I want to thank my new friend for all her help on answering my Anne Of Green Gables questions as usual. Thank you!
Chapter 6: Gilbert's POV
After we were brought to Ruby's room, my heart broke at the sight of a little girl that was curled up in a tight ball. A young lady was sitting in a chair trying to comfort the sick child.
"Hello Emily. My husband and I are here to see and pick up Ruby. How has she been since I left a few hours ago?" Anne asked.
Emily looked up from the book she was reading and gave a small smile.
"Hello Mrs. Blythe. Ruby threw up about three times since you left. She has been complaining about a headache, saying her tummy is sore and she has been coughing off and on. She has been trying to sleep since you left. " Emily said.
I looked at Anne and nodded my head "yes" letting Anne know it was definitely Typhoid that our little girl has. I sighed.
"Emily, do you mind if I give Ruby a quick exam before we bring her home?" I asked.
"Yes sir, Dr. Blythe. I also have Ruby's bag packed and she has her teddy bear that she brought from her home, along with her family picture of her with her parents. It's all in her bag. Her mother's shawl is in her bag and her father's Bible is in her bag too. Dr. Blythe, I put out a bowl of water and a new bar of soap for you to wash your hands. It's right over by the window. Mrs. Blythe, can I speak to you a moment please?" Emily asked.
As I went to go and wash my hands, I kept focused on what Emily and Anne were talking about. I took my time washing my hands so I can give Anne and Emily a chance to talk about Ruby.
"Mrs. Blythe, I want to let you know that this morning Ruby was asking about her parents. She was calling for them and asking where they were. She was apologizing. I didn't know what to do or say.
Once Emily left the room, Anne and I were able to have some one-on-one with Ruby. Ruby was curled up in a tight ball. Clutching her teddy bear.
I moved my doctors bag off to the side and I gently sat on the bed. I wanted to give Ruby a quick exam before we made our way home.
"Anne-girl, want to help me while I give Ruby a quick exam? I'm just going to do a quick basic. Listen to her heart, lungs, check her temperature and pulse. I'll do a more thorough exam when we get home."
"Of course, Gil. Let me go wash my hands and I'll leave you two to get to meet each other. I'll be right back." Anne said.
I watched Anne go wash her hands and I looked at my newly adopted daughter. She was curled up in a small ball. Her forehead had little beads of sweat from her fever. Her cheeks looked flushed. My poor baby girl.
I gently touched Ruby's arm and she flinched. I might have scared her. She gently turned to face me and whimpered when she saw me.
"Hi sweetheart. My name is Dr. Gilbert Blythe, but most people just call me Gilbert. My wife Anne told me you weren't feeling good. I came to see if I can make you feel better. But first, I need to do a quick exam before we leave okay? Can I give you one? Anne will be right here." I told Ruby.
"I'm right here sweetheart. Remember when I told you my husband is a doctor? This is him. He is very good with his patients and especially with children. He is very gentle. He won't hurt you, okay? I'll be right here the whole time. Let him give you a quick check up so we can all go home, okay?" Anne said.
Ruby nodded her head yes and I sighed in relief. I had gently moved Ruby from out of her position and I had her resting against her pillow.
"I'm going to grab my stethoscope and my thermometer and we'll get this over with okay little one? When I listen to your heart, I'm going to have to unbutton your nightgown just a little bit so I can listen better to your heart. This won't hurt. The bell of the stethoscope might be a little cold and I apologize. Anne-girl, can you unbutton Ruby's nightgown while I get my stethoscope?" I asked.
"Of course, Gil." Anne said.
I heard Anne talking softly to Ruby as she helped Ruby sit up in bed and started to unbutton her nightgown. I was surprised I didn't hear any protest from Ruby.
I grabbed my stethoscope and draped it across my neck. The first thing I wanted to do was take Ruby's temperature and check her pulse. I grabbed my thermometer and quickly cleaned it.
"Okay sweetheart, I need you to open your mouth so I can take your temperature. Can you do that for me? Well go slow."
