Saving Forever - Part 5 (Saving Forever #5)

by Lexy Timms

  “I can’t believe you got me in on this surgery!” Mandy bounced on the balls of her feet and water splashed everywhere. “Sorry. I’m a little excited.”

  “I don’t know how much hands-on we are actually going to get to do.” Charity had seen the scans and Peter had maybe a ten percent chance of being able to walk again.

  “I don’t care! We get to watch Dr. Bennet in action. That’s a better learning tool than anything we'll get to see today.” Mandy stepped back to let Charity finish.

  Elijah motioned for them to come into the surgery already in progress. “Alrighty,” he said and pointed to a CT scan up on the large screen in front of him. “Peter’s an athlete. He’s on a full ride at the University of Gatica. He needs his legs back. Charity, what do we know so far about his injury?” He turned his focus to Peter, who was lying prone on the operating table.

  Charity glanced at all the monitors to see if his vitals were stable. “When Peter arrived, he couldn’t move his legs. His chances of walking are less than ten percent.”

  “Why do you say that?” Elijah asked.

  Charity made a circle with her finger around the injury indicated on the CT scan. “Because of the injury here and the compression on the spinal cord.”

  “Right.” Elijah began using a drill that looked like an electric nail filer. “That makes the surgery very delicate and extremely complex.” He motioned her to come and stand on the other side of Peter. “But because Peter’s young and athletic, he has a better chance of recovery. He’s going to be one of the lucky ones.”

  “Did he lose spinal fluid?” Mandy asked, coming beside Charity to look over her shoulder.

  “Some.” Elijah nodded to the tray by him. “Titanium rods. We are going to decompress the spinal cord by realigning the spine. We’ll use titanium rods around his spine to hold it in place.” He shot a glance at Charity. “Reach in and hold that stick there. Yes, right there. What am I going to do next? Walk me through it.”

  Charity glanced down at Peter’s back. The injury seemed localized, but she could see his spine had been displaced from the impact of the car crash. “You’re going to screw the rods into his vertebrae. It looks like the spine’s been dislocated, so they’ll stabilize it. They’ll also allow the spinal cord to recover from the injury. We hope.”

  “We’re not going to hope. We are going to be confident. Peter’s going to walk again. I’ll make sure of it.” Elijah continued to work. Then stepped back. “Okay, we need a navigating MRI to check everything is in place.” He turned to the nurse behind him. “Call the radiologist in.” He shot Charity a look. “You can leave now. Mandy you stay.”

  Charity blinked in surprise. What had she done to get kicked out? She’d done everything right. “Can’t I stay?” She stepped back as Mandy squeezed into her spot and the nurse pulled an enormous machine over to set up above Peter’s back.

  “No.” Elijah’s head bent forward as he spoke with the anesthesiologist. He straightened when the radiologist came in and then blinked in surprise when he saw his wife still in the room. “Charity, you need to leave. Now.”

  She sighed loudly as she ripped off her gloves and threw them in the correct garbage bin and headed out the door. She stood behind the glass and watched. Elijah was too busy focussing on his patient to notice. He made everyone in the room step back against a wall as the radiologist in his heavy gray outfit stepped forward.

  “Shit!” she mumbled when she realized why he had kicked her out. He didn’t want the baby to be exposed to the radiation in the room from the navigating machine. She had been so caught up in the excitement of the surgery she had completely forgotten about the baby in her tummy. Elijah knew she didn’t want people to know yet and had simply opted for getting her to leave. She exhaled a long breath. Maybe it was time to start telling people. She couldn’t risk this happening again with another Neurosurgeon or doctor who didn’t know her situation, especially if she couldn’t even remember it herself.

  When the radiologist finished, he came out to where Charity stood waiting and began loading the information onto the large screens in the operating room. “Dr. Bennet said you can go back in now.” He grabbed a sheet of paper off the printer and handed it to Charity. “Can you bring him this?”

  “Sure.” She forced a smile and slipped through the door. She tried to appear as nothing had happened. That it was completely normal to be sent out of a surgery and to walk back in again. She ignored the questioning look Mandy shot her as she approached Elijah. “The uh, radiologist wanted me to give this to you.” She scrunched her nose when she realized she hadn’t bothered to ask his name or check his badge.

