Had enough time to notice the first small flowers on the ornamental pear tree, dappled by the delicate morning sunlight.
Arrived in theatre on time but first patient not there. Visited my patients in labour - my secretary's daughter, and the sister of a friend from my tennis competition - both in good early labour. I had promised my friend I would be there for his sister's delivery.Needless to say, my secretary had been telling me for months how important it was for me to be there for her daughter also.
The first operation finally began, a laparoscopy which was more difficult than expected, requiring conversion to an open operation and painstaking dissection to avoid serious injury.The list was running late so we hurried on to another laparoscopy when the midwife rang to say that my secretary's grandchild had a severely depressed heart rate.I hurried to labour ward to arrange an emergency Caesarean section (since there was no resident all week to help) then back to theatre to complete the laparoscopy as the Caesarean was being set up next door. Then I was told that the other heart rate was causing concern.
I was ready to start the Caesarean the moment the epidural anaesthetic top-up was effective. I looked at the clock as I started - the baby was out in sixty seconds, in good health with no obvious cause for the abnormality. I raced through the closure and ran upstairs to the labour ward to find the baby delivered by one of our GP obstetricians in good condition. It was fortunate that she was available, but I was disappointed and apologetic as I repaired the episiotomy.
It seems that I can be in two places at once but not three.
One operation was postponed and the remainder of the list completed, then on to Friday afternoon clinic.There was a call from the local ultrasound service about a twin patient who seemed to have twin-twin transfusion. She needed phone calls and faxes to organize assessment at the teaching hospital department of maternal-fetal medicine but no resident to help and my secretary missing with her office locked (lured away by a new grandson). Nobody answering in the big city hospital. Nobody works on a Friday afternoon. Eventually we agreed to organize the referral on Monday, by which time I was running over an hour late again.
At the end of the day I picked up fish and chips for two sons and youngest daughter, a Friday tradition, though late. While they ate I cleaned up cat droppings and unblocked the toilet, then took one son to a film, returning at nearly midnight.
By then it seemed a lifetime since I had Iooked at those tiny flowers in the pale morning sun.
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