Page 8 of Lessons in Love at the Cornish Country Hospital

Danni was still weighing up the decision about starting maternity leave early, when she arrived for work, the morning after she’d discussed it with Charlie. The scan results she’d had earlier in the week were good overall, the baby was definitely growing, but he was still a little on the small side. Neither the midwife nor the sonographer seemed too concerned, even though the baby was still in the bottom 25 per cent. It meant he wasn’t actually in the danger zone, but he still needed extra monitoring, and Danni couldn’t help wondering whether giving up work might help change that. Except even the thought of going on maternity leave early made her feel guilty, and the truth was she was scared of feeling lonely too.

She was lucky that Charlie would be around a lot, but she was worried about disturbing him when he was working. They’d put a wooden cabin in the garden, which was now his office and, when he was out there, she treated it as if he was in a normal workplace somewhere. She wouldn’t dream of just turning up to his office building and asking if he fancied a cuppa and a chat, so she’d made herself a promise that she wouldn’t do it once she was on maternity leave. She was so used to being surroundedby people at work, and most of her closest friends worked at St Piran’s. As much as she had every intention of making new ‘mum friends’, it wouldn’t be the same as working alongside Esther, Aidan, and the others, and she already knew she was going to miss it.

When it came to family, Joe was the only member she was close to, and she loved him to bits, but even he worked at St Piran’s and going on maternity leave felt like she was leaving her support network behind. She’d get the chance to spend more time with both sets of Charlie’s parents, which she was looking forward to, but she’d have been lying to herself if she tried to pretend she didn’t feel torn. It would be different once the baby was here. But having an extra six weeks of maternity leave before his arrival didn’t hold any appeal, except for the fact it might mean he grew a bit more, although the midwife couldn’t guarantee it. The department was short-staffed too, and Danni’s boss had spent the best part of the week before interviewing to fill the vacant posts, but most of the new recruits would have to serve notice elsewhere first. So not only would she be leaving her friends, she’d be leaving them in the lurch too, which was why she still hadn’t decided what to do.

‘Gary’s been in an accident, and he keeps throwing up.’ Wendy suddenly burst through the doors of reception, the jacket she was wearing streaked with blood. ‘We’ve got a seven-year-old girl with us too, with what Gary thinks is a broken wrist. He stepped out in front of her bike to stop her when she lost control, but he hit his head on the road.’

‘Are they in your car?’

‘Mia’s dad is with her in reception, but I didn’t know whether I should move Gary again, or if that could make whatever is wrong even worse.’ Wendy’s eyes widened in fear. ‘Did I do the wrong thing bringing him in? It’s just he said the ambulancemight take hours, but he only started being sick when I was halfway here.’

‘You did what you thought was best; try not to worry. It sounds like he might have a concussion, but he’s going to need a scan.’ Danni put a hand on Wendy’s arm briefly, and then turned to see who was around to help. ‘Aidan, can you give me a hand please? We’ll need a wheelchair.’

The three of them headed outside to where Wendy had abandoned the car by the entrance closest to A&E. Aidan offered to move it for her, once they got Gary out, to avoid having it clamped. Wendy was trembling and she didn’t look in any fit state to move it herself, but she shook her head.

‘I’ll do it. I just need you two to get him sorted,please.’ Wendy’s eyes darted from Danni to Gary and back again, and Danni could understand her distress. Gary had been muttering something about not having time to go shopping, when Aidan had helped him out of the car. It was clear he was confused and he didn’t seem aware of the conversation going on around him at all. ‘He seemed fine at first, but now he’s not making any sense and he’s been really sick. I’m so scared of what it might be.’

‘Symptoms of concussion or other types of head injury can get gradually worse, but the best thing we can do is get Gary inside as soon as possible and get him checked over. Then we’ll know what we’re dealing with and how to treat it.’

‘Thank you. I’ll move the car, and then I’ll be in.’ Wendy looked as if she was going to kiss the top of Gary’s head for a moment, but she stopped within inches of the violent purple bruise that started on his right temple and spread outwards, across his forehead and down towards his cheek bone. There was an obvious lump too and what looked like tiny pieces of loose gravel embedded in his skin.

