Susanne Hampton – Twin Surprise For The Single Doc (страница 8)

Patrick drew a deep breath and chose to ignore the compliment. ‘Was it conservative surgery?’

‘No, unfortunately, Miss Monticello underwent a full hysterectomy to stop the haemorrhaging. She retained her ovaries but her uterus has been removed,’ Dr Benton continued as she took a seat in the corridor and indicated Patrick to do the same. ‘The attending doctor briefed me on your diagnosis of suspected placenta accreta, but the depth of invasion was not first but second grade. I was faced with placenta increta as the chorionic villi had invaded the muscular layer of the uterine wall so I had no option but to remove her womb. She was lucky that it had not spread through the uterine wall to other organs such as the bladder. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with that; as you would know, even in this day and age, there’s still a six to seven percent mortality rate for that, due to the complications.’

Patrick knew the statistics for death only too well.

‘Thank you, Dr Benton.’

‘Don’t thank me. As I said before, you did the hard work keeping her alive. And she has two wonderful little boys. Perhaps the loss of her womb will not be a complete tragedy.’

Patrick nodded. He wondered how Claudia would react to the need for a hysterectomy.

‘And how are her sons doing?’ the surgeon enquired.

‘Very well,’ Patrick said with a sense of pride that surprised him. ‘They’re handsome young men and a good weight for their gestational age.’

‘Great. Now that’s out of the way and we’ve spoken about our mutual patients, I have a personal question for you,’ Dr Benton continued. ‘How do you know Miss Monticello?’

‘We were just sharing the elevator.’

Her expression revealed her surprise. ‘Well, that’s serendipity for you. I don’t think she could have asked for a better travelling companion. Where do you practice obstetrics?’ Then, without waiting for an answer, she added, ‘Am I right in assuming, with your accent, and because I haven’t heard of you around LA, that your practice is out of state or perhaps abroad?’

Patrick hesitated. He didn’t want to talk about himself but he knew the doctor sitting beside him had every right to enquire. ‘No, I practice here in LA but I’m not in OBGYN.’

‘Really?’ Her brow wrinkled as she considered his response. ‘What’s your field then?’

‘I’m a board certified cosmetic surgeon.’

Once again, she didn’t hide her surprise. ‘I’d never have picked that,’ she said with a grin on her somewhat tired face as she stood up and again offered a handshake. ‘Well, Dr Spencer, if you ever get tired of your current field, you should consider obstetrics. There’s a shortage of experts in the field and you’re very skilled. Your intervention was nothing short of amazing in the conditions you were forced to work in. As I said, Miss Monticello owes her life to you. She will be in her room in another two hours or so. She lost a lot of blood, as you know, so we’ll be monitoring her in Recovery for a little longer than we normally would. But I’m sure she’d be pleased to see you.’

Patrick met her handshake and she smiled before she left him alone.

* * *

Patrick spent the next two hours with Luca and Thomas. He had called his practice and rearranged his schedule. While the boys were being monitored closely he still didn’t want to leave. Not yet anyway. Thomas was in a humidicrib and Luca required additional oxygen to be provided through an oxy-hood so he was in an open bed warmer. The neonatologist felt certain that would only be a temporary measure as both appeared to be healthy and a satisfactory weight for their gestational age. Patrick was aware they had some basic milestones to achieve, both in weight and development, before they would be released; he doubted it would be more than three or four weeks before they would be allowed to leave hospital with their mother.

He went downstairs to the florist and picked the largest floral bouquet they had and two brown bears with blue bows. Claudia had told him she had no one she could reach out to and he knew how that felt only too well. He tried not to think of what he had lost when he’d walked away from his family.

Only now at least Claudia did have two little people to call her family. Still, he knew her room would be devoid of anything to brighten her day and lift her spirits and, after the day she had endured, she deserved a room filled with flowers. And something to remind her of the boys when she was resting and not able to be with them in the neonatal nursery. And when she had to face the reality of the hysterectomy she had undergone without her consent.

The nurse at the station arranged for the flowers to be placed near her bed.

Waiting outside the room twenty minutes later, he couldn’t contain, nor fully understand, the smile that spread across his face and the warmth that surged through his body when he saw her hospital bed being wheeled down the corridor towards him. She was still pale but not as drained as when he had last seen her, and she hadn’t noticed him. In the pit of his stomach he still remembered her limp body collapsing against his and he’d thought the boys had lost their mother.

Patiently he remained outside as she was settled into her room but, as the nurses exited, he tapped on the door that was ajar.

‘Are you up to a visitor?’

‘Patrick?’

‘How did you guess?’ he asked as he quietly entered her room. ‘Perhaps it’s the British accent—there are not a lot of us around these parts so I guess it’s a giveaway.’

‘In this city, it’s a dead giveaway.’ It was more than just his accent, but Claudia couldn’t tell Patrick that it was also his reassuring tone that told her exactly who was at her door. It was the same strong voice that had kept her going when she’d wanted to give up. It was the voice of the man who had saved her and her sons.

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