Sandra’s condition was just the opposite, following a relentless downhill course. She’d never awakened from her coma. The consults had been no help. Hasselbaum said she didn’t have an infectious disease. The oncologist merely shrugged and said there was nothing he could do. He insisted she’d had a good result from the treatment of her melanoma. It had been six years since the primary lesion on her thigh had been diagnosed, then removed along with a few malignant lymph nodes.
David sat at the desk in the ICU and leafed through Sandra’s chart. The MRI of her skull had been normal: no tumor and certainly no brain abscess. David looked at the laboratory tests he’d ordered. Some were not back yet and wouldn’t be for days. He’d ordered all body fluids to be cultured despite the infectious disease consult’s findings. David had also ordered sophisticated searches of these same body fluids for viral remnants using state-of-the-art biotechnological techniques.
David had no idea what to do. The only possible alternative was to try to get Sandra transferred to one of the big teaching hospitals in Boston. But he knew CMV would take a dim view of such a proposition because of the expense, and David could not do it on his own.
While David was agonizing over Sandra, Charles Kelley came into the unit and approached the desk. His visit took David by surprise; the medical bureaucrats usually stayed clear of places like the ICU where they’d be forced to confront the critically ill. They much preferred to sit in their tidy offices and think of patients as abstractions.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” Kelley said. His slick smile had returned.
“Lately you’ve disturbed me every time I’ve seen you,” David said.
“Sorry,” Kelley said condescendingly. “But I have a bit of news. As of this moment, your services here are no longer needed.”
“So you think you can take Sandra Hascher away from me?” he said.
“Oh, yes,” Kelley said with satisfaction. His smile broadened. “And all the other patients as well. You are fired. You’re no longer employed by CMV.”
David’s mouth fell open. He was aghast. With bewilderment he watched as Kelley gave him a wave as if he were waving to a child, then turned around and left the unit. David leaped up from his chair and stumbled after Kelley.
“What about all the patients I’m scheduled to see?” David called out.
Kelley was already on his way down the hall. “They’re CMV’s concern, not yours,” he answered without looking back.
“Is this decision final?” David called. “Or is it temporary, pending a hearing?”
“It’s final, my friend.” With that, he was gone.
David was in a daze. He couldn’t believe he’d been fired. He stumbled into the patient lounge and collapsed into the same chair that he’d pushed Kelley into that morning.
David shook his head in disbelief. His first real job had only lasted four months. He began to consider the awful ramifications his firing would have on his family, and he began to tremble. He wondered how he would tell Angela. It was horribly ironic that only the night before he’d warned her about putting her job in jeopardy. Now here he was the one to get fired.
From where he was sitting, David suddenly spotted Angela entering the ICU. For a moment, David didn’t move. He was afraid to face her but he knew he had to. He got up from the chair and followed Angela into the unit. She was standing alongside Nikki’s bed. David slipped in along the opposite side.
Angela acknowledged David’s arrival with a nod but continued her conversation with Nikki. David and Angela avoided each other’s eyes.
“Will I be able to see Caroline when I leave the ICU?” Nikki asked.
David and Angela looked at each other briefly. It was clear neither knew what to say.
“Is she gone?” Nikki asked.
“She’s gone,” Angela said.
“She’s already been discharged,” Nikki cried. Her eyes began to fill with tears. She’d been looking forward to seeing her as soon as she got into a regular room.
“Maybe Arni will want to come in and visit,” David suggested.
Nikki’s disappointment made her moody and disagreeable. David and Angela knew that the ICU was taking its toll. They were afraid to tell her the truth about Caroline.