Minnie was desperate to walk around, but she became frighteningly breathless and it was obvious some action had to be taken. It was suddenly urgent.
Dr Chandra asked for the whole family to gather in Minnie’s room, with the machines beeping around them. Glory, Doris, Lee and Anna were there, and just as the doctor was about to speak, the door opened and Quiet Isaac stepped in. Minnie smiled and said, ‘This is my dad, everyone.’
‘Ah,’ said Dr Chandra, ‘so you are the chap who had the coarctation corrected as a kid?’
‘Umm. No,’ replied Isaac calmly.
‘No,’ Minnie butted in, ‘that’s the other one, the biological, what’you call it, genetic one. This is my real dad.’
Isaac beamed.
‘OK, got it,’ said Dr Chandra, and he went on to explain that this situation with Minnie’s heart could not continue, for her sake or for Bean’s safety, so they wanted to take her down to theatre for a caesarean section right now. He would be there, watching how Minnie’s heart responded. Lee would be allowed in, and obviously the obstetric team would be there to deliver the baby. All others would have to wait up here on the ward, and would be informed of everything.
Dr Chandra looked Minnie directly in the eye and said, ‘We’re going to get this baby born, Minnie. You need to trust us: it might be a bumpy ride, your poor tired heart is working too hard for both of you, and we have to help it now.’
‘I know. And I trust you. Thank you,’ Minnie replied, obviously terrified.
‘Right, let’s get going,’ Dr Chandra said purposefully as he left the room.
‘Oh shit,’ said Minnie, the second he was out of the door, ‘this is it, this is full-on wawa.’
There was a clucking flurry of ‘You’ll be fine’ and ‘See you when Bean’s here’ and eventually Anna and Isaac were the last two to leave; they both hovered near her, reluctant to go.
‘Thanks, Dad. Thanks … Anna,’ said Minnie.
‘I love you,’ said Anna.
‘And I love you,’ said Isaac.
‘Me too. Tell Mum what’s happening, yeah?’ Minnie said breathily. It was getting more difficult for her to breathe by the minute.
‘Absolutely,’ confirmed Anna as she and Isaac left the room whilst the team buzzed around Minnie, getting her ready for surgery.
Lee’s mouth was dry with fear as the nurses gowned him up for the most astonishing moment of his young life. He had no jokes in his stockpile to suit this serious situation. ‘Um, yeah. Put this on. Yeah. It’s time. Yeah. Put arms in. Tie it up. Yeah,’ was all he could manage in his terror.
The next couple of hours were extremely tense. Upstairs on the ward in the dayroom, the family sat in huddles trying to comfort each other and stay calm. It was an unfortunate but welcome opportunity for Doris and Glory to talk to Isaac and know him. Anna did all the coffee runs and fussed around them all, until eventually she had the chance to sit quietly with Isaac.
‘I owe you an apology so big it’s impossible to make,’ Isaac said.
‘Hope has told me all about you and what you did, Isaac. I understand it. I can’t say I approve, but I do understand … and … Look, we’re here now. It doesn’t matter any more. This does.’
‘I have struggled to make it right with myself and my God for many long years, Anna. It means everything for you to say that. Everything.’
‘We need to just be the best parents we can be for now,’ said Anna.
Isaac nodded, and whispered, ‘Being here, waiting for a baby. It feels familiar. I can’t say I’m not unafraid. It didn’t go so well once upon a time …’ Isaac was wringing his hands.
‘Oh Isaac. Of course, yes, Minnie. The first Minnie.’
‘Yes. I will never forget how … small … and … still she was. Our little daughter. Sleeping. She didn’t ever know us, know how much we loved her, not like this Minnie. She knew. She knows.’
‘Yes, she surely does,’ Anna said. ‘Maybe you can think of that time back then as a sort of scar. It’s still there, evidence of something tragic that happened, so that you won’t forget it, or forget her. But you are allowed to heal, Isaac.’
‘Yes. Yes,’ he said, fighting back tears.
‘And you are here for this Minnie. Your … daughter. I saw her face when she saw you: she lit up. You’ve shown her devotion and courage in coming. And listen, she will be OK … and so will Bean. I’m her mother too, and I say so, so IT WILL BE SO. Get it?’ Anna said in her bossiest voice, so wanting to believe it.
Isaac chuckled.
Anna’s optimism was infectious.
All of them spent every minute looking up at each doctor that walked by, just in case there was any news.
Sixteen repulsive hospital coffees later, Dr Chandra finally came in and shut the door.
Ominously.
‘OK, folks. It was tough. The baby is here. It’s a girl, she’s just under five pounds, but she’s fine. Lee is with her. Minnie’s heart is trashed, but it’s limping along, with help from what we call a mechanical heart, a kind of pump. She’s OK, but this is a critical time now, and I’ve bumped her up to the top of the waiting list for a donor heart, so she’s now officially what we call “bridge to transplant”. The next forty-eight hours are crucial. She’s in the ITU and is not conscious, so to be honest it’s best if you guys leave the team to get on with looking after her. Someone will come and fetch you to see the baby …’
‘Bean,’ said Glory.
‘Bean. Yes, someone will bring you down to Lee shortly. I must go. Hopes and prayers, guys, she’s a strong one. I have faith. So must you …’ With that, he left.
‘Lawd a mercy,’ said Doris quietly, and she
