"Okay."
There was another long moment of silence, then Maggie glanced at her watch. "It's time for lunch. How about we get you out of here and down to the dining room. I think a change of scenery would do you good, Di."
"That sounds like a good idea," Dianne said, brightening a bit. "I was bored... before I read that damned article. Then I sort of... panicked."
"Then definitely a change of scenery is prescribed," Drew said, smiling. He stood. "I'll head down to the dining room and let you three deal with the details." Besides, I might be able to corner Mrs. Hanson and give her a heads up on this latest development.
"We'll see you in a few minutes," Maggie said. "C'mon, Jeff, let's get this woman out of bed."
Post by Tikatu on 1/28/2007
  
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