The Doctor's Cinderella

by Susanne Hampton

  ‘No boyfriends, thank goodness. I’m hoping that I won’t have to deal with that issue. Lizzy’s happy with her life the way it is and I don’t see that changing. She has work and her dog and I’m home most nights with her, so she has a pretty full life and that’s why I’m contemplating referring her for the surgery. It would, without doubt, improve her quality of life. She hasn’t given any indication of having an interest in boys, let alone marriage in the future.’

  ‘Ah, the ramblings of a man who doesn’t want to face the prospect of his little girl falling in love.’

  ‘Lizzy’s case is a little different, so I may not have to worry about that.’

  ‘Don’t be so sure,’ Brian remarked. ‘Everyone needs love. Lizzy’s no different. And you, my friend, might just have to accept that fact one day.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ Ryan said, studying the floor for a moment as he shifted on his feet.

  ‘Yes, you will.’

  ‘By the way, I didn’t see you at the AMA dinner but I’m assuming you were there?’ Ryan continued, brushing aside the comments about Lizzy and prospective suitors.

  Molly could see Ryan was becoming a little anxious about the topic and could tell he wanted to change the subject and shrug off Brian’s comments. She knew it would be a difficult decision for a father to make. A hysterectomy was major surgery and there was nothing reversible about it. Ryan would have the weight of the decision on his shoulders. There was no easy way around it nor no right or wrong decision. But she knew in her heart, Ryan would do what was best for his daughter.

  Molly suddenly felt awkward knowing that Lizzy did in fact have a boyfriend already. She had confessed as much to Molly the day they first met at the practice. She hadn’t taken it seriously but she now wondered if Ryan would, as this wasn’t going to be a future scenario Ryan would need to face, it was already on his doorstep; he just didn’t know it. And could Lizzy having a partner potentially alter her mind about the surgery?

  It was becoming a little complicated. Molly had had no idea when she’d made the promise to keep Lizzy’s secret that Ryan was her father. She’d assumed Ryan would soften on the subject once Lizzy told him but now she wasn’t so sure. She just hoped Lizzy told him sooner rather than later. Christmas was still quite a way off.

  ‘Yes, Jane and I were there. We were on the table with the board of the university.’

  ‘Interesting company.’

  ‘Of sorts. It can get a bit dry at times and Jane is great at making conversation with everyone. That’s the joy in having a wife in the same field. While it can be challenging with two careers in one household, the mutual passion for medicine is what’s kept us so close all these years. Speaking of which, it’s our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary tonight so I booked a suite here for the night, but unfortunately we won’t be staying.’

  ‘Congratulations on your anniversary but why are you leaving? I hope there’s nothing wrong,’ Ryan asked with concern clear in his voice.

  ‘No, nothing wrong per se, it’s just that our son-in-law called about fifteen minutes ago to say our eldest daughter’s in labour in the Fleurieu Community Hospital so Jane and I are heading there now. Jane’s with the concierge having the car sent around and I’m about to check us out. There goes an exorbitant amount of money for a room we were in for all of thirty minutes. But our first grandson is on his way and that’s more important. The obstetrician estimates the birth is a few hours away but you never can tell with these things, as we know, and Jane wants to be there and I’m not about to argue with a grandmother-to-be. She’s already booked us a hotel room in Victor over the Internet so we’re off. It’s just over an hour’s drive from here but at this time of night there’s no traffic so we’ll be there before eleven. Anyway, I’ll catch you at the next dinner, Ryan, if not on the golf course. And it was lovely to meet you, Molly.’ Brian extended his hand to Molly as he spoke.

  ‘Very nice to meet you, Brian,’ Molly added.

  At that moment a number of the rugby players spilled from the bar into the lobby restaurant and with their appearance came the noise. They were all large men, clearly chosen for their athletic build, and had been drinking. While they were not offensive in their language, their antics and voices were overpowering.