  “Thanks.” Elijah gave her a quick glance before looking down at the printout. He moved to one of the large touch screens and began sliding through the new scans. “The new scans are showing we’ve realigned the spine. Titanium rods can now be tightened. We—”

  “How do you know the surgery is successful? If he’s regained feeling in his legs?” Mandy asked, interrupting Elijah.

  Elijah pursed his lips. “Dr. Thompson-Bennet, do you know the answer?”

  Charity watched his mouth as she ran scenarios through her head. “You can’t really run a test. You’d have to ask him.”

  Elijah stared at her and then snapped his fingers. “That’s what we’ll do.” He turned to the anesthesiologist. “Wake him up.”

  “What?” the anesthesiologist asked.

  “Wake him up. Just long enough so we can ask him. Then put him back under and we’ll finish what we need to.”

  “Dr. Bennet—”

  “Just do it, Carter.” Elijah put his hand on the anesthesiologist’s shoulder and then dropped down to see Peter’s face below the table. “Dr. Thompson-Bennet, you run the test on his foot.”

  Carter counted down, “Ten… nine… eight…”

  When he reached four, Elijah began softly talking. “Peter. Peter. This is Doctor Bennet. You are in surgery. Just blink your eyes if you hear me.”

  Charity couldn’t see Peter’s face from her position by his feet. When Elijah gave her a thumb’s up, she set her feet shoulder width apart and turned her focus on Peter’s toes.

  Elijah ducked back down. “Okay. Peter, I need you to wiggle your toes. Can you do that for me?”

  Charity tilted her head to get a better view. She shook her head when Elijah popped his head up again.

  “Peter, can you try again?” Elijah held a finger up to warn the others in the room to wait. “Keep your body still, just try to wiggle your toes.”

  Charity chewed her lower lip. Come on, Peter. You can do it. Get those digits moving! She tapped her sneaker soundlessly against the floor as she stared hard at his feet.

  A small flicker in his right toe made her heart thunder against her chest. It moved again as she stared at it. Peter’s left toes curled. She smiled and jumped. “Yup! Movement. In both of them.”

  Elijah grinned and pressed his finger to his lip.

  “Oh yeah, sorry. I got excited,” Charity whispered.

  “Great job, Peter.” Elijah motioned to Carter to put Peter under again. He straightened. “Let’s finish up.”

  A nurse came in the room. “Dr. Bennet? Dr. Fulton is wondering when he can have his interns back.”

  Elijah shook his head. “You two go. We can finish up here. Just note that when I finish here, we’ll get Peter into a room and I’ll speak with his parents. He isn’t out of the woods, and it’s a long road to recovery but he’s one very lucky kid. That needs to be explained to the parents. You let them know he’s alive and prepare them for the road ahead. Sometimes the primary focus is to let them know he’s okay. Other times parents want more information or specific details. It’s a shame I can’t have you come with me, but I’m glad you were able to be here for the surgery.”

  “Me, too.” Mandy pulled her gloves off. “That was absofreakinlutely awesome! Thanks, Dr. Bennet for letting me in on it too.” She winked at Charity. “Guess I owe you one now, �
�eh?”

  Elijah laughed. “Get out of here.” He met Charity’s gaze. “Let me know when you’re finished. Text me.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, instead turning his attention back to Peter.

  Charity followed Mandy out of the room and pulled her over-attire off and tossed it into the appropriate bin.

  Mandy copied her and as they washed their hands, she babbled on excitedly. “I can’t believe you got me in on this. That was incredible! So freakin’ cool!” She shook her hands and dried them on her pants. “Why did Dr. Bennet kick you out of the room? Were you guys fighting?” She scratched her head. “But then he let you back in. Or did you just walk back in? That’s so ballsy.” She leaned back. “I couldn’t have done it. I’d have hidden behind the door and hoped he forgot he’d kicked me out.”

  “He didn’t kick me out.” Charity swore she felt a butterfly or some kind of bubbles in her belly. “He just asked me to wait outside the room during the navigator.” She hesitated, waiting for the light to click on and Mandy realize why she had actually left. It seemed so obvious.

