Divorced! Now what?

Chapter 38

Bethany POV



Robson was understanding. When I spoke a little about the trip to the police station, not the details, just having been there so early in the morning. I was tired and asked not to be included in surgery today, but apparently, none was listed. Robson explained that Tuesdays were the review day. They were looking at who was still in the wards. We always keep a few beds for emergencies, and though it is good to send people home as soon as possible, Robson likes to have a care plan for when they are sent home. He has a number of nurses on the books that do home care, and if they are fully booked, we do not send someone home unless the person has their own personal nurse, which several wealthy people do, and that helps not stretch our own staff too far. However, not everyone can afford such luxuries, and the hospital is fussy about the nurses and the care they give. 

Not all are home-care nurses. It is not that they can't do the job; it is not the type of job that suits everyone. A special kind of nurse can go to a home and get the job done. Once home, many clients can be grumpy and feel they can be themselves in their own homes and try to boss the nurses around, which is unacceptable. Robson has plans in place for that kind of person, believe it or not, but many male nurses make great home-care nurses. They can handle the heavy lifting that can be involved, but they are less growled at by grumpy male-dominant clients who are used to ordering people around. Robson tries to keep a strong, balanced base of male and female home-care nurses. That is partly why this hospital is doing so well. The after-care is second to none.

After the meeting, I got stuck into setting up my section and worked out which rooms would be for building the hearts and what rooms would be the sterile rooms for pre-surgery. I wanted my own nurses to look after the patients as we had a particular monitor that is part of the mechanical heart; it tells us what is happening inside the heart and will be in the heart for life. I would be training the staff to understand the program that I wrote for the monitor. Yeah, you heard me right; I can write code and create the program that I need for the heart; no use doing part of the job and asking someone else to write code on something they know nothing about or the logarithms I need.

The nurses picked up the computer program quickly, and I managed to get the information about the surviving pig uploaded so they could see how the working model was reported. I was pleased with how well the pig was doing; it did not matter where the pig was kept, and I could still pull the reports off the heart monitor. The junior doctor helped with organizing the room. I wanted to see how his mind thinks and if he would be suitable for post-surgery care. I could not be awake at twenty-four-seven to monitor the patient, so I would need another doctor on hand for when I needed to sleep. This was not what I thought would happen when I came here, but that is okay. I don't mind having a few live patients; it would help the other staff, too. It is what they call cutting-edge stuff for heart surgery.

After I sorted out the wing and the staff were happy with the plans I had put in place, I let them head home, and I continued in my creative room, making some more compounds for the experimental heart. The monkey was being kept in a special room and on medication. In about three days, I hope to do the surgery on him, and hopefully, all will go well. 

By the time I clocked off, it was almost ten at night, and I was getting rather sleepy. At home, I managed to get some soup in me before heading to bed to get some much-needed sleep.

I vaguely remember Theo coming to my room in the morning, but I rolled over and went back to sleep. I have no idea what time that was. My alarm woke me at seven o'clock. I did not bother with a swim; instead, I took a quick shower and a bite to eat and raced off to work.

The compound was almost ready; it was hardening nicely. It had to be slow, or it would not take what I needed it to do. This is a compound I have been working on for years, and it has been difficult getting it right; it is much more complex than I had thought it would be. But if I could get this right, rejection would be almost nil, and fewer pre-operation meds would be needed. I needed it to be firm, and I had already made moldings of the shapes I needed. There would be four parts to this heart. Fingers crossed, I got it right.

At the end of my day, Theo met up with me. He waited in the cafeteria each day. He pretended to have a coffee while waiting, but I knew he was there for me. Though it was nice to have company to walk home, I was still aware he had other ladies waiting for his company, and I was still shocked that one of his ladies came to the restaurant, and she came to him and hugged him in front of me, and the man she came in with. Are they some triple or sharing partners? The whole thing confused me, and I didn't want to continue with the benefits part. He is good, but is he being with others? We agreed to only go with one another if we talked about it first. 

I cook dinner each night. He would go and shower and come back, and while the meal was cooking, I showered and changed, too. We had lots to talk about, with us working in the same place. He was keen to understand how my research was going, but I had little to say, as I was at a standstill until the compound finished. But the other two hearts were not ready for use. That comes down to when Robson wishes to give it a go.

So that was how our next few days went. Tomorrow is Friday, and I have interviews to do. Robson said he wanted to get the media involved with the operation, get their support, and hope for the best, pushing the 'first man to give this new heart a try.' I agreed to interview some marketing companies and hear how they believe we should spin it. Those interviews will start tomorrow. Robson had eight for me to meet, so my whole day was gone. Robson assured me that our patient was okay with being in the news; he saw the benefits for other heart clients, especially if it went well. He understands it is the old heart, but he was more than happy to have one of those as it had proved longevity. I could understand how he felt, and he understood he could reject it, but he was so tired of all the problems he had suffered over the years that he was happy to grab the heart while he was still strong enough to adjust to it, hopefully. 

Theo was keen to give Mr. Green the heart I had prepared. He thought, as I had already seen his heart, that I could see he was in desperate need, and they had a point. It was hard to forget that lovely man. He was so jolly and did not complain much at all, typical of people who were born with heart problems or have them in their genetics.

Chapter 39 - Divorced! Now what?