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She blinked. ‘So you’re being friendly again this morning.’
He flushed, clearly aware of exactly what she meant. ‘I’m sorry, Katrina. What can I say?’
‘Well, it’d be nice to know if I did or said anything to upset you last night.’
‘No, of course you didn’t.’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I’m just not very good at this friendship business. I’ve always been a bit of a loner and I’m more used to dealing with people on a professional basis. And I guess I panicked a bit because I was more relaxed with you yesterday than I’ve been with anyone in a long, long time. I’m sorry.’
He was being honest with her. She could see it in his face. And it must have been difficult for him to open up that much to her just now. ‘Apology accepted.’
‘Good. So, the Gillespies—walk this way, Dr Gregory,’ he said, ‘and I’ll talk you through baby Rosanna’s notes.’
By the time they reached the cubicle, she knew the full patient history. Rhys introduced them both to the Gillespies.
‘Oh, she’s gorgeous,’ Katrina said, stroking the baby Rosanna’s cheek and smiling at Mrs Gillespie. ‘You must be so proud of her.’
‘We are.’ Mrs Gillespie bit her lip. ‘But…’
‘You’re worried sick about the operation. Of course you are,’ Katrina said. ‘But you’re in the best place. I’ve worked here ever since I qualified, and Will’s a fantastic surgeon.’
‘Obviously you’ll have a chance to meet him and talk to him before the operation,’ Rhys said, ‘but as he’s in Theatre at the moment and we’ll be caring for Rosanna after her operation, I wanted to talk you through what’s going to happen this afternoon and answer any questions you might have.’
‘Thank you,’ Mr Gillespie said quietly.
‘Rosanna has a condition called choanal atresia—what that means is her nasal passages are narrower than they should be and she can’t breathe properly, because babies can’t breathe through their mouths until they’re about six months old. It’s usually picked up just after a baby’s born, but in Rosanna’s case only one passage has narrowed so it’s taken us a bit longer to realise there’s a problem,’ Rhys said.
‘Is she going to be all right?’ Mrs Gillespie asked.
‘Absolutely. She’ll have an operation to widen her nasal passages and Will can then put a little plastic tube called a stent up each nostril. They won’t hurt her, and the stents will keep her nostrils open while her nose heals,’ Rhys explained. ‘They’ll stick out just a tiny bit.’
‘The surgeon will take the tubes out in about three months’ time, and she’ll be able to manage perfectly without them,’ Katrina added.
‘The operation takes about an hour,’ Rhys continued. ‘It’s under a general anaesthetic, so you won’t be able to be with her during the operation, but you’re very welcome to wait here on the ward or in the coffee bar, and we’ll come and find you as soon as Rosanna’s out of Theatre so you can give her a cuddle.’
‘We can touch her afterwards?’ Mr Gillespie asked.
‘Definitely—talk to her, cuddle her, hold her hand. She’ll be hooked up to some monitors, which might look a bit scary, but they’re there to help us look after her,’ Katrina reassured him. ‘We’ll check her breathing, her heart rate and oxygen levels, and she’ll have a drip in to give her pain relief, but over the next few days we won’t need them. As soon as she’s feeding well and gaining weight, and we’ve taught you how to keep the stents clean, you can take her home and carry on as normal.’
‘About six weeks after the operation, the surgeon will give Rosanna a check-up—again under a general anaesthetic—to make sure her nasal passages are still wide enough for her to breathe properly,’ Rhys said. ‘If you’re at all worried in the meantime, you can talk to your health visitor or your family doctor, or ring us here on the ward.’
Mrs Gillespie dragged in a breath. ‘But she’s going to be all right?’
‘She doesn’t have any other health problems, so she’ll grow up able to lead a perfectly normal life,’ Rhys reassured her.
‘We’ve got a leaflet about the condition we can let you have, just to ease your mind a bit,’ Katrina offered.
‘It’s a lot to take in, and if someone else in the family asks you about it, it might be hard to remember everything we’ve said,’ Rhys added. ‘Is there anything else you’d like to ask us?’
