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Three and a half hours later, using a combination of painstaking dissection, wearing magnifying loops and using the nerve stimulator, Ben peeled away the tumour from each nerve root, eventually freeing the whole mass. The motor function to the lower limbs seemed intact, according to the positive spikes on the EMG monitor, but Georgie knew that there was no way of effectively monitoring nerves to the bowels, bladder or sensation. Only in the post-operative period would it become clear if Emma had suffered any neurological deficit. Not only that, it could take a year or more to be certain whether any deficit was temporary or permanent.
Ben put on two titanium plates and screws, one on each side of the remaining pedicles, to replace the strength lost when the laminae and spinous processes were removed, and he then assisted Georgie in placing a small closed suction drain into the wound before closing it.
The relief when it was all over was palpable.
Georgie met his eyes over his mask and shield, the flicker of doubt and hope fighting it out in those dark blue depths making her heart suddenly contract.
‘You did a good job assisting,’ he said as Emma was wheeled out to Recovery.
‘Thanks,’ she said softly. ‘You were amazingly patient. I couldn’t believe how difficult it would be to preserve every nerve root.’
He stripped off his mask and gave her a tired smile. ‘I had a good teacher,’ he said. ‘My father, you mean?’ ‘You sound surprised.’
‘I am, considering what you’ve said about him being difficult to work with,’ she admitted.
‘He was a nightmare to work with at times but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a fine neurosurgeon,’ he said, tossing his gloves in the bin. ‘He may have thrown a few instruments in his time but as far as patience with a patient went, he was hard to beat. I’ve seen him stand in one spot for ten hours to remove a spinal tumour.’
‘Emma’s parents are waiting to speak to you,’ Linda informed him from the door.
‘Right,’ he said, and left Georgie standing there with her mouth open.
She met Jules coming out of the lift as she was heading up to the high-dependency unit to check on Emma, who had been transferred there from Recovery.
‘I hear you’ve lost the bet,’ he said with a grin, ‘and with the boss, no less. Way to go, girl.’
She gave him a withering look. ‘I am not dating Ben,’ she said with cutting emphasis.
‘Better announce it on the hospital loudspeaker, then,’ he advised. ‘It was the hot topic in the doctors’ room this morning. Everyone seems to think you are.’
‘Oh, no!’ she groaned.
‘Madeleine Brothers wasn’t too happy about it,’ he went on. ‘She thinks it’s going to cause more trouble with Mr Tander.’
‘How is Mrs Tander?’ Georgie asked. ‘Mr Blackwood advised me to stay out of ICU until things settle down a bit.’
‘She’s not doing too well,’ Jules said. ‘Mr Blackwood ordered a whole-body CT scan but she’s too unstable to take down to X-Ray. The police have been in to talk to Mr Tander once or twice. He’s pretty annoyed about it so you’d better do as the boss says and keep your head down.’
‘Does Ben … er … I mean Mr Blackwood think there’s something else wrong with Mrs Tander?’ Georgie asked. ‘Something we might have missed in the initial assessment?’
‘I guess he must if he wants a full scan done,’ he said. Glancing at his watch, he added, ‘I’ve got to dash. See you around some time.’
‘Yeah.’ Georgie answered absently. ‘See you.’
‘Dr Willoughby!’ an irate male voice thundered from down the corridor. ‘Just the person I want to see. How dare you insinuate that I tried to kill my wife?’
Georgie felt her stomach go hollow. Jonathon Tander was livid, his whole body pulsating as he cornered her.
‘The police have been on my back all morning, thanks to you,’ he railed. ‘I’m going to sue you. Do you hear me? I am going to have you dismissed from this hospital for the specious rumours you’ve circulated about me. You will never work again in any hospital.’
‘Mr Tander, I—’
‘I love my wife,’ he cut her off, tears suddenly brimming in his bloodshot eyes. ‘She’s everything to me. I love her. I would never allow her to suffer …’
Georgie felt as if her heart was being squeezed as the man’s broken sobs sounded from deep within his chest. His whole body shook with the force of them, his legs trembling so much she was sure he was going to fall in a heap on the floor.
‘Mr Tander,’ she said, putting a gentle hand on his arm in order to lead him to a chair, ‘please, sit down and let me try to explain.’
He wrenched his arm away from her and glared at her through his tears. ‘Don’t try and butter me up. You’re making things so much worse, don’t you realise that? So much worse! She’s suffered enough. I can’t take any more. Oh, God, I can’t take any more.’
