Fatal Cure. Chapter 20, 21
20
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27
To David’s and Angela’s dismay, Nikki awoke with congestion and a deep, productive cough. Both were fearful that she might be coming down with the same illness that had briefly afflicted Caroline. David was particularly concerned because it had been his decision to allow Nikki to visit Caroline the previous afternoon.
Despite extra attention to Nikki’s morning respiratory therapy, she failed to improve. To Nikki’s keen disappointment, David and Angela decided she shouldn’t go to school. They called Alice, who agreed to come over for the day.
Already tense from events at home, David was edgy as he started his rounds. With so many recent deaths, he was spooked to see his patients. But his worries were groundless. Everyone was doing fine. Even Sandra was much better.
“Your swelling is down,” David told her as he tenderly palpated the side of her face.
“I can tell,” Sandra said.
“And your fever is below one hundred,” David said.
“I’m pleased,” Sandra said. “Thank you. I won’t even pressure you about when I can get out of here.”
“Very clever,” David said with a laugh. “The indirect approach is often far more effective than the direct. But I think we have to keep you until we’re one hundred percent sure this infection is under control.”
“Oh, all right,” Sandra said, feigning irritation. “But if I have to stay, could you do me a favor?”
“Of course,” David said.
“The electric controls of my bed stopped working,” Sandra said. “I told the nurses, but they said there wasn’t anything they could do about it.”
“I’ll do something,” David promised. “It’s a chronic problem around here, I’m afraid. I’ll go out and ask about it right away. We want you to be as comfortable as possible.”
Returning to the nurses’ station, David found Janet Colburn and complained about the bed situation. “There’s really nothing that can be done?” David asked.
“That’s what maintenance told us when we reported it,” Janet said. “I wasn’t about to argue with the man. It’s hard enough talking with him. And frankly, we don’t have another bed to spare at the moment.”
David couldn’t believe that he’d have to go to see Van Slyke over another maintenance detail. But it seemed his choice was either to go ask why the bed couldn’t be repaired, or go to Beaton directly. It was an absurd situation.
David found Van Slyke in his windowless office.
“I have a patient upstairs who was told her bed couldn’t be repaired,” David said irritably after a cursory knock. “What’s the story?”
“The hospital bought the wrong kind of beds,” Van Slyke said. “They’re a maintenance nightmare.”
“It can’t be fixed?” David asked.
“It can be fixed, but it will break again,” Van Slyke said.
“I want it fixed,” David said.
“We’ll do it when we get around to it,” Van Slyke said. “Don’t bother me. I have more important work to do.”
“Why are you so rude?” David demanded.
“Look who’s talking,” Van Slyke said. “You came down here yelling at me, not vice versa. If you have a problem, go tell it to administration.”
“I’ll do that,” David said. He turned around and climbed up the stairs intending to go directly to Helen Beaton. But when he got to the lobby he saw Dr. Pilsner coming into the hospital, heading for the main stairs.
“Bert,” David called. “Can I speak to you a moment?”
Dr. Pilsner paused.
David approached him, described Nikki’s congestion, and started to ask whether he thought Nikki should start some oral antibiotics. But David stopped in mid-sentence. He noticed that Dr. Pilsner was agitated; he was hardly listening to what David was saying.
“Is something wrong?” David asked.
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Pilsner said. “I’m distracted. Caroline Helmsford took an unexpected turn for the worse during the night. I’ve been here almost continuously. I just went home to shower and change.”
“What happened?” David asked.
“Come and see for yourself,” Dr. Pilsner said. He started up the stairs. David had to jog to stay with him.
“She’s in the ICU,” Dr. Pilsner explained. “It started with a seizure of all things.”
David’s steps faltered. Then he had to sprint to catch back up to the quickly moving pediatrician. David didn’t like the idea of Caroline having a seizure. It brought back disturbing memories of his own patients.