Resisting The Single Dad: Resisting the Single Dad / Reunited by Their Secret Son. Scarlet Wilson

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СКАЧАТЬ syndrome wouldn’t cause some odd arrhythmia that would send her heart into a whole host of problems. For some people with her condition it could lead to death.

      Five years ago her physician had sat her down and given her the news she’d known would be coming. She should look at a permanent contraception choice. Her Wolff-Parkinson–White syndrome was progressing. Her condition was unpredictable. What was certain was that the extra stress and increase in pressure of a pregnancy would cause huge strain on her already struggling heart. Pregnancy was out of the question. She’d never have a family of her own.

      She’d been living with a fellow researcher then. Han. They’d been working together in London and their relationship had just developed slowly. She’d liked that. He’d known about her condition and had helped her through difficult spells.

      But the news from the consultant had been a turning point. Han had backed off, slowly but surely. Never with malice. But his plans for the future included a family. And as he’d drifted away she’d felt more and more hurt. More and more like less of a woman. Less of a partner.

      She’d had to learn to accept that a family wouldn’t be in her future. She’d had to accept that any potential relationship would have to be one where she had that difficult up-front conversation. The one where she’d have to admit she was unsure what the future with her cardiac condition would look like.

      In the meantime, she’d thrown herself into work. Her almost safe place. But every now and then, when a patient’s condition worsened at the clinic, it always brought home to her the fact that one day that could be her.

      So she was grateful to Gene for the offer. And he’d been true to his word. He’d charmed Jonas and given him time to express his sadness at having to leave the trial before graciously accepting the other treatment that he needed. Gene kept him distracted with cowboy-type stories as he slowly administered the medicine to Jonas.

      They’d just finished up when one of the other nurses came rushing in. ‘Dr Du Bois? We need you now. Aryssa has become unwell during her cardiac echo.’

      Both of them moved at once, walking down the long white corridor rapidly. Gene reached the room first. He moved swiftly around Aryssa and examined her, taking in her vital signs. ‘She’s bradycardic,’ said Cordelia, moving to the other side of the bed.

      The sonographer was pale-faced next to the bed. ‘She just seemed to fade while we were doing the echo,’ he said.

      ‘What did it show?’ asked Gene.

      The sonographer gave him a serious look. ‘What you expected. The pacing wire has moved.’

      Gene frowned as Aryssa’s eyes flickered open. ‘It’s odd. That’s unusual. A pacing wire shouldn’t move.’

      Cordelia put her hand on Aryssa’s shoulder. ‘Aryssa, how are you feeling?’

      The heart rate on the monitor seemed to rise for a few seconds. ‘Not good,’ she whispered.

      Cordelia nodded. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll look after you. But has anything happened in the last day or so that could have dislodged your pacing wire?’

      Aryssa lifted her hand to her chest. ‘I had an accident in the car on the way to the institute this morning. It was only a small bump, but the airbag exploded.’

      Gene shot Cordelia a look. ‘Did the airbag hit you?’

      Aryssa winced. ‘Yes. But I got more of a fright because of the noise. And the powder.’ She closed her eyes again, obviously exhausted just answering those few questions.

      They moved outside into the corridor.

      Gene didn’t hesitate. ‘That’s enough for me. We need to insert a new pacing wire. She’s too symptomatic to move her elsewhere.’

      It was the weirdest feeling. All of a sudden she almost felt as if she were a spectator instead of part of the situation. As if she were dangling up somewhere in the corner of the room, watching everything.

      She couldn’t remember the last time there had been an emergency in the clinic. Not like this anyway.

      Everything she’d ever learned at medical school decided to fly out of her head in an instant. She couldn’t tell a clavicle from a femur, or an atrium from a liver lobe.

      Crap. She’d never panicked as a medical student. She’d always been one of the calmest in the class. While others had fainted at the sight of blood, or any other body fluid, Cordelia had just wondered why on earth they wanted to be doctors.

      So what was wrong with her now?

      One of the clinic nurses appeared at her side. ‘Are we pacing?’

      Simple words. And that was all it took. Her brain shifted gear.

      Gene walked into the next-door cath lab. His actions were automatic. It was clear he’d dealt with this situation before. He pulled over a trolley and set out the equipment. He nodded to the nurse. ‘Can you bring the patient in, please, and we’ll explain what we need to do.’

      Cordelia moved over to the sink and started scrubbing her hands. A temporary pacing wire wasn’t performed in a traditional operating theatre, but the cath lab was as good as it got around here. The wire went straight into a central vein, and everything had to be done aseptically to protect the patient from infection.

      The nurse wheeled Aryssa in. She was lying on her back, her face pale and sweating. She was already attached to a portable cardiac monitor showing her very slow heartbeat and low blood pressure.

      Gene gave Cordelia a nod. He moved over and took Aryssa’s hand. He mouthed one word to her. ‘Cold.’

      Cordelia pressed her lips together. Cold extremities meant that the blood flow just wasn’t getting enough power to circulate properly. She dried her hands and held them out in front of her to where the nurse was holding out a disposable surgical gown. Next came the gloves then she checked the equipment on the trolley.

      ‘Percutaneous sheath, bipolar pacing catheter and bridging cables and pacing box.’ She murmured the contents out loud, mentally ticking them off in her head.

      Gene spoke quietly to Aryssa. ‘Aryssa, I know you might be feeling light-headed. We’re sure that your pacing wire has moved. We’re going to insert a temporary pacing line to get your heart back on track. You’ll probably be a little woozy until we get this sorted. But trust us. We’ve got this.’

      Aryssa’s eyes were closed but she tossed her head from side to side. ‘But I’ll be flung off the trial. I don’t want that. The drug is the only thing that’s worked for me.’

      Gene met Cordelia’s gaze. Her heart gave a little flutter inside her chest and that made her freeze. Oh, no. Not now. Not here.

      He spoke smoothly. ‘Aryssa, with a heartbeat of around forty we couldn’t let you stay in the trial. We’ve got to keep you healthy. This isn’t something we can debate. You need this procedure.’

      A tear trickled down Aryssa’s cheek and Gene clasped her hand tightly while looking at Cordelia. It was awful. Aryssa had been doing so well on the trial. The new drug seemed to be having a good effect on her. Her symptoms had diminished over the last few weeks and up until the last day her heart function СКАЧАТЬ