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She grabbed my hand and squeezed, and then I was running to catch up to the nurse who had already walked away. I slammed to a stop at the doorway to where Devon was. There was a tube running into his nose, and he was red from crying while someone pushed on his belly. I wanted to smack the person and shove them away, but I knew they were trying to help him.
“Dr. Jones, this is Ms. Daniels. She’s Devon’s guardian.”
He lifted serious brown eyes to me. “Glad you are here.” He looked over my shoulder at someone behind me. “Get the papers for her to sign.”
“Sign?” I squeaked.
“This little guy needs to go into surgery. We were just waiting for someone to sign them.”
“Surgery?” I slumped against the wall beside me.
“Yes, he has intestinal malrotation, and he needs surgery to fix it before his bowel tissue dies.”
“Oh, my God!” I rushed to Devon’s side. “Oh, my God! Is he going to be alright?”
“After surgery, he will be. Ms. Daniels, it’s an easy surgery and a regular occurrence in children. Happens in one out of every five hundred.”
A nurse showed up at my side and handed me a clipboard. “I’ll need a copy of your guardianship papers, too,” she said softly.
“What am I signing?”
“You are permitting him to undergo surgery, which will require him to be put to sleep.” She turned to the next one and began to tell me about the side effects of being put to sleep, and then another page to tell me what could possibly go wrong with the surgery. My head spun, and I must have looked like I was going to pass out because she led me to a chair and told me to have a seat.
Put to sleep, like a dog? No, no! My head cried, not put to sleep like a dog, but put to sleep so they could operate on him. Operate! I thought I was going to barf.
“Ma’am, are you alright?”
“Alright? No! Nothing about this is alright!” I stared at Devon as tears raced down my cheeks.
The doctor lifted the stethoscope from Devon’s chest and looked at me. “I promise you that he is going to make it out of this fine. I’ve done a hundred of these, and once they are done, the recovery will be easy for him. The chances that there will be any problems are slim.”
His words eased my nerves slightly, and I asked where I was supposed to sign. The nurse pointed out the spots and then asked for my papers again.
He turned to the nurse right before she left the room. “As soon as you get back, get him upstairs.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“And make note that he has a slight heart murmur that we need to look into more.”
“A heart murmur?” I repeated.
“Nothing to worry about right now, most kids grow out of them.”
“His mother died from a heart condition. Her doctors wanted her to terminate her pregnancy. She died in childbirth.”
“That’s good information to know. Do you want to give him a kiss before he goes up? I’d let you hold him, but the more he moves, the more pain he will be in.”
I was on my feet, standing at the side of the little cradle. “Baby, I’m here, sweetie. Aunt Davina is here, honey. I love you so much. You’re going to be alright, and when Daddy gets home, you’ll be all smiles again.”
The nurse reappeared as I swiped the tears from my cheeks. “I have to take him up now.”
“What do I do?”
“You can get your friends and head up to the fifth floor. There is a waiting room; just look for the signs when you get off the elevator.”
Without another word, she rushed him from the room, his painful squalls knocking me to my knees as I began to pray again.
I managed to pull myself together and found the waiting room where Lexi and Tonya were. Lexi jumped to her feet, her hand going to her mouth as she saw me.
