Resisting Her Rebel Doc Read Online Free PDF Page A

by the bedside.
    ‘His mother’s with the nurse at the moment,’ he said quietly. ‘She’s talking to her about the break in his leg bone and advising her on painkillers and so on.’
    Caitlin nodded and went to sit down. She felt sorry for the little boy. With that injury perhaps it was no wonder the poor child didn’t feel like responding.
    Brodie turned his attention back to Sammy. ‘Do you want to see my stethoscope?’ he asked, showing it to the infant, letting him hold the instrument. ‘If I put the disc on my chest, like this, I can hear noises through these earpieces...see?’ He demonstrated, undoing a couple of buttons on his shirt and slipping the diaphragm through the opening. The little boy watched, his curiosity piqued in spite of his anxieties.
    ‘Oh,’ Brodie said, feigning surprise, ‘I can hear a bump, bump, bump. Do you want to listen?’
    The boy nodded, leaning forward to allow Brodie carefully to place the earpieces in his ears.
    His eyes widened. Brodie moved the diaphragm around and said, ‘Squeaks and gurgles, gurgles and squeaks. Do you want to listen to your chest?’
    Sammy nodded slowly and, when Brodie carefully placed the disc on the boy’s chest, the child listened, open-mouthed. He still wasn’t talking but clearly he was intrigued.
    ‘Do you think I could have a listen?’ Brodie asked and he nodded.
    Brodie ran the stethoscope over Sammy’s chest once more. ‘Hmm. Just like me, lots of funny squeaks and crackles,’ he said after a while, folding the stethoscope and putting it in his pocket. ‘Thanks, Sammy.’ He picked up the boy’s chart from the end of the bed and wrote something on it, getting to his feet and handing the folder to the nurse who was assisting.
    A moment later, he glanced back at the child. ‘The nurse will help you to put your shirt back on and then you can lie back and try to get some rest. Your mummy will be back soon. Okay?’
    Sammy nodded.
    Caitlin followed as Brodie walked away from the bed and spoke quietly to the nurse. ‘There’s some infection there, I think, so we’ll start him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic and get an X-ray done. He’s very thin and pale,’ he added. ‘I’m a bit concerned about his general health as well as the injury to his leg—I think we’ll keep him in here under observation for a few days.’
    ‘Okay.’
    He left the room with Caitlin but at the door she turned and said quietly, ‘Bye, Sammy.’
    The infant looked at her shyly, not answering, and as they walked out into the corridor Brodie commented briefly, ‘He seems to be very withdrawn. No one’s been able to get a natural response from him.’
    ‘How did he come to break his leg?’
    ‘His parents said he fell from a climbing frame in the back garden. He’ll be in plaster for a few weeks.’ He frowned. ‘The worry is, there was evidence of earlier fractures when we did X-rays. He was treated at another hospital for those, but the consultant there brought in a social worker.’
    She looked at him in shock. ‘Do you think it might be child abuse?’
    ‘It’s a possibility, and the fact that he’s so quiet and withdrawn doesn’t help. I’d prefer to make some more checks, though, before involving the police.’
    She shook her head. ‘I just can’t imagine why anyone would hurt a child. It’s unbearable.’
    ‘Yes, it is. But Sammy’s parents do seem caring, if a little naive, and at least he’ll be safe here in the meantime.’
    They went back to the main reception area and she tried to push the boy’s plight to the back of her mind as Brodie began showing her around the unit. Each ward was set out in a series of small bays that clustered around a central point housing the nursing station. He stopped to check up on various patients as they went along.
    ‘It’s a beautifully designed children’s unit,’ she remarked some time later as they stopped off at the cafeteria to take a break for coffee.
    ‘That’s true,’ he agreed,