Ruby opened her mouth and I put the thermometer in her tongue and she closed it. I put my two fingers on her wrist and checked her pulse. Her pulse seemed a bit fast, but that seemed normal under the circumstances of her being sick. After I was done with her pulse, I quickly wrote it down in her medical file I has started and then I took out the thermometer and frowned. 103.3. Much too high. I quickly wrote that down as well.
I took out my Stethoscope and I as I was putting the ear tubes in my ear I said "Anne-girl, do you think you can help Ruby sit up for just a second and unbutton the top of her night gown? I need to listen to her heart and lungs and then we can take her home. I'll do a more thorough exam at home."
"Of course, Gill. Ruby darling, I'm going to sit and unbutton the top of your nightgown so Dr. Blythe can take a listen to your heart and lungs, okay? This won't hurt at all and just take few minutes. He is very gentle at his job. I promise you that. I'll be here the whole time okay. Are you ready for me unbutton your night gown so he can listen to your heart and lungs?" Anne asked.
By then I had my ear tubes in and I blew on the bell of the Stethoscope so it would hopefully not be too cold on Ruby's skin. Anne had Ruby sitting up just enough so I could quickly listen to her heart and lungs. I probably spent about 5 minutes listening to her and then another 5 minutes listening to her lungs. I wanted to listen longer, but I could do that later. I needed to get my daughter home.
I told Anne she could lay Ruby back down for a minute while I wrote in my notebook and then I put my Stethoscope back in my medical bag. I also put my thermometer back in my bag to.
"Alright Anne-girl, let's get our daughter home. I want to get her in a fresh clean nightgown, I want her in her fresh bed sheets and a fresh mattress and pillow. I'll do a more thorough exam later. I did what I could do for the moment." I said.
"I'm sorry to interrupt Dr. and Mrs. Blythe, but Miss Mildred would like to see you for just a moment. She said it won't take long. She wants to know what is wrong with Ruby and for you to sign Ruby's adoption papers. I'll stay with Ruby." Emily said.
I groaned, annoyed that we still had to sign the papers and to see Miss Mildred. I closed my medical bag and I got up and so did Anne.
"Thank you, Emily. We'll go down right now. " I said.
"We'll be back sweetheart. We have to talk to Miss Mildred and then we will go home." I said to my daughter.
Anne and I left Emily alone with Ruby and we headed back down to the office.
"Why on earth didn't she have us sign the bloody papers before we went up to see Ruby." I groaned as Anne and I walked fast paced down the stairs.
"I don't know Gil. She should have made them sign them before we went up. Maybe she wanted to make sure we wanted Ruby still after seeing her", Anne said.
We were down the second flight of stairs and it was a miracle Anne didn't trip on the stairs yet.
"She will want to know what Ruby's diagnosis is before we take her home. As a doctor, I have to tell her in case some of the other children and staff members come down with Scarlet Fever.
Finally, we reached the first set of stairs and we quickly made our way to the office. We knocked on the door and Miss Mildred said to come in.
"Dr. Blythe, Mrs. Blythe, I wanted to know if you found out what is wrong with Ruby and I need you to sign her adoption papers." Miss Mildred said.
Anne looked at me with a small smirk and I could tell she was trying hard not to roll her eyes. Just as I thought, Miss Mildred wanted to know what was making Ruby ill.
"I'm not going to beat around the bush Miss Mildred. When Anne saw Ruby this morning, she was 99.9% sure Ruby has Scarlet Fever. She recognized the signs Ruby had because I had Scarlet Fever a few years ago when I was younger. All the signs are there. I noticed she had a red rash on her neck and chest. She also had it on her arms and face. i am not sure if she had it on her stomach or legs. i will check that when we get home. She also had Swollen Lymph Nodes on her neck. I know how to take care of Ruby and I will take care her. I'll take time off of work so I can be with her around the clock. Anne will help me as needed. But I don't want Anne getting to close to Ruby because I don't want Anne catching it. Even though she was with me when I had Typhoid, she was lucky she never caught it. I thank my lucky stars every day for that. Ruby will be in 100% my care while she is ill. I will do everything in my power to make sure she gets better. I will have another doctor who is a good friend of mine come and examine Ruby just to be sure it is Typhoid so we can make sure to treat her with proper care. " I finished.