  ‘Ryan,’ Brian began, pausing mid-step as he played with the key card to the room. ‘I just had a thought. I’ve already paid for the suite and we just ordered a late supper and charged it to our room and they can’t cancel it. Why don’t you and Molly head up and enjoy the martinis and tapas or order some coffee? There’s no point letting the room go to waste and I don’t think this crowd is leaving any time soon. It could get worse, by the look of the tray of drinks heading this way. You could escape up there for a while and can check out after you’ve had supper or stay the night. As I said, it’s all covered anyway and there’s a fantastic view of the Torrens river and the Adelaide Oval bridge from the room. In fact I’m quite sure I paid a significant amount extra for said view! It’s quite spectacular and completely going to waste tonight.’

  Ryan did not respond, although Molly suspected by the expression on his face that he appeared to be considering the offer. Or perhaps the ramifications of the offer.

  ‘Here’s the key card to the room,’ Brian said, leaning down and dropping the card on the low gunmetal and glass coffee table. ‘Clearly your call, and if you don’t want to use the room I’ll call in the morning and check out online but the offer’s there. It’s all paid up, so you can take it or leave it, but I better run as I’m getting the death stare from Jane standing outside in the freezing cold. And it’s going to be colder at Victor so we’re going to call into home on the way and collect some warmer and slightly more practical clothes. The poor child might take one look at me and mistake me for a penguin in this outfit.’

  Ryan laughed and shook Brian’s hand before the excited grandfather-to-be crossed the atrium and exited the hotel to where his wife was standing beside the late model European sedan. Ryan and Molly watched him climb inside and drive away. Before either could make mention of the room, one of the rugby players close by suddenly collapsed. He had been sitting on the arm of a large armchair and, without warning or obvious cause, he toppled over, hitting his head as he crashed to the marble-tiled floor.

  Ryan and Molly jumped up in unison, crossing to the lifeless figure sprawled across the floor. Blood was seeping from a deep wound on the top of his shaven head. Mindful of not moving the victim, and without saying a word to each other, Molly checked his airway was clear while Ryan attended the wound. It was a deep gash and Ryan suspected his skull had been fractured when the weight of his head hit the hard marble flooring.

  ‘He wasn’t fooling around,’ one of the other players called out. His words were slurred but the panic in his voice was evident. ‘He just collapsed. I swear no one touched him. He just fell sideways. He’s not dead, is he?’

  Ryan and Molly both shook their heads as they continued their assessment of the man who was breathing but unconscious. A concerned concierge swiftly crossed to them. ‘What’s happened here?’

  ‘We need an ambulance. We have an unconscious male, pupils are dilated and non-reactive,’ Ryan announced as he lifted the young man’s eyelids. ‘I don’t think it’s alcohol alone that caused this accident. There’s something else at play here. I need clean white sheeting immediately and a first-aid kit until the paramedics arrive.’

  The concierge called triple zero immediately and then called Housekeeping without questioning Ryan or Molly further.

  Molly had her fingers resting gently on the carotid artery in the man’s neck to check his pulse while she observed his other vital signs. ‘Respiratory patterns don’t appear altered and he has reasonable skin colour. What I wouldn’t do for a non-rebreather bag to keep his pulse ox reading at ninety-five per cent.’

  A uniformed hotel staff member appeared almost immediately with the sheet
ing and the first-aid kit, which the concierge opened and placed beside Ryan.

  Ryan quickly sterilised his hands and then passed the solution to Molly before he reached in for some sterile bandages. He ripped the packaging open and wrapped a bandage loosely around the open wound. The lack of hair made it easier to keep the wound clean.

  A crowd of the patient’s drunken friends began to gather around. ‘I need the most sober of you to step forward,’ Ryan said loudly and firmly. ‘And the rest of you get back and give us room to help your friend.’

  A tall, well-built man moved towards Ryan. ‘I’m Jack. I’m diabetic and don’t drink.’

  ‘Did you see what happened?’

  ‘Yes, Dave fell sideways like they said. He wasn’t drunk or messing around. I think he only had one beer because he had a headache. He’d been complaining of it all day.’

