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Jo laughed. “Everyone keeps asking that. I have nothing to be nervous for, right?”
May shrugged. “I’m a little nervous and I don’t do mine until tomorrow.” May laughed and that caused Jo to giggle, lightly. Maybe she was at peace because Ali would be there. If she had to think about it, the fact that Julia would be watching them from the observation area did get a little tingling, but she had to remind herself not to look at Julia. If her eyes remained on Ali, she would be filled with confidence.
The surgery was set for nine o’clock, but she had to get to Mary’s room and prep her. She held her head up with confidence as she went to her room to greet her parents and the little girl. She typically was on Shana’s rotation, so it meant she had no attachment to her. It also meant that it would be hard to know how strong the little girl was.
She was whimpering when Jo got into her room. Jo first smiled at her and then turned her attention to the man and woman at her side. “My name is Jo, and I’ll be one of the nurse’s assisting with the surgery today. Just verifying that your daughter has no allergies, is that correct?”
The two shared a look before the man spoke. “Not that we know of. We just got her into our care a couple of months ago. She’s our foster child and we know this doesn’t look very good on our part.”
Jo gave them a reassuring smile. “Kids put things in their mouths. That just what they do. The surgery is pretty routine. Many times, we could wait for them to get rid of it naturally, but in Mary’s case it had become lodged. If it stays in there for too long, it could do real damage, but I assure you that her surgeon is one of the best Pediatric Surgeons the hospital has to offer. She’s in good hands.”
The woman heaved a sigh. “That’s great news,” she said.
Her husband put his arm around her, and they both reached out and touched Mary. Mary stopped whimpering, and Jo smiled. “I have to take her vitals. If she fidgets, I might need one of you to hold her, so I get the correct readings.” But Mary didn’t fidget, which was surprising to Jo. She got her vitals and once she was done, she was ready to move her to the OR.
“Do you want to come with me. You can say your goodbyes at the OR?”
“Can we?” The woman asked. “I thought we’d have to leave her here.” She wiped away a tear and Jo reached out and touched her arm. “It’s hard to believe we’ve already gotten this attached.”
“I can’t even imagine. But yes, you can come with me, and I’ll show you where to wait while we’re in surgery.” She turned to Mary. “Are you ready little one?” Mary smiled, which warmed Jo’s heart. She didn’t know what was about to happen. She looked over to the man and woman. “After the surgery, I suggest lots of ice cream.”
The man laughed. “Already in the freezer.”
Jo turned and pushed the cart towards the door and to the elevator, with her foster parents close behind. May gave a slight wave, which boosted Jo’s confidence. She entered the elevator and pressed the button, then they took the ride to their floor.
“Did they already tell you how long she’ll need to stay in the hospital?” Jo asked.
“Just overnight,” the man commented.
“Unless complications arise.” The woman brought a tissue up to her nose and shook her head. “There won’t be right?”
Jo smiled. “The risk of complications are minimal.” They got off the elevator and Jo stopped at a waiting room. “You can wait in here. If you want to change the channel, the remote is over on that table. Surgery will run about an hour, then the surgeon will come out and give you the update.”
The man and woman both kissed the top of her head and then glanced at Jo and said their thanks before taking their places in the waiting room. Jo continued to push the bed towards the OR.
“Hold on,” she teased, pretending to go fast and Mary laughed. Jo pressed the button and the doors opened. The anesthesiologist was already there when they arrived. “Here’s the patient,” she said.
“Alright. We’ll get her started.”
Jo dismissed herself into the back room and watched him taking care of her while she ran the water. “Are you nervous now?” She glanced over her shoulder when Ali entered.
Jo grinned, any nerves she had fully dissipating. “Why be nervous? You’ve got me.”
Ali grinned and nodded. “That’s my girl.” She gave her a wink and Jo grinned and looked down at her hands. They were a tad shaky as she worked to scrub in, but all-in-all she was looking forward to the surgery and showing everyone that she could do it. Everyone, especially herself.
Ali
Ali glanced up at the observation room, where Julia had her eyes zoned in on them. Forget the fact that the surgeon was there, the one that did all the mastery techniques. Julia only had one thing to examine and that was how well Ali was working with Jo.
Ali stayed back, observing Jo’s every move, only breaking in when Jo had questions. Which, to Ali’s amazement, she didn’t have many. When they reached a touchy part of the procedure and the surgeon required all eyes on his field, Ali stepped closer to the bed, assisting as needed. However, she felt confident in Jo’s work and didn’t have to be the person that judged everything. That had to shine points on Ali and Julia could see that her teaching had already achieved greatness.
“Now, I’m closing up. Can you bring the light in a tad closer?” he asked.
Jo moved the light into his view, and he expertly stitched up the opening. The procedure went off without a hitch and Ali couldn’t have been prouder of Jo than she was in that moment. Jo sighed when he finished up and he turned to both of them.
“Thank you, ladies, for your assistance.”
“Thank you, Dr. Maples,” Jo replied. Ali could practically hear her sigh as she spoke the words. She recalled many times how she felt when she was learning procedures and there was always this heaviness that came with every move. Jo, however, seemed much more at ease than Ali recalled being back then.
