Her Miracle Twins

As Chantal began to pull back the blanket covering her patient she was immediately aware of her condition. She was a large lady but it wasn’t just due to obesity. She was definitely pregnant.

Chantal held back her own emotions, the feelings she’d had about pregnancy ever since she’d lost her own much-wanted baby sometimes overwhelming. It was only a fleeting memory of the horrors of her miscarriage that came to her. She was a doctor and should be totally dispassionate about any medical situation. When she was needed she had to deal with the case as expertly as possible.

She took a deep breath and for a split second her eyes met Michel’s. She mustn’t show her conflicting emotions in front of him. The patient always came first.

‘Josephine, when is your baby due?’ she asked quietly.

‘I don’t really know with this one, Doctor. This will be my fifth, you see, and I’ve been so busy I haven’t really had time to get to the doctor’s. I know I’ve missed a few periods but I’ve lost count and … Oh, help me …’

By the time the screaming started again Chantal had removed the blanket and was checking her patient’s abdomen. The contraction she could now feel was very strong. A swift examination of the birth canal showed her that the cervix was well dilated.

She glanced up at Michel. ‘Call Obstetrics to send a midwife. We can’t move our patient up to them at this late stage. And if you could bring me that gas and air apparatus over there by the door?’

Her full attention was back on her patient. ‘Breathe deeply, Josephine, deep breaths, breath through the pain. Thanks, Michel.’

She took the mask he’d prepared and fixed it over her patient’s face. ‘There we go, breathe through now, yes, that’s good, very good, keep going like that, Josephine.’

Michel found himself marvelling at how calm Chantal was through all this. No one else in the team who’d rescued their patient from her crashed car on the motorway had suspected she was pregnant. They were working fluidly together now. He’d moved to check on the dilation of the cervix.

‘The cervix is fully dilated now, Chantal. I can see the head. Don’t let Josephine push until the next contraction. I need to adjust the cord.’

‘Pant for the moment, Josephine, breathe short breaths. Excellent. Well done. I’ll tell you when you can push. Not yet. OK, now, push, bear down into your bottom, the baby’s head has made an appearance. Yes, a little rest for you now …’

She was watching for another signal from Michel. As their eyes met she saw the relief in his, he saw the enigmatic emotions that the baby’s delivery had set in motion. Yes, she was deeply involved, not just giving this delivery her all in terms of expertise and experience. She was deeply moved even though outwardly she remained calm and in control.

He wondered if she had an issue with childbirth. Had she had a bad experience somewhere in her own past? Whatever had happened to her, she was a joy to work with now. They dovetailed together as they worked well together.

Josephine was clinging to Chantal’s hand.

‘You’re doing fine, Josephine.’

Michel signalled for a final push. As the baby moved down the birth canal he took it into his hands and it began to cry lustily.

‘Here you are, Chantal.’

He was handing her the baby wrapped in a dressing sheet. As she took the baby from him he could see the tears in her eyes, the deep involvement she had with this birth, the tender way she held the precious bundle in her arms. For a moment their eyes met over the baby and Chantal let out a sigh of relief.

‘Thank God,’ she whispered huskily. ‘A live birth is always a miracle.’

For a moment she didn’t appear aware of her surroundings. Seconds later she cleared her throat and became totally professional again as very gently she handed the baby to her patient.

‘Here’s your daughter, Josephine.’

Now it was Josephine’s turn to shed tears of joy. ‘A daughter! After four boys she’s very welcome. I shall call her Chantal, Doctor. You’ve been so kind to me. I couldn’t have got through this without you.’

‘Oh, I think you could,’ Chantal said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue as she turned away from the joyful scene of mother and baby together.

Suddenly she was aware that Michel was beside her, his hand on her shoulder. ‘Are you OK, Chantal?’

‘I’m fine.’ she said firmly, turning to look up into his eyes. ‘It’s always an emotional experience when a baby is born, isn’t it?’

He was holding onto his own mixed emotions now. He had to get a grip on himself where Chantal was concerned. She disturbed him too much and at this moment he wasn’t sure why.

A midwife came into the cubicle. ‘I came as soon as I could but— Oh, I see I was too late. Sorry about that but we’re very busy in Obstetrics at the moment.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Chantal told her. ‘I’ll hand Josephine and her daughter over to you now. I haven’t done the postnatal checks yet. This is a fifth baby and Josephine was involved in a car crash earlier.’

‘I’ll leave you to it, Chantal,’ Michel said, as he heard her starting on the patient’s history with the midwife. ‘I’ll check on what’s happening to the other new patients. May I suggest you take a break before you work on your next patient?’

She glanced at him enquiringly. What was he implying?

‘It’s your first day back on full-time duties,’ he said, quietly before turning away and leaving the cubicle.

After filling the midwife in with Josephine’s details she left her patient and the new baby in her care. Josephine clung to her hand. ‘Do you have to leave me, Dr Chantal?’

‘I’m afraid so. But you’ll be well looked after when you’re taken to the postnatal ward.’

She bent down to say goodbye to the baby. The little rosebud mouth was moving as if acknowledging her. She could feel tears prickling behind her eyes as she swiftly became professional again and left the cubicle.

She’d taken Michel’s advice and had a short break in the staff coffee bar before she returned to report to him in Emergency. He strode across to meet her as she came in through the swing doors.

‘Everything OK? How’s the ankle?’

‘It’s bearing up very well, thank you. You seem to have everything under control here.’

‘Yes, we had six patients from the crash. The rest had been allocated to another hospital in this area. Josephine was one of the ones who was totally blameless apparently. So we won’t have the police coming in to interview her.’

‘Thank goodness for that. Josephine needs rest now to enjoy her new baby.’ She heard her voice crack with emotion as she spoke and hoped Michel hadn’t noticed.

Michel heard the emotional involvement expressed in Chantal’s voice and wondered once more what had happened to her before she’d joined the staff in February.

‘So you’re fit to work again now, are you?’

‘Of course.’

‘Well, there’s a young boy waiting to be seen in cubicle two. His mother is with him.’

‘Fine.’ Chantal turned away and went to check on her next patient. She found a small boy who’d just arrived after falling on his way to school. He was crying as he clung to his mother’s hand.

‘Be quiet, Albert. The doctor’s here now.’

Chantal looked down at her patient on the treatment table. He was shivering with shock. She spread a cosy lightweight blanket over him. He stopped shivering and looked up at her enquiringly with wide trusting blue eyes, deciding that this lady doctor was OK. Quite pretty, actually. Nice teeth when she smiled at him, which she was doing now.

Chantal glanced down at the notes that had just been given to her.

‘Albert, can you tell me what happened when you were walking to school?’

‘There was this dog, you see,’ he began tentatively.