Chapter 43

Martin let Louisa sleep in the next morning. It was long after he'd gone to work that she made an appearance in the kitchen. She stretched and thought, "I feel good!" She decided upon an egg with soldiers for breakfast and was just finishing off when Joan's "Only me." shattered the silence.

Louisa smiled and said "Good morning, Joan. What are you doing out and about?"

"I've come to see if you want a trip to Wadebridge? I'm going there to pick up some seeds and thought I could do with some company."

Louisa's face lit up at the thought of an outing. The truth was she was becoming bored, being in the house all day. "I'll just pop and tell Martin where I'm going, and then I'll go and get ready."

She was lucky in that the patient in with Martin was soon dealt with. Having asked Pauline for a few minutes with him, she knocked and went in.

"Louisa! Are you alright?" he queried, looking concerned.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I just popped in to say I'm going to Wadebridge with Joan. Do you want anything from there?"

"Hm, not that I can think of, offhand. I expect I'll see you much later in the day, knowing Joan." The smile he gave her robbed the words of any sting. She went around his desk to give him a quick kiss and then left, leaving Martin somewhat bemused by her mercurial moods.

Joan and Louisa chatted happily on their way to Wadebridge. Upon arrival they called in at the big garden centre on the outskirts of the town. "I've always had good results when I get my seeds from here, and for a garden centre, they are reasonably cheap," reported Joan.

"I think I'll get some flowers for the lounge, Joan. I could do with something bright to look at."

They separated and Louisa went to look at the available flowers. As she walked around an unmistakeable scent caught her nostrils. Hyacinths. She followed her nose and looked at the display. The smell was gorgeous. I'm having some of those she thought. She went to the unit and looked at the displays. The Hyacinth Passion bowl was her favourite. The colours ranged from pink through to lilac and almost maroon. Contrasting white bulbs seemed to add a lustre to the effect. Picking up the bowl she went and paid for them, and a bag to put them in.

Now, where's Joan got to? Louisa looked along the aisles and spotted Joan at the far end of one. When she got up close, she could see a look of indecision on Joan's face. "Too many choices, Joan?" she laughed.

Joan looked up and smiled, "I'm afraid so. There are always too many to choose from and most of them will do well in my soil. Trouble is, even with the land I've got, there are still too many varieties to get them all."

"Why don't you choose some which seemed to go very well last year, and then replace the ones which weren't so good, with new varieties?" Louisa offered what appeared to her, to be a practical solution. "Do you keep a record of what went well in previous years, or is it a case of memory?"

Joan grinned ruefully. "Memory, but these days it's becoming a little rusty!" She began to fill her basket with a good mix of seeds. Moving on they found the seed potatoes and Joan commandeered a young man to help her carry them. They went to the checkout where Joan paid and then went back to the car. Joan thanked the young man for his help and soon they were trundling into town.

"Have you anywhere in particular you want to go, or are we just going to wander about, Joan"

"Well first port of call, will be a snack bar for a coffee," she declared.

"I can live with that," laughed Louisa.

Joan went into the car park and they left the truck there. She paid for two hours parking and they went to find a café.

They walked along the narrow pavement and Louisa stepped off into the road to allow an elderly couple space to pass by. She felt a tremendous jolt in the middle of her back and was sent tumbling to the ground. She cried out as she hit the floor and her hands were scraped. "Louisa!" Yelled Joan and hurried to her side.

As she did so the cyclist who'd knocked Louisa over was scrambling to his feet. "'Tweren't my fault," he said. "She stepped right out in front of me!"

Louisa rolled onto her back, clutching her stomach, "My baby," she cried, as the tears began to roll down her cheeks. Other passers-by came quickly over to offer their assistance.

"Someone call an ambulance," and a lady with her mobile open did just that.

"Can you move at all Louisa?" asked Joan, "We should get you off the road." With the assistance of the shocked cyclist, who hadn't suffered any damage, except to his bicycle, Louisa was helped to the pavement and sat down again.

Louisa was panicking about any damage which may have been done to the baby. Her scratched hands barely registered. Joan was extremely pale at what had happened and did her best to comfort Louisa.