  ‘Did he receive a blow to the head during a game today?’

  ‘No, he didn’t play today but he did take a hit two nights ago at training and, yeah, he did last Saturday too. He was complaining today about it so the coach kept him on the bench.’

  ‘So, this man suffered two blows to the head a few days apart?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How old is he?’

  ‘He just turned eighteen last week.’

  ‘Perfect age for it.’

  ‘Are you thinking second impact syndrome?’ Molly asked as she kept a watch on his pulse and breathing.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Will he make it?’ came a deep voice from behind them.

  ‘I damned well hope so,’ Ryan said as he began CPR.

  At that moment, two paramedics came rushing through the atrium with a barouche. They collapsed it down to almost floor level and dropped to their knees beside the patient. Ryan moved away for them.

  ‘Can you bring us to speed?’

  ‘Dr Ryan McFetridge, GP, and Molly Murphy, anaesthetic nurse. We’ve been monitoring the young man for about five minutes now. Eighteen years of age, he’s suffered two blows to the head sustained during sport a few days apart, a recent headache and a collapse without cause. I suspect second impact syndrome and potentially a subdural hematoma. His skull may have been fractured during the fall here tonight and it may have relieved some pressure as there was blood from the head wound. He has dilated and non-reactive pupils so I would advise you to hyperventilate.’

  ‘Hyperventilate with suspected brain injury?’ the paramedic asked.

  ‘Yes, the benefit of temporarily reducing cerebral blood with mild hyperventilation may outweigh the harm from less oxygen delivery. My advice is to titrate the respiratory rate to maintain a reading between thirty and thirty-five or twenty breaths per minute until you reach Emergency.’

  ‘The young man is lucky you were both here. If he makes it, then he’ll owe his life to that fact,’ the older of the two paramedics told Ryan and Molly, then turned to the younger paramedic. ‘Call it in once we’re on board. ETA the Eastern Memorial four minutes.’ Placing a brace around the young man’s neck, the paramedics moved swiftly to transport the patient to the ambulance. Molly and Ryan watched as they exited the hotel entrance.

  ‘Will Dave make it, Doc?’ Jack asked.

  ‘I can’t say. The fact that he didn’t collapse directly after the second blow is a better sign but he probably never recovered from the first injury so the second blow is a more serious complication.’

  ‘But why? They weren’t even related. The first one happened a week ago.’

  ‘When an athlete like your friend suffers a second concussion before the first concussion has fully healed there are serious consequences. The fact that he cracked his skull may have in fact saved his life as the pressure building in his skull was released slightly.’

  There was no siren as the ambulance drove off and Molly felt herself being pulled into Ryan’s strong embrace. This time she didn’t pull away.

  CHAPTER NINE

  MOLLY WASN’T SURE what Ryan was thinking. And she was even less sure what she was thinking about what had transpired.

  The players made their way one by one over to thank them for helping their friend. While Ryan and Molly appreciated the show of gratitude, they were both drained by the experience and there were more of the players coming from every direction towards them.

  ‘What do you think about slipping away and having a quiet drink and exhaling in Brian’s suite?’ he whispered to her. ‘I think we deserve it and I don’t think we’ll get any peace here. They mean well, but it’s been a long night.’

  Molly nodded, feeling the adrenalin still surging through her body but wanting to escape from the commotion around them. ‘That would be lovely.’

  * * *

  Ryan swiped the key card, opened the door to the suite they had been so generously gifted and stepped back for Molly to walk inside. The room was softly lit, and the curtains open, allowing them both to see the stunning panorama of the city lights. As she crossed to the expanse of windows, Molly looked out and down to see the reflection of the lights twinkling in the meandering city river below. It was picture perfect but she wasn’t really seeing the view, she was thinking about what had transpired moments before in the foyer. She couldn’t deny to herself that saving the young man’s life had brought more purpose to her own. It was what she had trained to do and what she loved.

  ‘You miss it, don’t you?’ Ryan asked her as he closed the door.