  “Whatever.” Mandy laughed. “What do you think Dr. Fulton wants us for now? Sutures? Band-aid applying? After this morning’s heart surgery and this afternoon’s spinal fiasco, there is nothing that is going to seem even remotely attractive.” She checked her phone. “I wonder where he even is.”

  Charity let Mandy lead the way. She couldn’t believe Mandy hadn’t figured out why Elijah had asked her to leave. It wasn’t rocket science. Probably everyone in the ER room had figured it out and the rumors would be flying before she even left the hospital tonight. So much for waiting until Elijah’s mother arrived. She probably should find her father at one point today and let him know. With her luck, he’d probably have another coronary if he found out by some nurse or via a memo.

  At least she had two fantastic surgeries to talk about later tonight. If she saw her father, she could open with those and then mention the baby. He, of everyone, was probably the most excited she had come back. He had even backed off pushing and pressuring her since the wedding and his heart attack.

  Maybe he would finally start embracing life outside the hospital and enjoy it a little.

  He’d better, she thought. Pretty soon, there would be a little one. With her mom gone, she wanted her dad to be the get-down-on-the-floor kind of granddad, rolling around and playing pretend with his grandchildren. She highly doubted that would happen, but you couldn’t blame her for dreaming.

  Chapter 4

  Charity headed down the side stairwell of the hospital at the end of shift Sunday afternoon. It had been a ridiculously busy weekend. Hadn’t it just been Thursday? She and Elijah had barely seen each other, having breakfast in the cafeteria this morning for the first time since the multi-vehicle accident. The driver of Peter’s vehicle had been pronounced dead at the scene and the two girls were now in recovery with broken limbs but were on the mend. They had ended up in PACU, the Post Anesthesia Care Unit or recovery room right after surgery. They were happy to be roommates and would be released tomorrow.

  The other driver had severe injuries and would hopefully be out of ICU in a few days. Elijah had to operate on him shortly after Peter had been brought up to the IC Unit. His wounds were healing nicely.

  Peter was fairing alright. His parents were worried, and Charity didn’t blame them. He had made major steps in improvement. His determination and fight made Charity want him to get better fast. She knew she shouldn’t let herself become emotionally involved in a patient’s recovery, but the spark Peter had created an intensity that lit anyone around him. They all felt it; nurses, doctors, staff. He was a medical miracle delicately woven by Elijah’s gifted hands. The two of them were like peas in a pod. Elijah was already trying to talk Peter into switching his major to pre-med.

  In all the craziness, Charity hadn’t had a chance to talk to her father. She had seen him twice in the hallway on her way to surgery. He stopped her earlier today to ask if Elijah’s mother, Margaret, had someone picking her up from the airport.

  Thankfully her father offered. Elijah hadn’t mentioned it to Charity and they had not gone over what would happen tomorrow. Also, she knew: she had rounds, patient forms to fill out, an OB/GYN appointment herself, plus a million other things to do tomorrow. Tonight she had to clean the house and somehow make the spare room appear like it had always been a guest room.

  She thrived on busy, but this was getting a little out of hand.

  “Charity! Wait!”

  She paused on the bottom step at the sound of her best friend’s voice. “Julie!”

  Julie jogged down the steps in similar medical attire as Charity, even down to the same color. Her dark brown curls were pulled back into a bun and a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose made her hazel eyes appear bright.

  “When did you start needing those?” Charity pointed to her friend’s face.

  “I’m becoming nearsighted.” She laughed and hugged Charity. “I’ve been for a while and can’t get away with no glasses anymore. It’s barely a prescription but apparently I have a slightly lazy left eye.” She rolled them. “Simon’s paranoid the eye is going to wander on its own and I’ll start looking dodgy.” Julie pushed the black frames up her nose. “How do they look?”

  “Fantastic.”

  “Don’t get too excited. I’ve already got contacts ordered. I’ll wear them until I can schedule laser eye surgery.”

  Charity smiled. “Are you becoming vain?”

