A Baby to Care for (Mills & Boon Medical) Read Online Free PDF

gather, everyone hovering with mounting anxiety. Iris thought quickly and looked at Stig, who was dithering nearby.
    ‘Is there a vacuum cleaner? Find a vacuum cleaner. Plug it in, bring it here.’ She knew it was a risky solution but if she didn’t try something soon, Watson would choke to death.
    ‘The new doc’s barmy,’ a bloke called.
    ‘Just do it,’ Iris insisted, her tone brooking no argument. Stig rushed off to do her bidding. Dex was soothing Watson trying to get the child to relax his body in the hope that a smidgen of air could continue to make its way through until they’d dislodged the obstruction.
    While they waited, Dex held the boy in position whilst Iris struck him firmly between the shoulder blades again. Still nothing.
    ‘Try and relax your muscles,’ Dex told Watson. ‘It’s all right. We’re here. We’re going to help you.’
    ‘Has someone called for a—?’ Iris stopped, only then remembering that the town didn’t have an ambulance. Not yet. ‘A bucket. I’m going to need a bucket.’
    ‘You all right, Doc?’ A woman asked.
    ‘The bucket’s not for me,’ she said with a touch of impatience. What was taking them so long with the vacuum cleaner? Why did everything seem to be happening in slow motion?
    ‘Tip his head back and try and blow some air past the obstruction,’she suggested to Dex, but even as the words left her mouth Dex was already shifting Watson around to do just that.
    ‘Here it is,’ a person called, and Iris turned to see Stig running towards them with an old vacuum cleaner.
    ‘Plug it in,’ she urged as she pulled the head off the vacuum, getting the nozzle ready.
    ‘All right.’ Stig yelled across the room. ‘It’s in.’
    Iris tested the suction and found it wasn’t too strong for picking up dirt but it was better for what she was about to do. ‘Suction is ready. Sit him upright,’ she instructed, and Dex complied, holding Watson’s jaw down and open, whispering quietly and reassuringly in the boy’s ear. Iris placed the vacuum cleaner pipe into Watson’s mouth, ensuring the tongue was depressed. The poor child started gagging as the suction began but Dex held him firm, as well as delivering a few more blows between his shoulder blades.
    Within seconds, the blockage was cleared and Iris carefully removed the pipe. A collective sigh of relief rippled through the crowd and Watson collapsed against Dex, who held the boy, soothing him.
    ‘Bucket.’ Iris held out her hand, her eyes still watching their patient. She accepted the bucket and placed it in front of Watson who, seconds later, started to retch. She watched as Dex continued to hold the boy, talking calmly. The poor boy was still as white as a sheet but was now completely out of danger. Dex was certainly very good with children and obviously had a calming bedside manner. She was impressed.
    Iris looked over to where Watson’s mother was crumpled in a heap on the floor, friends crouched down beside her, rubbing her back and supporting her as she cried. And quite right, too. Seeing your son choke was a highly traumatic event. After years of treating children, Iris knew it was often the parents who reacted more than the child.
    When Watson was finished, Iris handed the bucket tosomeone and took the boy’s pulse. It was still elevated but slowly returning to normal. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked him.
    ‘Tired.’
    Both Dex and Iris smiled at the answer. ‘That’s to be expected. Your throat’s going to be sore for the next few days.’
    ‘And that means,’ Dex continued, Watson still in his arms, leaning heavily against him, ‘no talking loudly, no singing, no yelling at your sisters.’
    ‘Not fair,’ Watson whispered, but nodded.
    ‘I think we’ll have you stay at the hospital tonight,’ Iris said. ‘Just so we can monitor you.’ Watson’s eyes grew wider at this information.
    ‘It’s just overnight,’ Dex reassured the young boy. ‘And you’ll have Bub looking