Chapter 15 #4
Janey’s blonde hair was spread on the pillow. Her face was pale and her lips nearly white.
As his own heart beat wildly, David checked for a pulse and was relieved to feel the rapid cadence of her heart under his fingers.
Her pulse was faster than it should be, he thought, leaning in close to feel the whisper of her breath against his face.
Then he pulled the covers off her and gasped at the pool of blood between her legs.
Instinct told him to deal with Joe, and he spun around just as Joe would’ve passed out from the sight of so much blood. He directed Joe to a chair and pressed his head between his knees. “Breathe.”
Joe drew in deep breaths mixed with sobs. “Don’t let her die, David. Please don’t let her die.”
“She’s not going to die,” David said with more confidence than he felt. “But we’ve got to get the baby out right away.”
Joe looked up at him. “It’s too soon!”
“I’ll do everything I can for both of them.”
“What can I do? I’ll do anything.”
Mason and Victoria came running into the room.
“Oh shit,” Victoria said when she saw Janey and the blood.
“We need to get her to the clinic—now,” David said.
“We can use my SUV,” Mason said. “Let’s go.”
Joe rallied and stood, heading for the bed. “I’ve got her.” He lifted his unresponsive wife off the bed and headed for the doorway.
David grabbed the comforter off the bed and stopped Mason before he could follow Joe down the stairs. “Drive as fast as you can. Every minute matters.”
“Got it.”
“I’m going with her,” David said to Victoria as they rushed down the stairs. “Be right behind us.”
“Oh God, David,” Linda McCarthy cried as he ran through the living room. “Please take care of them.”
“I will.”
“Ride in front,” David said to Joe as he crawled into the back of Mason’s SUV with Janey and made use of the comforter to raise her hips to control the blood flow. Adrenaline pounded through his system as he went through the possible scenarios of what might’ve happened.
It seemed most likely this was a case of placental abruption, which often occurred suddenly when the placenta separated from the wall of the uterus.
That would explain the heavy bleeding and unresponsiveness.
If it was a full abruption, the chances of the baby surviving were almost nil, and Janey’s life would be in grave danger, too.
They were ill prepared at the clinic for an emergency of this magnitude, but they’d work with what they had.
David had never performed a cesarean section on his own but had assisted in plenty of them as a resident, so he knew what to do.
Whether or not he could handle any complications he encountered during the procedure remained to be seen.
The thought of Janey dying on his watch was unfathomable, so he couldn’t let it happen.
No matter what, he had to save her life.
And the baby… Joe was right. It was too soon.
He knocked on the window to the front of the SUV.
Mason slid it open. “How is she?”
“Hanging in there. Can you call for a life-flight with neonatal support? And blood. We’re going to need blood. She’s O positive.” That was one of many random things he knew about her after thirteen years with her.
“Already done, Doc.”
“Good.”
“Is she going to be all right, David?” Joe asked.
“I…I hope so.” He couldn’t imagine a scenario in which Janey wasn’t all right, so he refused to go there.
He’d trained for the last decade for situations just like this one.
However, being on a remote island when disaster struck hadn’t been part of the training, all of which had occurred in well-equipped, inner-city hospitals.
In this case, he’d be relying on instinct as well as training.
Janey’s life and the life of her baby were in his hands, and even in the midst of crisis, the irony of that wasn’t lost on him.
He owed her one. Hell, he probably owed her far more than one. He owed her his very best, and that was what she—and her baby—would get from him.
Victoria was right behind them when they pulled into the clinic parking lot. She flew out of her car and unlocked the emergency entrance. Mason was right behind her. They ran out a few seconds later with a gurney that they loaded Janey onto. They whisked her inside to prepare her for surgery.
“Joe,” David said, stopping Joe from running after them. “We’re going to do a C-section and take the baby. If we don’t, we could lose them both. I need you to know… If I can’t stop the bleeding, there’s a chance I may have to perform a hysterectomy. Do you understand?”
His face white with shock and his white shirt, arms and hands stained with blood, Joe nodded.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on as soon as I know anything.” David started toward the double doors that led to the exam rooms.
“David!”
David spun around to face the man who’d once been his rival and was now his ally in wanting to save the woman they both loved.
“If it’s a choice, save Janey.” He choked on a sob. “Please save Janey.”
David nodded and took off running.