‘We’ll take care of him, I promise.’ Danni touched Wendy’s arm again, as Aidan pushed his friend towards the doors.Treating one of their own was always something she dreaded, and she couldn’t help imaging how she’d feel if she was in Wendy’s shoes, and it was Charlie who was dazed, bloodied and confused. She’d seen far too many people lose loved ones during her career, and she’d witnessed the devastation that could cause. She didn’t think for a moment that Gary was in that kind of danger, but Wendy’s fears wouldn’t be alleviated until they knew for certain.

By the time Wendy arrived back in the department, Aidan had already taken Gary down for a scan. If there was ever a fortunate time to have an accident, this was it. It had been one of those once-in-a-blue-moon days, when the waiting times had been short and there was space in cubicles. Danni had put in the call for a scan as soon as they’d got inside, expecting to have to wait at least long enough to be able to monitor all of Gary’s vitals. But the opportunity to get him straight in for a CT scan was too good to be missed and, looking at the injury, there was a strong possibility that he’d fractured his skull. There was no sign of any problems with his breathing, or any indication that they should wait, so Danni had agreed for Aidan to take him down for the scan before they did anything else. It left her free to examine Mia and check her over for any other potential injuries, as well as give her something for the pain, before she was sent for an X-ray.

‘You’re doing really well, Mia.’ Danni smiled at the little girl, who looked much calmer now the painkillers had taken effect, and she’d been given a Pirry bear, provided to children having treatment at the hospital by the Friends of St Piran’s. Some of the bears, including the one Mia had been given, had slings or bandages, which always helped cheer the kids up.

‘He’s so cute.’ Mia gave her a gap-toothed grin. ‘Can he come when they take the pictures of my arm?’

‘Of course he can, sweetheart.’ Danni smiled again, before turning towards Mia’s father, who’d introduced himself as Matt. ‘How are you doing?’

‘I can’t stop thinking about what could have happened if Gary hadn’t stepped out in front of her, and what kind of injury she might have as a result. She could have died.’

Mia’s eyes flew open in response to what her father had just said and she suddenly looked really frightened.

‘I’m not going to die, am I?’

‘Of course you’re not sweetheart.’ Danni stroked the little girl’s hair. ‘You’re going to be absolutely fine, and you might even get a really cool plaster cast; we do lots of different colours.’

‘Can I have blue, please? I love blue, don’t I Daddy?’ Mia was suddenly beaming, and Danni had to suppress a smile of her own. It was amazing how quickly a child’s mood could change, and the mention of a colourful plaster cast had been all it had taken to distract Mia from the idea that she might be dying. ‘One day when I’m grown up I’m going to have blue hair like my big cousin, Jasmine.’

‘You can have anything you want, darling.’ Matt would probably have agreed to it right there and then after the day they’d had. As one of the nurses passed by the cubicle, Danni called out to her.

‘Amy, please can you come and tell Mia what colour plaster casts we have? I need to have a quick word with her dad.’

‘Of course.’ Amy beamed at the little girl. ‘Oh my goodness. You’ve got a Pirry bear; I’ve always wanted one of those.’

Mia giggled in delight, she and Amy instantly bonding over the stuffed toy, as Danni gestured to Matt to follow her outside.

‘What’s the problem? Do you think it’s more serious than a break? I checked the helmet over for cracks and I couldn’t see anything, but if she hit her head—’ Matt’s words were coming out in a rush and he just didn’t seem to be able to stop himselffrom catastrophising, so Danni spoke as gently and firmly as she could.

‘There’s nothing seriously wrong with Mia, but I think she gets scared when you talk about what could have happened. I know it must have been terrifying watching her go down that hill, when you couldn’t catch her, but she’s going to be just fine once the bone has mended. I promise.’

‘But what about Gary? If anything happens to him that’ll be all my fault too.’ Matt whacked a palm against his forehead. ‘How can I have been so stupid letting her practice without her stabilisers when we were so close to the top of the hill? If Hailey had been there, she’d never have let me act like such an idiot.’

‘Is Hailey Mia’s mum?’

‘Yes, she’s my fiancée, although God knows why she wants to saddle herself with someone like me. She’s away on her hen weekend, staying in Dorset, but I don’t want to phone her and tell her what happened until I know Mia is definitely going to be okay. I’ve been scared of something like this happening since the moment I found out Hailey was pregnant, and that I’d turn out to be a bloody useless father just like the one I had. It’s taken six years for me to get any kind of confidence around Mia, and I’d finally felt ready for us to try for another baby, thinking I’d got the hang of this parenting business, but I’m just as useless as I’ve always been.’

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