Miss Mildred was quite for a moment and then she said, "I'll take your word for it Dr. Blythe. You take good care of that child. She has been through a lot. I expect to hear a good update on Ruby when your wife comes in next week to start her work here."
"Yes ma'am. Ruby will be in the best care possible. You can count on that. We will take very good care of her; I promise."
"That's all I expect Dr. Blythe. Now, can you two please sign the adoption papers? One paper is for her adoption certificate, the other one is for telling us that you two will be her parents and new guardians, and I take it you will be Ruby doctor?" Miss Mildred said.
"That is correct. She'll be in my charge." I said.
We quickly signed the paper work. She had two copies of each. One for her records and the other for Anne and I.
"You're all set Dr. Blythe and Mrs. Blythe. Go get your daughter and I'll see Anne next week." Miss Mildred said.
We said thank you and grabbed our copy of the adoption papers and quickly went to get our daughter. We are anxious to get her home and settled.
"I want to give Ruby a more thorough exam when we get home Anne-girl. I want to feel her tummy to make sure nothing is swollen, look in her mouth, listen to her heart and lungs again. Then I will let her rest."
We were making our way up the first flight of stairs and I was careful not to trip because I still had my doctors coat on and I was too lazy to take it off. Anne was breathing hard and fast from walking fast up the stairs but, she managed to nod her head yes.
"You're over protective of her already Gil. We aren't even home yet. But do whatever it is your need to do to put your mind at ease. You're her doctor and you know what's best for her," Anne managed to say.
By then we reached the landing of the second flight of the blasted stairs.
"I'll do the quick exam, and then call Dr. Dave to tell him I'm not coming in starting tomorrow and all of next week. I'll tell him about Ruby and what I'm sure 99.9% sure she has Typhoid. Then I'll call Arthur and he can come and help me confirm it. He has been a doctor a bit longer than me. I'll ask Dr. Dave his opinion too."
We finally reached the third floor and we quickly rushed into Ruby's room. Ruby's bag was all packed and ready to go.
"Everything is all set Dr. Blythe, Mrs. Blythe. She has her family Bible, her parents wedding rings on a piece of string so the rings stay together. Her father's pocket watch, her mother's shawl, a family picture of the three of them along with a heart locket. Inside the heart locket, is a picture of the three of them as well. This is her doll Lucy too." Emily had said.
"We can't thank you enough Emily. We appreciate everything you have done for Ruby. Please, if you start feeling ill, or even Gracie or both of you, please come to our house and I'll treat you myself? Don't be a stranger to come and visit. As soon as Ruby is better, you guys can come and visit." I told Emily.
Emily sniffed and said "Thank you Dr. Blythe. Just promise me one thing; never get mad at Ruby for her anxiety or her wetting the bed. She has been through so much in her short life. Please don't get mad at her."
I put my hand on Emily's shoulder. "You have my word, Emily. I will never, ever, get mad at Ruby. I will work with her on her anxiety and her issues of wetting the bed. We will get through it. She will be well looked after and cared for. You have my word. I'm sure you'll get updates from Anne too. Please tell Gracie what I just told." Emily nodded.
" This is our address. Once Ruby is better and not contagious anymore, please come and visit. Like Gil said, if you or Gracie start feeling ill, please come to us. We'll take care of you. Just let Miss Mildred know. I'll see you next week Emily. Thank you." Anne said.
"Let's get Ruby home Anne-girl. We have been here long enough."
I gently picked up Ruby and made sure she was wrapped up in a blanket. Emily gave Ruby a quick kiss on the cheek. Telling her to be a good girl and to mind us. I nodded my head to Emily and said thank you. Anne gave Emily a quick hug and said she will see her soon.
We are finally going home. My little family complete.