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I rubbed my forehead, biting back a bitter comment. “Thanks, Jim. I appreciate the heads-up. You’re right about Maureen. She doesn’t want me to see him.”
“Not really fair, in my opinion, considering you saved his life…”
“There’s not much I can do, and I don’t want to cause any real issues in their family. I’ll call her and see if I can at least see him from a distance.”
Jim sighed audibly and I could tell he didn’t agree with Maureen on the need to keep Liam from any contact with me so he wouldn’t be confused.
“If worst comes to worst, you let me know and I’ll see what I can do to facilitate a meeting. She stays with him pretty much 24/7 but there might be an hour here and there where she leaves him alone. If so, I’ll give you a call.”
“Thanks,” I said, a sense of gloom settling over me. “I appreciate it.”
I ended the call and sat staring out my window at the courtyard. I was furious that Maureen was in town with Liam, and that Liam was sick but she hadn’t contacted me to let me know. Liver complications after bone marrow transplant could be life threatening. As his biological father, and as the one whose stem cells saved his life, I should at least be told.
I called Maureen’s cell. Surprisingly, she hadn’t changed the number, although she didn’t answer and my call went to voice mail.
“Hi, Maureen. I hear through the grapevine that Liam is here for his nine-month check and is having problems with his liver enzymes. Can we talk? You have my number.”
I hung up and then, despite knowing I shouldn’t, I left my office and went to the children’s ward. I wouldn’t barge in on Liam, but I would go to the waiting room and let the nurses know I wanted to speak with Maureen.
On my way, and to my surprise, Maureen called. “Drake? Who told you we were here?”
“Who told me doesn’t matter,” I said, fighting to keep control over the tone of my voice. “What matters is Liam. I want to see his chart, and talk to his team. Considering I saved his life, it’s the least you can do if you won’t let me see him personally.”
There was silence on the line. I climbed the stairs and waited. I could practically hear steam coming out of her ears, but she held her anger in.
“I don’t want him becoming confused, Drake. He’s only known one father all his life. Chris.”
“Chris is his father. I know that. I just want to see him. I could pretend to be just another doctor checking on him.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment. “You can look at his files and talk to whomever you want. I’ll think about whether you can see him.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m coming up right now.”
“Don’t come into his room,” she said, her voice raised. “I don’t want anything to upset him.”
“I won’t,” I said, trying to keep my calm doctor voice, but it was hard. I wanted to shout at her. “I promise.”
I rounded the corner to the Children’s ward, past the brightly decorated wall and play area, to the small waiting room across from the nursing station. I went up to the counter and said hello to the nurses there. Just then, Maureen came down the hall from one of the isolation rooms. She arrived at the station and stood beside me, and by the expression on her face, I could tell she wasn’t at all happy.
She turned to the nurses, who sat staring up at us. “Dr. Morgan has my permission to look at Liam’s files and speak with any of you regarding his care. He is not allowed to visit Liam unless I say so.”
The nurses glanced at me, expressions of surprise on their faces.
The charge nurse handed me Liam’s file. “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll sit in the waiting room and read.”
“You can go into the conference room if you want,” Cathy, one of the peds nurses said. “It’s more comfortable and there’s a desk in case you want to make notes or anything.”
“Okay. I want to make copies of some of the reports and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Be my guest.”
I turned to Maureen. “Shall we talk?” I motioned to the conference room.
“I was busy reading to Liam,” she said. “’The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. Maybe later.”
I nodded. “Call me later and we can talk, either in my office or on the phone.”
She turned and went back down the hallway to Liam’s room without another word, but by how stiff her back was, I could tell she was holding it in.
