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‘I’m not worried about the bed state.’ Jackie gave him an old-fashioned look as she punched in the co-ordinator’s number. ‘You know how we were just talking about the press—well, wait till they get hold of this.’
They already had.
A bystander at the shopping mall had put something online and as Annie went out to greet the ambulance, photographers were already gathering, attempting to get shots of the baby who was being shielded by a blanket as the paramedic raced her through the department and into the resuscitation area, carefully placing her under the heater as everyone swung into action.
‘The woman who found her heard a small cry but nothing really since then. She’s pretty flat.’
‘Hypothermic.’ Iosef checked the baby’s temperature then nodded as Annie delivered warm, humidified oxygen. Briskly stepping aside when the anesthetist arrived, and having checked the baby’s glucose levels, she set up the dextrose infusion Iosef had ordered. ‘Two, maybe three hours old,’ Iosef said, checking the status of the umbilical cord as he inserted a line to deliver drugs. ‘She’s very small.’
It sounded as if he was stating the obvious, but Annie knew his trained eye was stating far more. The baby was very small and scrawny, but in a newborn, size and weight weren’t always indicative of gestational age. He measured her head with tape then his meticulous eyes and fingers scanned and probed the newborn, noting the well-formed ears, the nipples, the creases on the soles of her feet—digesting the information before he gave his verdict. ‘This baby’s full term—small, but full term. Let’s weigh her.’
‘She’s very jittery,’ Annie noted as the baby started to respond to warming. Her little limbs were pinking up but tiny jerking actions were apparent and Jackie wasted no time saying what Annie was thinking.
‘She could be suffering drug withdrawal, given that her mother—’
‘Her glucose levels are low,’ Iosef interrupted. ‘Let’s just deal with the few facts that we do know— and hypoglycemia would more than account for her jitteriness. Where are the pediatricians?’
‘Stuck on the ward with a sudden collapse,’ the nurse co-ordinator answered as she came in, turning off her shrilling pager. ‘Poor little mite—what an awful start to life.’
‘She’s fine!’ Iosef’s response was very matter-of- fact. ‘She’s responding well to warming and fluids.’ She was—the little body that had been so still was pink and moving now, and very pleasingly she was crying loudly at the indignity of it all. And even though she continued to pick up, she was still too sick and exhausted to be bathed yet, so instead, when things had stabilized, Annie popped on a nappy and swaddled her in a bunny rug, popping a little pink hat on her head to keep her warm.
‘That’s better!’ Iosef came over with her notes and looked down at his patient. ‘She looks like a baby now.’ He shook his head at his own choice of words. ‘You know what I mean.’
And as curt and dismissive as he was with everyone else, he was incredibly tender with the baby. One very large finger stroked one very tiny cheek and Iosef actually smiled as the babe turned its head instinctively, rosebud lips searching for food.
‘Do you want me to try the pediatricians?’ the nurse co-ordinator asked. ‘They could probably send down the reg.’
‘Why?’ Iosef frowned and Jackie’s nod to the nurse co-ordinator died. ‘She’s not critical. What’s the pediatrician going to do that we’re not? Best that we just watch her now, let her recover from the trauma of birth. Perhaps a warm feed in half an hour if she’s still stable and then the pediatricians can assess her when they are ready.’ He stared down at the little girl again, his finger still by her cheek, and even if new babies couldn’t focus, Annie could have sworn this little lady’s eyes were attempting it with Iosef. If a tiny being less than a few hours old could warm to another human, then she was.
‘Do we have a pacifier?’ As Annie frowned he elaborated. ‘A dummy, a nipple.’
‘I don’t think so.’ Helplessly she shook her head. ‘I can ring Maternity, but I doubt they—’
‘We endorse breastfeeding here,’ the nurse co-ordinator chimed in, but rapidly halted as he Iosef gave her the most ironic of smiles.
‘Either you provide me with a lactating woman in the next five minutes or you find me a pacifier.’ Then he turned to the baby. ‘You’ll be OK little one... ’ His voice was as brusque as it was with anyone he came into contact with, only the babe didn’t seem to care a jot. Her little face turned, her eyes closed as she relaxed to his touch, the IV satisfying her hunger for now. And for the first time in her little life her body was warm, all needs attended to sufficiently for her to relax.
‘We’ll need to talk to the press,’ the nursing co-ordinator said.
‘Why?’
‘Well—they’re outside.’
‘So?’
‘We need to find the mother. To let her know—’
‘I’m sure she knows she’s given birth,’ Iosef retorted. ‘And I’m sure the press has already let everyone know what hospital the baby’s in.’
‘The usual practice is—’
‘I do not want this baby paraded on the evening news tonight.’ Iosef completely overrode her. ‘I do not want her paraded for everyone to see under the guise of bringing the mother forward. Am I making myself clear?’
‘Perfectly!’ the nurse co-ordinator answered tightly.
‘Both this baby and her mother deserve better than that,’ Iosef said, before stalking out.
‘Does he deliberately set out to upset everyone?’ the nurse co-ordinator asked Jackie as Annie checked the baby’s obs. And if it seemed the sort of conversation that usually took place behind closed doors, it didn’t because it was Emergency, and strong personalities clashing was a frequent occurrence. ‘I’ve just had a very upset nurse from the medical ward on the phone.’