After what seemed an eternity, the ambulance arrived and two paramedics jumped out. On hearing that Louisa was pregnant they examined her first. When they touched her back, Louisa moaned in pain. They glanced at her hands and could see the gravel scrapes, some of which were bleeding.

Louisa was helped into the back of the ambulance and laid onto the couch. The cyclist was examined and as he'd been wearing a helmet which wasn't even scraped, they allowed him to go home, himself. A policeman arrived on the scene and quickly gathered details of what had occurred. He warned the cyclist that further action might be taken. The cyclist protested again that "the lady just stepped off in front of him!"

Joan decided to accompany Louisa to hospital rather than go in her own car. She took out her own mobile and with shaking hands, called Martin.

Martin had finished his morning list and was on his way to the kitchen when his phone rang. "Ellingham" was his short answer.

"Marty! It's me, Joan."

Detecting the anxiety in her voice Martin was half dreading what he would hear next. "What is it, Joan?"

"Louisa's had an accident! She stepped off the pavement and was hit by a cyclist!"

"How bad is she? Where are you?" The questions rumbled out of him, as his own face went white.

"I'm in the ambulance and we're on our way to the hospital in Truro. She's being taken there, they say as a precaution, because of the baby."

Martin snapped into doctor mode and told his aunt to stay with Louisa, he was on his way.

He went back into the reception area and scribbled a note to Pauline to cancel his afternoon patients, and that he was going to the hospital in Truro. Anyone ringing up in a genuine emergency should call for an ambulance. Then he grabbed his medical bag and went back through to the kitchen. He locked the door and was soon on his way.

Once out of the village he went as quickly as he dared.

Louisa was taken into A&E and placed in a cubicle, awaiting the attention of the Casualty Registrar. Joan stood at the side of her bed and was trying to comfort her, saying that everything would be fine. "Martin's on his way, dear." Louisa just looked extremely pale and was holding her abdomen.

A shadow falling across the bed was the first indication of someone else in the cubicle. "Mrs Ellingham? I'm David Henderson, Casualty Registrar. Can you tell me what happened, please?" He listened while Louisa told him about being hit by the cyclist and knocked heavily to the floor."

"My baby, will my baby be, OK? Louisa's large eyes were pleading with someone to tell her the baby would not be harmed by this.

Henderson turned to Joan and asked her to leave whilst he examined Louisa. A nurse had joined them and between them they undressed Louisa to examine her for visible wounds to her back. They noted her scraped hands and that she was developing bruising to her back. "Any pains in your uterus, or lower back?"

Louisa shook her head. "Any head injuries, other than that slight scrape on your cheek?" Again, she shook her head.

Dr Henderson said, "Right we'll clean your hands and put bandages on those and then we'll have you taken for an ultrasound scan. That should determine whether anything else should be done."

Louisa looked frightened as no-one seemed willing to tell her about the baby. Joan came back into the cubicle to hold onto Louisa whilst they waited for her hands to be cleaned. Ten minutes later Martin came into A&E like a whirlwind. Approaching reception, he snapped out "Louisa Ellingham, where is she?"

"I'm sorry sir, no-one can go in to see patients without the Registrar's permission." The receptionist planted herself squarely in front of Martin.

"I'm Dr Martin Ellingham and Louisa is my wife. Now tell me where she is, or I'll search for her myself." Martin would brook no argument from receptionists.

"Dr Ellingham? I'm David Henderson, Registrar. Would you come this way please?"

Martin followed Henderson towards a cubicle with closed curtains. When they opened, he saw Louisa looking pale and terrified. He closed the distance and held her in his arms. Louisa began sobbing, "the baby, the baby."

He stroked her face, "Sh, sh, sh. It will be all right." Turning to the Registrar he asked for an update.

"Mrs Ellingham has sustained cuts to her hands, bruising on her back and a scrape to her cheek. As far as we can tell there is no imminent danger of a miscarriage, but we are sending her for an ultrasound scan. When we get that result back, we will know a little more." He was succinct in his summation and Martin nodded in approval. It was what he would have said under the circumstances.

