Two Weeks Later
"Nurse Crawley! Nurse Crawley!"
Isobel's head shot up as Nurse Hathoway rounded the corner, skidding to a stop in front of Isobel's small desk.
"Nurse Hathoway, what…"
"Please, Nurse Crawley, you must come! It's the little Hawthorne boy, he is having trouble breathing!"
"Go fetch Dr. Carrington," Isobel called, standing as quickly as she could, "he's in the examination room."
Isobel hurried to the pediatric hall, running as fast as she could in her heels. A group of nurses had gathered around the young boy's bed, his mother screaming for someone to help her son.
"What's happened?" Isobel asked, moving one of the younger nurses to the side so she could assess the six year olds status.
"He was just talking!" his mother cried.
"Take her out," Isobel whispered to the nurse standing closest to her before leaning over the wheezing boy. "Shh, shh, it's all right now."
She pushed the sweat laden hair off of the boy's forehead and placed her hand firmly in the middle of his chest. The boy's eyes were darting back and forth as his airway became more and more restricted. Making a quick decision, she sat the little boy up and began firmly pounding the middle of his back.
"Nurse Crawley! What are you doing? He can't breathe!" one of the younger, less experienced nurses called out.
"I know…get those screens," she ordered, continuing her task as the frightened nurses moved large screens for privacy around the boy's bed.
The wheezing turned to coughing in little less than a minute as Isobel prayed her initial decision was the right one. She heard a commotion coming down the hall, hoping it was Dr. Carrington. Her thoughts were brought back to the boy as his hands came to squeeze her arm now keeping him from falling forward. As he sputtered, Nurse Hathoway moved forward with a cloth and wiped off the mucus coming from his mouth.
"There you are, dear, that feels much better out than in," she soothed, her look to Isobel assuring the Head Nurse this treatment was working.
As the boy continued coughing up mucus, one of the screens was pulled aside, Dr. Carrington pushing everyone out of his way.
"Nurse Crawley…"
"His breathing has improved...though he is still coughing up the mucus that caused the wheezing," she explained, her pounding now having turned to massaging the boy's back. Dr. Carrington pulled out his stethoscope and stood on the opposite side of the bed, listening to the boy's lungs carefully. He nodded after a moment, knowing the problem, and motioned for Isobel to follow him outside the curtain.
"Nurse Hathoway, take over for a moment, please," he instructed. Isobel stood and leaned the boy back against the metal headboard, smiling warmly as she cupped his cheek.
"You rest now, all right?"
Young Andrew nodded, but as she pulled her hand away and stood, he clasped on to her fingers, tugging insistently. She turned back and looked down at him, her heart breaking at the large tears forming in his eyes.
"Don't go," he begged softly.
Despite the twinge in her back, she leaned over once more and took both his hands in hers. "I'll be back soon…Nurse Hathoway will take care of you. And I'll bring your mother with me, all right?"
Andrew looked down and nodded, a large tear dropping on to his crumpled blanket.
"There's a good lad….we'll have you better in no time," she said softly, kissing the back of his hands before slowly straightening.
Dr. Carrington noticed the wince cross his Head Nurse's face when she left the boy's bedside, wondering how much longer he could allow her to continue working. He gestured for her to follow him in to the hall where they found Andrew's mother pacing furiously, her hands clasped together.
"Dr. Carrington! Is he all right? Please…please tell me he's all right!" she pleaded.
The doctor gently pushed her in to a chair and smiled at her. "It seems Nurse Crawley took care of this episode splendidly. He is still coughing a bit, but the worst is over and he can breathe normally."
"Truly? Oh, thank you! Thank you ever so much!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet once more. "Might I see him?"
"One moment, Mrs. Hawthorne. I'm afraid Andrew is showing signs of pneumonia."
The woman's face dropped, as did Isobel's, as they both stared wide-eyed at the doctor. His sullen expression told Isobel he was almost sure of his diagnosis. He would test the mucus for confirmation, of course, but she had seen this expression pass over his and Reginald's face before. And it was that look that often resulted in a fatal outcome.
"But…but he can't have…" Mrs. Hawthorne's head shook back and forth, her form slowly crumbling. Isobel stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the woman, holding her up as she shook from sobs. Her eyes moved to Dr. Carrington who shook his head sadly. As Isobel continued to comfort Mrs. Hawthorne, the doctor stepped forward.
"Mrs. Hawthorne, we will do everything we can to make Andrew well again. But you must realize how severe this is…I would be doing you an injustice if I implied any different."
She pulled back from Isobel's hold and nodded, wiping her eyes. "Thank you, Doctor. But he's a strong boy….he should be just fine."
Isobel handed her a handkerchief and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "That's just what he needs to hear right now. I'll take you in to sit with him."
"Thank you, Nurse Crawley," Mrs. Hawthorne replied softly, straightening her dress and making sure her face was dry so as not to worry Andrew. "I'm ready."