The Greek Children's Doctor

‘You poor little thing,’ he murmured gently, his large hands gently palpating the child’s abdomen. ‘Jonathon, has he had penicillin?’

‘Yes.’ The SHO shot Libby a look of gratitude. ‘Libby thought we should go ahead with that and not wait for you.’

‘Good decision.’

Andreas completed his examination and straightened. ‘I want to do a lumbar puncture straight away—can you lay up a trolley?’

‘It’s here.’ Libby pushed it forward and a small smile played around his firm mouth.

‘Do you ever get anything wrong?’

Her heart beat slightly faster. ‘Yes. But when I do, I try to put it right.’

For a brief moment his dark eyes were questioning and then he strode over to the sink and started scrubbing, talking to the parents as he prepared to perform the lumbar puncture.

He explained what he was planning to do and why, and Heather clung to her husband, the worry visible on her face.

‘Perhaps you would rather wait outside while we do this,’ Andreas suggested, but Heather shook her head.

‘No. I don’t want to leave him.’

Andreas looked at Libby. ‘We’ll do it in the treatment room. I want to get a line in first but then someone needs to hold him for the LP.’

‘I’ll hold him,’ she said immediately, ‘and I’ll ask Bev to find someone to assist you.’

Moments later they were all gathered in the treatment room and Andreas inserted a line with ease. That done, Libby gently turned Max on his side, talking quietly to him all the time.

She curved the little boy round so that his knees were up by his chin, flexing the spine, and watched while Andreas marked the skin with a pen and then draped and sterilised the area.

Bev settled Heather at the head of the trolley. ‘Sit there and talk to him,’ she suggested quietly, ‘but keep your back to Dr Christakos and then you won’t have to watch what’s happening.’

Andreas infiltrated the skin with local anaesthetic and then tested the site, his eyes flickering to hers.

‘Are you ready?’ She nodded and held Max firmly, knowing how crucial it was that the child didn’t move during the procedure.

She watched as Andreas inserted the LP needle, talking quietly to the child and occasionally making a comment to Jonathon who was watching.

Bev had three little bottles ready and Andreas let four drops of fluid fall into each bottle.

Once Andreas was satisfied, he withdrew the needle and cleaned the site before covering it with the dressing that Bev had ready.

‘All done.’ He pushed his chair away from the side of the trolley and stood up, ripping off his gloves and dropping them in the nearest bin. ‘We’ll get those samples to the lab urgently and in the meantime we’ll get a line in and start getting fluids into the little chap.’

Max had stopped wailing now and was lying on the trolley, moaning quietly.

Andreas turned to his SHO with a list of instructions and tests that he wanted performed. He was leaving absolutely nothing to chance.

‘Let’s get him back to the room and let him sleep,’ he said quietly, his gaze flickering to the parents. ‘I’m sorry. This is all very worrying for you, I know, and I’m aware that we haven’t had much time for explanations because of the urgency of the situation. If there is anything you’d like to ask me now, please do so.’

Heather’s eyes filled. ‘He looks so poorly. What will happen?’

‘We wait for the results of these tests and we watch him,’ Andreas said, his eyes flickering to the child who was shifting restlessly on the trolley. He frowned slightly and pulled back the sheet Libby had used to cover Max. ‘He has a rash.’

Libby followed his gaze and saw that the child had indeed developed a rash all over his body.

Andreas looked at her and his eyes were warm. ‘You did the right thing, giving that penicillin,’ he said softly, and she swallowed.

She really needed to talk to him but she didn’t know when an opportunity was going to present itself.

Max started to improve over the next two days and once it was clear that he was no longer on the critical list, his parents started to relax slightly and even take short breaks away from the room.

Andreas had maintained a constant presence on the ward when the child had first been admitted, but once Max was out of danger he’d visited less frequently, kept busy by the other considerable demands of his job.

He made no attempt to seek Libby out and she wondered if it was intentional.

Was he giving her space?

Did he realise that she was desperate to speak to him?

In the end she came up with a plan and waited nervously for him to appear on the ward.