Neurosurgeon...and Mum! Read Online Free PDF Page B

what they meant he needed to do next. ‘I’m also going give you some leaflets to take home, including how to get in touch with the local diabetes support group,’ Tom said, ‘and I’ll arrange an appointment for you at the diabetic clinic here at the practice. You’re bound to have questions, and we can answer them all there—and your wife’s very welcome to come along too. I’ll get in touch with the dietician, too. It’s a good idea to keep a diary for a week of what you eat, how much and when, and take it along with you to the appointment—it’ll save you some time in working things out.’
    ‘So do I have to eat special diabetic foods?’
    ‘Absolutely not.’ Tom fished out one of the leaflets and handed it to him. ‘It’s all about eating healthily. Regular meals, plenty of fruit and veg and foods with a low GI—thatmeans your body absorbs them more slowly and your blood sugar doesn’t suddenly spike—and cutting down on salt, sugar and fats. You don’t have to eat anything special, and everyone in the family can eat the same as you—it’ll be good for them, too.’ He smiled at the older man. ‘It’s a lot to take in all at once, which is one of the reasons why we have leaflets—they’ll answer the questions you wish you’d thought of when you’re halfway home. But if you’re worried about anything at all, just give us a call.’ He tapped into the practice system and booked an appointment. ‘And Jenny, the practice nurse, will see you on Tuesday morning at ten.’
    ‘Do I have to tell my boss?’ Max looked stricken. ‘I might lose my job.’
    ‘It’s not compulsory, no. But it’s a good idea to tell your boss and your colleagues, so they know what to do to help you if you suddenly have a hypo.’ Tom explained what would happen if Max’s blood sugar suddenly dropped and how people could deal with it. ‘You will need to tell the DVLC and your insurance company. But as long as your diabetes is well controlled, it shouldn’t be a problem.’
    Max closed his eyes and blew out a breath. ‘It’s a lot to take in. But it’s such a relief to know I’m not going to just drop down dead like my dad did.’
    Yeah. That was Tom’s own biggest fear. If anything happened to him, what would happen to his daughter? He and Eloise had both been only children. There wasn’t a family network who could take over. His parents were too old, and Eloise’s were as uninterested in their granddaughter as they’d been in their daughter. The only thing they were interested in was her end-of-year school report; and for Tom that was only part of who his daughter was. No way was he going to let them pressure her, the way they’d pressured Eloise.
    He pushed the fear aside and concentrated on answering Max’s remaining questions, then glanced at his watch. He was going to be late picking Perdy up from after-school club. But he couldn’t have rushed his patient out of the door. Sometimes, he thought, juggling single fatherhood with his job was too tricky. And he still hadn’t thought about how he was going to cope with the long summer holidays.
    Joseph’s papers. They were here somewhere, Amy thought, opening a fourth box.
    And then she blinked. It was full of books. A quick glance at some of the covers told her they were the ones she and Beth had devoured when they’d been around Perdy’s age. Given that Perdy had been reading at the kitchen table yesterday, maybe this would be a good way of apologising for being abrupt. A gesture. Some were probably too old-fashioned now, but she was pretty sure that Perdy would enjoy some of the others. She picked out an armful of the ones she’d enjoyed most, and left them stacked on top of the box while she searched for the box containing Joseph’s papers. Once she’d located it and had taken the papers she needed downstairs, she returned to the loft to collect the books. Then, just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Tom walked through the front door