“I’m sorry. You can’t. I don’t even know who you are. We have rules, not many, but those rules are important to protect our patients.”
“I’mimportant to protectthispatient.” Kizzy hung on to Ruth’s hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I’m not leaving her. Not for anything.”
“My sister really is a doctor, and I’m a labor and delivery nurse. I need her. Please.”
The doctor just sighed. “Fine. Come with me.” He rolled the gurney up to a pair of double doors where a nurse met him and helped them through. At last, they entered a clean-looking room. There was not much in there but a metal table, sink, and some basic equipment.
Ruth’s eyes were half-closed, and she started mumbling. “Don’t leave me, please.”
“I won’t. I won’t leave you. Don’t worry.”
The doctor glanced at the nurse, who glanced back at Kizzy and then back at the doctor. “Give her a sedative. She can’t be awake for this.”
A quick look at the color draining away from Ruth’s face alarmed Kizzy. She grasped her sister’s wrist and checked the clock on the wall. “Her pulse is rapid and thready.”
“If we had had more time to prepare, we could have arranged a better situation and she could be conscious, but it will take longer for a local anesthetic.”
“I understand,” Kizzy said. “Go ahead and put her under. And have your nurse show me where to wash up.”
“Oh no, I’ll be doing the procedure. My nurse can hand me the instruments. And you can stay by her side and keep your sister safe from us heathens.”
Kizzy’s jaw dropped. “I never said… I—I’m sorry. I don’t mean to doubt you. I just know my sister, and this isn’t the most ideal situation. Please let me assist.”
The doctor nodded to his nurse, and she helped Kizzy wash up and put on a mask and gown. The doctor placed a mask over Ruth’s nose and mouth and administered some gas, and Ruth was asleep in seconds.
Without monitors or anything but the basics, Kizzy knew it would be a risky procedure, no matter how she looked at it. “The baby’s in distress. Ruth knew it before she went under.”
“Why didn’t you get her to the hospital as soon as she went into labor?”
“We…ah…we thought we had plenty of time. It’s her first. She wanted to be comfortable at home for the first few hours. And she wants me with her for the whole thing.”
“Are you a surgeon?”
“I’m an emergency room trauma specialist.”
The doctor nodded. “That’s good. That will help.”
The nurse went to work getting Ruth’s belly washed, and she sterilized the area as quickly as she could with some antiseptic solution.
Kizzy stationed herself next to the physician and held her sisters legs open. “How can I help?”
“Just do exactly what you’re doing. Be ready when I hand the baby to you. I’ll need to clamp off the vessels and sew her up. Meanwhile, you can care for the infant.”
As he went to cut into Ruth’s belly, it stilled, as if the baby was giving up the fight to get out. “Hurry!” Kizzy cried.
The doctor took a deep breath and moved his scalpel well below Ruth’s umbilicus, then drew it across her abdomen in one sure slice. She would have a bikini scar.
The baby was limp. Kizzy saw the cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, and the baby looked blue. “Oh my God and Goddess!”
The doctor glanced up at her. His thick eyebrows lifted, and his brown eyes caught hers for just a moment. When would she be able to say “Goddess” without people getting all wigged out?
Even after they got the cord away from the infant’s neck, it was clear the baby was not doing well. Kizzy also saw Ruth had lost a lot of blood and her face was extremely gray. “Save my sister!”
“I intend to.” The doctor lifted the baby into Kizzy’s waiting arms. She used her onesave, and soon there was movement. Then at last, the baby opened her mouth and wailed. Her color grew pinker and her cries stronger.
“Thank goodness! Oh, thank goodness!”
“I need your help. Hand the baby over to my nurse and clamp off this vessel here.”