  ‘What do you mean?’ she said, turning away from the view and towards Ryan, but not wanting to admit to him he was right.

  ‘The rush. The way you have to fire on all cylinders, think on your feet. The way it would be in surgery for you.’

  ‘I guess. Yes. Theatre was my life but that career choice is not possible now. It doesn’t mean it won’t be one day, just not now.’

  ‘Why not?’ he asked as he dropped the card on the coffee table and made his way to the sofa. ‘Would you like to sit for a while? Maybe tell me what’s changed so much in your life that you have to put your career on hold? I know you want to be there for Tommy, but I’m assuming you were there for him before. What’s different now?’

  ‘It’s a long story, Ryan,’ she told him, trying not to make eye contact and give too much away of how she really felt. ‘Let’s just say, I had more support before and none now.’

  ‘I certainly can’t sleep after what we just went through, so I’d be happy to hear more if you’re willing to share it. I’m not going to hide the fact—I think you’re an amazing woman, Molly, and I want to know more about you.’

  Molly was taken aback by Ryan’s honesty about his feelings. He was certainly a straight-shooter and it made her feel safe to open up. At least a little. She sat down on the sofa with him. There was enough distance that she could curl her feet up and spend the next fifteen minutes recapping her life, including her high school years, her study to become an anaesthetic nurse, even the pain of losing of her parents in a tsunami in Indonesia. She wasn’t sure how much she intended on telling him, and decided to let it unfold and stop if and when she became uncomfortable.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Molly. That must have been devastating for you and for Tommy.’

  ‘And it was so unfair, it was my parents’ trip of a lifetime. They had been planning to travel abroad and finally they felt okay about leaving Tommy with me. He encouraged them to go and gave them a list of souvenirs he wanted. Key rings from each of the places they visited. I took three weeks’ leave from my role so that I could be at home for him to make sure he was all right and make sure they could relax and actually enjoy themselves and it all ended so horribly. Tommy’s come to terms with it but it’s taken a while. They were so young. Mum was only fifty-eight and my father was sixty-five. He had just retired two weeks before they headed off together. Life just hasn’t been the same without them. It all went downhill not long after they died.’ Tears
began to pool in Molly’s eyes and she quickly turned her head in the other direction, looking out of the window into the darkness. Suddenly she felt Ryan reach for her hand and encircle it in the warmth of his own.

  ‘Life can be unfair. You can search for reasons and oftentimes none of it makes sense.’

  Molly sighed. Ryan was right about that, but she also had to take responsibility for her choices in life as well. ‘Sometimes we make stupid decisions too. We can’t always blame the universe.’

  ‘You sound like you’re speaking from experience,’ Ryan replied steadily, but not letting her hand slip from his.

  Molly didn’t want the process to be like pulling teeth for the man who had stated he valued honesty above all else. She hadn’t thought she would share her stupidity with anyone else, ever, let alone Ryan. He was so sensible, his life so planned and thought out. And hers had been changed for ever by one stupid, avoidable mistake. But she couldn’t change it by hiding it from Ryan. And it would be best to have it out in the open. If he thought poorly of her, then better at that moment rather than later when she had even more feelings invested.

  ‘I became involved with someone, who wasn’t good for me, or for Tommy. He was a bad man, plain and simple. I won’t try to make excuses, or blame it entirely on him. I’m a grown woman and I should have known better but I think I was a little lost and, instead of getting stronger over the years after my parents passed, I think I became lonelier. I missed them terribly and that made me vulnerable and I didn’t see the warning signs. In me or in him.’

  Ryan’s look intensified and Molly could see anger simmering behind his charcoal eyes. ‘He didn’t hurt you or Tommy? Physically, I mean.’

  ‘No, not at all,’ she said, putting his fears of violence to rest immediately. ‘No, he was a conman. A professional, completely unscrupulous conman who had worked me from day one but I was too silly to see it. I was too caught up in the fairy tale he was spinning to notice that it was all a cleverly planned charade to empty my bank account and more.’