  Julie touched the sides of her face by her eyes. “Do you think the sides of the glasses hide the growing crow’s lines?”

  “I’m going to ignore that question.” Julie barely looked twenty and her naturally tanned skin seemed to be oblivious to aging. “Are you finished with your shift?”

  “I’m staying tonight. On call.” She shrugged. “Simon’s working tonight as well.” Julie was a doctor, and so was her husband, Simon. “You heading home?”

  “Elijah’s mother arrives tomorrow. I managed to get tonight off. I’m in tomorrow during the day and will hopefully be off again tomorrow night. However, I’ll have to see what the schedule changes say.”

  “You enjoying it?” Julie sat down on the stairwell and patted the cement next to her.

  Charity sat down. “I am. I forgot how busy it was, but it’s unbelievably great to be back.”

  Julie rubbed her shoulder against her friend’s. “I’m glad. Can I let you in on a little secret? You’re not going to believe me when I tell you. No one knows, not even Simon.”

  Charity folded her hands and let her elbows rest on her thighs to cover her belly. What if Julie’s pregnant? That would be way too ironic. She tried not to smile, excited that she would finally be able to tell someone. Would Julie even believe her? Their kids would be in the same class together. What if one of them had a boy and the other had a girl and then they got married when they grew up. It would be so cute. “Spill it, roomie.” Old roommates in university, friends forever.

  “It’s silly. You’ll laugh.” Julie picked at a fluff on her pants. “When we started our residence before your mom got sick, I couldn’t wait, but I was so jealous of you. Don’t get me wrong, I totally admired you, but man, you had skills! You made everything look so easy.”

  “Pardon?” Charity blinked, not sure she had heard Julie correctly.

  “I told you it was silly.” Julie squeezed Charity’s knee. “I was totally jealous of you with your natural, surgical ability, your confidence and defiance with the doctors, and shit! You are so bloody smart! I wished back then, and now still, that I could be like you.” She grinned sheepishly. “I was envious and hated that your father was this top doctor. When you had gone, I thought you left me to go and work beside your father. I told Simon I was going to hunt you down.”

  Charity tried not to show her disappointment that she was wrong in thinking Julie might be pregnant. She forced a smile, attempting to pretend Julie’s revelation was funny. “You were going t
o hunt me down? You are deeply disturbing.”

  “I am, I know.” Julie put her arm around Charity. “But I want you to know that I’m so proud you came back. You are going to be amazing. This is your destiny.”

  “My destiny?” Charity appreciated the pep talk, but this felt a bit overboard. “I’m barely keeping my head above water.” What was Julie getting at?

  “Whatever. I hear the doctors talking. Fulton wants you to do a year of residence with him on the cardiac ward. He’s threatening anyone who asks to put you on their rounds.”

  “Dr. Fulton? That guy can’t stand me.”

  Julie laughed. “He wants you to take over when he retires in three years.”

  Charity gave her head a slight shake. She had barely started her residence and had a long way to go before she should even be considered capable of doing anything. She hadn’t even done a solo surgery yet! Plus she had one other little bump to consider. “I’m not taking over anything! I have no idea what I’m going to be doing tomorrow, let alone a year from now.” Her chest grew tight and she tried to suck in short, quick breaths. It was all she could manage.

  Julie tightened her arm around Charity’s shoulder. “Breathe girl, breathe.” She waited as Charity took a moment to calm down. “What’s going on? I thought you would be excited to hear that doctors were fighting over you. Simon’s joking you are going to take over his position. He said if you and him job-shared Peeds, he could be a part-time stay-at-home dad.”

  Charity snorted in surprise. “You having a baby?”

  Julie laughed loudly. “No, freakin’ way! Simon wants a baby, he just hasn’t convinced me I want one yet.”

  “You should. You two would be great parents.”

  “I’m way too busy. In a year or two things will settle down, then he and I can talk about the issue. Maybe practice making one, but not actually have one! If you know what I mean!”

  Charity stood. A few minutes ago she was excited to have this conversation, now she wasn’t ready to tell Julie. It could wait a few more days. “I should get going. My never ending list isn’t going to get finished if I don’t start.” She stretched and yawned.