Sydney Harbour Hospital: Zoe's Baby

Teo was busy for the rest of the morning and all afternoon that day.

A three-year-old boy, Timmy, who’d been burnt by climbing into a bath of scaldingly hot water was in the paediatric intensive care unit. Teo was part of the team led by Luke Williams that was having to deal with the complications of hypovolaemic shock caused by fluid loss from the burns. It was the child’s kidney function that was causing concern today and haemodialysis had to be added to the plethora of procedures that was keeping the small boy alive.

Timmy’s mother was beside herself with guilt and fear.

‘I had to feed the baby,’ she sobbed. ‘I had no idea that Timmy was trying to be helpful and run his own bath. I always, always run the cold tap first and then add hot water. I thought he was watching TV in the lounge room. The baby’s got colic and she’s really hard work after a feed.’

Teo could only listen and imagine how hard this had to be for her. There was no point in laying blame when it could only make things worse for everyone.

‘His dad walked out on us when I got pregnant again. One kid was bad enough, he said. He couldn’t handle having two.’

Teo made a sympathetic sound but part of his mind was wandering. Where was Emma’s dad? Zoe hadn’t mentioned a partner and he’d heard what sounded like a fierce determination to cope with her own situation. On her own. Had she been wearing a ring? He made a mental note to have a look next time he saw her.

Except he had no reason to see her again, had he?

The realisation was curiously disappointing and it stayed with him for the rest of the day as he did his rounds, checking on his small patients and comforting distressed parents. Zoe intrigued him. That she could be so competent in one area of her life and so lost in another made it seem like there had to be a key to unlocking the barrier dividing the areas. And it was sad that it was the home and family side that she was struggling with because Teo knew that was, by far, the most important part of anybody’s life. If Zoe could find it, she might not feel the need to be at work at all during this crucial stage of bonding with her baby and then, later, she could have the best of both worlds.

The final task of his day took him back to the paediatric outpatient clinic. Empty of patients now, there was only a cleaner pushing a vacuum cleaner around the chairs and a weary-looking receptionist filing paperwork at the desk.

‘Busy day, huh?’ He smiled at the receptionist. This wasn’t the time to take anybody to task for leaving a distressed mother and child without assistance while they had been waiting.

‘It was a nightmare,’ the receptionist said. ‘One registrar got called away for something on the ward and another had to deal with a kid who had an epileptic seizure in the toilets and we were running so late.’

‘Did Zoe Harper come back again with Emma?’

‘Yes.’ The girl gave him a curious glance. ‘Is she a friend of yours?’

Teo didn’t have time to respond. The cleaner was coming towards the desk.

‘I found this under the chair over there,’ the older woman said, holding out a leather wallet.

‘Oh, my goodness.’ The receptionist took the wallet. ‘Thank you so much. Someone’s probably worried sick about this.’ She opened the wallet. It had a pocket at the back for notes and slots for credit cards on the other side. In the middle was a plastic-covered pocket for a driver’s licence. ‘Zoe Harper,’ she said in astonishment. ‘Good thing you’re here, Dr Tuala.’

‘Is it?’

‘Well, she’s a friend of yours. You could take it back to her.’

‘I could.’ Teo’s tone was confident. Surely there’d be something in the wallet that would have her address on it? He could drop it off on his way home. He would get to see Zoe again. Even better, he could find out whether she had some support at home in the form of a partner.

He held out his hand for the wallet. ‘I’m on my way home right now,’ he said. ‘Consider it sorted.’

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