As he passed the clock outside of central supply, he realized that he’d done Mr. Campbell in less than one hour. In fact, he’d done three bypass cases that day in the time it took most surgeons to do one or two at best.
Thomas told himself that he could have scheduled another operation although he recognized this was not true. The reason he had scheduled only three cases was the bothersome new rule that all surgeons attend Friday afternoon cardiac surgical conference, a relatively recent creation of the chief of the department, Dr. Norman Ballantine. Thomas went, not because he was ordered to do so, but because it had become the ad hoc admitting committee for the department of cardiac surgery. Thomas tried not to think about the situation, because whenever he did so, it made him furious.
“Dr. Kingsley,” called a harsh voice, interrupting Thomas’s thoughts. Priscilla Grenier, the overbearing director of the OR, was waving a pen at him. Thomas gave her credit for being a hard worker and putting in long hours. It was no picnic keeping the thirty-six operating rooms at the Boston Memorial working smoothly. Yet he could not tolerate it when she insinuated herself in his affairs, something that she seemed eager to do. She always had some order or instruction.
“Dr. Kingsley,” called Priscilla. “Mr. Campbell’s daughter is in the waiting room, and you should go down and see her before you change.” Without waiting for a reply, Priscilla turned back to her desk.
With difficulty, Thomas contained his annoyance and continued down the hall without acknowledging the comment. Some of the euphoria he had felt in the OR left him. Lately he found the pleasure in each surgical success increasingly fleeting.
At first Thomas thought he’d ignore Priscilla, change into his suit, then stop in to see Mr. Campbell’s daughter. However, the fact remained that he felt obligated to remain in his scrub clothes until Mr. Campbell had reached the recovery room, just in case there were unforeseen complications.
Banging open the door to the surgical lounge with his hand, Thomas stopped at the coat rack and rummaged for a long white coat to put over his scrub clothes. As he pulled it on, he thought about the unnecessary frustrations he was forced to endure. The quality of the nurses had definitely gone down. And Priscilla Grenier! It seemed like only yesterday that people like her knew their place. And compulsory Friday afternoon conferences … God!
In a distracted state, Thomas walked down to the waiting room. This was a relatively new addition to the hospital, which had been created out of an old storeroom. As the number of bypass procedures done by the department had soared, it was decided that there should be a special room close by where family members could stay until their loved ones were out of the OR. It had been the brainchild of one of the assistant administrators and turned out to be a gold mine for public relations.
When Thomas entered the room, which was tastefully decorated with pale blue walls and white trim, his attention was caught by an emotional outburst in the corner.
“Why, why?” shouted a small, distraught woman.
“There, there,” said Dr. George Sherman, trying to calm the sobbing woman. “I’m sure they did all they could to save Sam. We knew his heart was not normal. It could have happened at any time.”
“But he’d been happy at the home. We should have let him be. Why did I let you talk me into bringing him here. You told me there was some risk if you operated. You never told me there was a risk during the catheterization. Oh God.”
The woman’s tears overwhelmed her. She began to sag, and Dr. Sherman reached out to catch her arm.
Thomas rushed over to George’s side and helped support the woman. He exchanged glances with George, who rolled his eyes at the outburst. As a member of the full-time cardiac staff, Thomas did not have a high regard for Dr. George Sherman, but under the circumstances he felt obligated to lend a hand. Together they sat the bereaved mother down. She buried her face in her hands, her hunched-over shoulders jerking as she continued to sob.