The Family Doctor. Bobby Hutchinson

      It had taken a great deal of persuasion to convince Galina to even visit the rehab unit. When at last she agreed, Kate introduced her to the therapists, and one of them, Isaac Harris, had charmed her and talked her into coming twice a week for therapy.

      “She loves Isaac—she giggles and blushes when I tease her about him,” Leslie laughed. “She’s really making headway. I wondered there for a while if she’d ever walk again, but now she’s off the crutches, just using a cane. I owe you for that one, Kate.”

      “Hey, your mom’s done it all by herself. I only hope I have half her energy when I’m her age.”

      Leslie beamed. “Me, too. She’s one of my best friends.”

      “Not many people can say that about a parent.” She never could, Kate reflected sadly. “It says a lot about the kind of person you are, Les, that you and Galina get along the way you do.”

      “Yeah, doesn’t it? Divorced single female, emotionally dependent, insecure and tied to my mom’s apron strings.”

      They looked at each other and chorused, “Not.”

      The hospital’s PR system came on. “All ER staff please report back to Emerg, all staff back to Emerg, stat.”

      Leslie groaned, gulped the last of her coffee and got to her feet. “I’m not sure I even wanna know what that’s about.”

      “Good luck.”

      “Today we need it,” Leslie sighed. “Let me know how you make out with Mother O’Connor.”

      “I will. See you later.” Kate watched her friend hurry off, then finished her coffee and reluctantly made her way up to the Intensive Care Unit.

      The nurse at the desk indicated which waiting room the O’Connor family were in and confirmed that Dr. O’Connor was steadily improving. As Kate headed down the hallway, she could hear a woman’s loud, angry voice.

      “—never heard of such a thing, eggshells in soup. It had to be deliberate. God knows Tony has enemies here—he’s in a position of power and that always means stepping on somebody’s toes. Did you call the pastor like I said, Wilson? I’d like Reverend Anderson to come. I know they say Tony’s improving, but did you see his color? White as a sheet.”

      Kate paused in the doorway. There were five people in the room, two men and three women. The plump, older woman with the tightly permed white hair must be Tony’s mother, Kate deduced. She’d been the one talking when Kate came in.

      They all turned toward her. “Hello,” she said with a reassuring smile. “I’m Kate Lewis, the patient rep.” She directed her attention to the older woman, stepping toward her and extending a hand.

      “And you are…?”

      “I’m Dorothy O’Connor. I’m Dr. O’Connor’s mother.” She gave Kate an assessing look.

      Dorothy’s eyes were red rimmed behind her pink-framed glasses, and her face had settled into what Kate thought were permanently dissatisfied lines. “How do you do?” Kate kept her hand extended, but Dorothy ignored it, so she turned to the others with a questioning smile.

      Dorothy immediately took control. “This is my oldest son, Wilson O’Connor, and my son-in-law, Peter Shiffman.”

      The men mumbled greetings, and then Dorothy introduced the two women. “And these are my daughters, Judy Shiffman and Georgia O’Connor.”

      Judy was obviously older than Georgia, but both sisters were slender and of medium height. Judy had Tony’s dark hair, and was wearing a tailored dress, stockings and heels, her makeup meticulous. Georgia’s hair was fiery red, drawn up in a careless knot at the back of her head, and she wore jeans and no makeup. They each gave Kate a strained smile and a nod, although neither said anything beyond hello.

      “I wonder if there’s something I can help you with?” Kate began. “Do you have any questions you need answered regarding Dr. O’Connor’s care? Any concerns you might have that you’d like to talk over? I know this is a very stressful time for you, and I’d like to make it easier in any way I can.” She directed her remarks at Dorothy.

      “And just how can you make anything easier?” Dorothy’s voice was sarcastic. “This hospital won’t get away with this fiasco, you know. You just tell me how my son could sprain his ankle this morning and then end up in intensive care with his life slipping away from him.” She raised her glasses and dabbed at her eyes with the lacy handkerchief she held clutched in one hand, but anger overpowered tears. Her voice rose. “Why, it’s malpractice, plain and simple, any idiot can see that. My son’s a doctor, and he’s chief of staff here, too. It makes you wonder what happens to the ordinary Joe when he walks in off the street. What would the papers do if they got hold of this news? I can tell you there’d be an uproar, and rightly so.”

      Tony’s brother, Wilson, stepped forward and put an arm around his mother, nodding in agreement and looking at Kate as if it was all her fault.

      “Maybe we ought to give the Vancouver Sun a call,” he said to Kate in an accusing tone. “You people need to know that gross carelessness of this sort simply won’t be tolerated.” He sounded pompous and self-righteous. “Like Mother says, it’s malpractice, and someone should pay.”

      Kate waited until he was finished speaking, reminding herself that this wasn’t about her. She took a deep breath and kept her voice even, her tone friendly and nonjudgmental. “It sounds as if you’re all very upset and angry, and you have every right to be. This must be terribly stressful for you.”

      Dorothy snorted. “Darned right it’s stressful. My poor son is lying in there not able to talk—” she pointed dramatically toward the Intensive Care Unit, and her voice wobbled “—and not one person is doing anything about it. As far as I can tell, nobody even cares.”

      Kate had to bite her tongue hard in order to keep from telling Dorothy that she was totally wrong, that the entire hospital was in an uproar. Specialists had been called in, and every physician, nurse, tech and aide was horrified at the series of events that had led to this emergency.

      Everyone, down to the newest member of the cleaning staff, cared a great deal. But Kate knew that blocking Dorothy’s anger would only exacerbate it. Listening and sharing information were tried-and-true ways to defuse that anger, difficult as they were.

      Now Georgia O’Connor stepped toward Kate, and she sounded more worried than angry. “Could you find out exactly what’s going on with Tony? They asked us to leave because a couple of doctors were examining him, and the nurse said they’d speak to us when they were done. They came out, but so far, nothing.” She drew in a shaky breath, obviously on the verge of tears. “We just want to know how he’s doing.” Her large brown eyes were filled with concern, her forehead creased in worried lines.

      “Absolutely,” Kate said. “I’ll go now and check with the nurse, then I’ll come right back and let you know exactly what she says.”

      Kate found four doctors grouped around the nursing station, and when she asked, they assured her that the chief was improving rapidly. She suggested that the family needed reassurance, and Dr. Clark agreed. He walked to the waiting room. Kate followed, listening quietly as the doctor, with admirable candor, explained the entire sequence of events to the O’Connor family without making a single excuse.

      Dorothy interrupted repeatedly, her tone accusing, her manner confrontational, and Kate had to admire the way Clark listened with patience and forbearance and then each time quietly reiterated the fact that the patient was improving rapidly and it looked as if there’d be no further side effects. Tony would remain in intensive care overnight, but there was every reason to believe he’d be back on his feet within a day or so, and the medical staff were doing everything in their power to help him recover.

      “Exactly what does that mean?” Wilson O’Connor demanded. “It sounds as if my brother’s at death’s door already because of the incompetence of the staff around