The Art of Starting Over

Chapter 33 - Happy Birthday

"Good morning, Millie!" she greets happily. "Wow, you look amazing! How are you feeling? Did you have a good night?"

"As good as can be expected I think," Millie answers as she tries to flatten her hair with her hands and cover herself with the sheets. She's still in her wispy hospital gown and I can tell she's uncomfortable.

"Are you in pain anywhere?"

"No, not at the moment," Millie answers. "It hurts a little when I move. Here, just around the incision."

The doctor's pleasant laugh fills the room. "A little? You are so brave, Emily!"

The flock scuttles around awkwardly to make room for her as she goes around the bed to have a look at Millie's drain and catheter.

"What do say we get these horrible things out of you this morning?" she whispers excitedly.

My grandmother's face lights up, and a five-kilogram weight is lifted off my chest.

"I say let's do it!" Millie replies enthusiastically.

"Magnificent! I'll let your nurse know. What about your PCA?" she adds, nodding at the morphine.

"Take it away!" Millie answers.

"The nurse says she should have one more dose before she gets out of bed. To help her with the pain."

They all turn towards me looking surprised, as though they've just realised I'm in the room.

"How's her blood pressure?" Marjorie demands from one of her minions.

A tall, lanky boy with very thick glasses and curly, ginger hair starts flicking nervously through Millie's file. "It was one hundred and thirty-four over seventy this morning."

"Okay, one last shot then," she replies with a wink at Millie, then she turns to the rest of them. "Right! So, continue the same treatment for today but start Clexane SC forty milligrams and I want DVT stockings put on her now. Out of bed later today. May resume a normal diet. You're not nauseated are you, Millie?" she adds as a side note while the lanky boy scribbles furiously in the file.

"Not at all," Millie answers happily.

"Catheter out. Drain out. And no COD needed today," she finishes with authority as she feels around Millie's wound. "I'll come to check on you tomorrow, dear," she says just before leaving the room, the flock scuttling after her like frantic ducklings.

I follow too.

"Ms Atkins?" I call out.

She turns around and waits for me to catch up.

"How did the procedure go? Do you think you got all of it out?" I swallow hard. "The tumour? Is it out?"

Ms Marjorie puts a hand around my shoulder and walks me a little way away from the group. Her warm eyes are fixed attentively on me.

"I removed everything, Alison. Uterus, ovaries, glands. Everything. I don't think there was any infiltration but I can't be sure before the histology results are out. And those usually take a few days. Let's focus on her recovery for now, then we'll deal with whatever we find when we find it." She gives me an encouraging smile. "There are a lot of things we can do dear. I'm not giving up on her."

I don't know what that means. But I nod and thank her anyway.

I go back to Millie's room and find the curtains closed. I call out to her and the nurse answers back. "Could you wait outside? I'm going to remove her tubes and it may take a while."

"Okay," I answer. "I'll go down for a coffee then. Do you want anything, Nann?"

"Ouch!" Millie gasps. "Your hands are freezing, Agnes."