"Louisa, I think the baby will be fine, but the ultrasound will tell us more. You remember having them when they were checking the baby's development?" She nodded and relaxed into his arms. "I'll just have a word with Joan, and then I'll be right back. Try to relax, your being upset will not help Junior one bit." As she started to protest, he held her hand, squeezing it gently.

Outside he spoke to Joan, basically telling her what he knew at that point. "How did it happen Joan?"

Joan told him about the narrow street, about the approaching elderly couple and Louisa stepping to one side, straight into the path of a cyclist, who knocked her over. The cyclist had not suffered any major damage, but was shocked by the turn of events. He'd gone home and had not come to the hospital.

"I left my car in the car park and came with Louisa in the ambulance." A look of horror came over Joan's face. "Oh no! I only paid for a few hours parking! They'll fine me for sure."

"Don't worry about that Auntie Joan. I'll make sure you don't lose out. Now are you going to wait for me to drop you off to pick your truck up, or do you want me to get a taxi to take you back there? Louisa's got to go for a scan and then we have to await the results, so it could be some time."

Joan opted for the taxi and Martin went to organize it. She popped in to see Louisa and told her what was happening. Louisa smiled wanly at her and said "Thank you for coming with me, and helping. I'm sure Martin will let you know as soon as we know anything."

Martin came back in. "The taxi will be outside in a short while, Auntie Joan." He bent to kiss her cheek, "Thank you. Thank you for staying with her."

Joan looked at him and was about to ask him what the hell he thought she would do, when she saw his red-rimmed eyes. She patted his cheek. "Let me know what the developments are Marty. I'll see you tomorrow?"

He nodded and smiled as she turned to leave.

He straightened his shoulders and went back in to sit with Louisa. She looked up as he entered "I'm sorry Martin," and her face crumpled. Pulling up a chair he reached for her hand. The strain of the last few hours left both of them feeling exhausted.

"These things happen, Louisa. When Joan called, I thought I'd lost you. I was so frightened. Then I thought about Junior and was frightened all over again."

"What happened, I think, was a momentary lapse in concentration and your innate politeness overlapping. It could have been so much worse than it is. It could have been a motorbike or car."

She could feel him trembling and covered his hand with both of hers, looking mutely at him but allowing the love she felt for him to show in her eyes.

A short while later the porter came to take her along for her scan. Martin went with her and watched from the side as she was prepared for the scan. They both looked at the screen as the wand was passed over her abdomen. As far as Louisa could tell everything looked normal. She turned to look at Martin and could see a relaxation in his face. He looked down at her and nodded.

They were taken back to a side ward and asked to wait for Dr Henderson to come and talk with them.

"What do you think he'll say, Martin?"

"There's a possibility he will ask you to stay overnight in the ward so that you can be monitored more easily. Would you be agreeable to that? Although I want you at home, it would mean you were close to better medical equipment than I have."

Louisa thought about it. She would have been prepared to go home, but one look at his face and she knew she couldn't put him through worrying about her suffering a sudden relapse. "I'll stay in for a night if you promise to go home and get some sleep. I don't want you trying to sleep on a chair near my bed." She smiled at him.

Martin agreed with her. When Henderson came back in, he said, "It seems as though you've suffered no damage to the baby. However, I think that you should remain in hospital overnight so that we can monitor you. The bruising we see on your back will develop some more and we can check for any rib or kidney problems in the morning. Does that sound reasonable to you both?"

"I'd hoped to be going home, Doctor, but if you think it would be for the best, I can stay in overnight." Louisa agreed to his proposal.

Martin asked for a few minutes to say goodnight and then caught up with Henderson outside. "Did you see any potential problems with Louisa's kidneys?"

"Not with the bruising, but looking at the position of that bruising, it would seem your wife was hit by the handlebars of the bike in that region of her back. I'd prefer to be able to keep tabs on it for 24 hours or so. You should be able to pick her up at tea-time tomorrow."

"Yes, I wondered about that myself. I persuaded her to stay by saying you had the necessary equipment on hand to deal with any problems. Will you contact me immediately if anything crops up?"

"Certainly, Dr Ellingham." They shook hands and Martin made his way back to the car.

He checked his watch to see if Auntie Joan had had sufficient time to make it back home. Then he called her to report on what was happening with Louisa.