G. R. Hatayama, MD (drgillybert) wrote in neogenesisrpg, @ 2009-03-08 20:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | gil hatayama, nana kimigawa |
Who: Gil Hatayama, Nana Kimigawa
What: Long hours
When: March 9
Where: Seattle Medical Center
Rating: G
Status: Complete
Nana had finished cleaning up after the procedure, and took a moment to rest in the hallway outside of the delivery room. Somehow... It was a normal labor, a normal delivery, a normal baby and a normal mother. Yet, it seemed so much more stressful than before. Was the thought of her own impending pregnancy and subsequent labor weighing on her mind so much? It seemed surreal and all the more frightening now, and she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was so much to do. She needed testing, to see if the baby was sick. There were things to buy, to organize... Nine months would've been too short to deal with everything, how did people do it in three??
The doors to the delivery room opened and Gil stepped outside, pulling off the disposable gown over his scrubs and tossed them in the bin. "Great job everyone." he said, picking up the woman's chart and scanned the information entered in on the delivery.
She looked up quickly, a bit surprised at her own lack of awareness. Nana hesitated, then reached out and gently touched his arm. "Gil, are you busy?" she asked. "When you're done with this... Can we talk a bit?"
"Sure, let me update her family. Meet in the consult room?" Gil replied, signing off on the chart and handing it over to a nurse.
Nana nodded. "Sure. I'll see you there." She turned and left then, stopping briefly at the nurses' station to tell the charge nurse where she'd be in case someone needed her. When she reached the consult room, she settled down in a chair and sighed, willing herself to relax a little. She'd suspected the pregnancy for a while before she knew. The symptoms were all there, but she was a little afraid to check, and now it seemed like the knowledge that she was right was allowing her to acknowledge these symptoms. She was blessed with only mild nausea, but she found herself exhausted - Surely this was exacerbated by the toll an accelerated pregnancy took on the body. Humans weren't designed to carry for only three months.
Gil informed the families and humbly accepted their gratitude. It was part of his job, only a matter of time before he would be on their end. He walked into the consult room, one hand comfortably tucked into a lab coat pocket. "Hope you didn't have to wait long, is everything alright?"
It was near impossible to shut off this professional demeanor at work, and he hoped that Nana would not mind.
"Oh no, it's okay. I just have some things I want to talk about..." She bit her lip and looked up at him. "Are they happy? Everything's okay with them?"
"Everyone is fine, happy. I think Mrs. Carlsie and her baby can go home in the next day or two." Gil took a seat in the consult chair beside her and stretched his legs out underneath the desk. "What's on your mind?"
"That's great." It was always wonderful to see things go as planned! She smiled, then looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "Um, they dissolved my marriage to Andrew because we both carry a genetic mutation that could cause Chediak-Higashi syndrome in any kids we might have had."
"I read about that in your journal, I'm so sorry Nana." he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. It was a shock to see them dissolve the marriage as the government did, but now that he knew the disorder they were carriers to, it made sense. Even still, they were people and not statistics on paper. These were lives being moved around, at leisure. "How are you two holding up?"
"Um... W-we're fine, just..." Nana tilted her head down, her hands bunched up on the fabric of her pants. "We had been trying b-before and they didn't..." She swallowed heavily. "I thought I might already be pregnant when I found out and... I was right."
"Have you seen a geneticist? Obstetrician?" Gil turned in his seat. This was far from fine news. "In the case that your child does have Chediak-Higashi, you should get legal representation, right away. Have you let Andrew know?"
Nana shook her head. "I need to set it up, I've just been..." She frowned, feeling the tears start to come back and she blinked them away as quickly as she could. "It's a lot to handle and so I've just been trying to deal with it so far."
"I know it's overwhelming, but you need to do these things as soon as possible." he said, his voice calm as he rubbed her shoulder. "I can refer you to people, the best in their fields even. Don't worry about the cost, with the right lawyer you will not have to pay for anything."
"Thank you..." Nana drew in a shaky breath. She hated crying in front of him. "I'm trying my best to get everything in order. It's really scary, the baby could..." She couldn't bring herself to say it. "...I'm really scared."
"Don't think the worst until the worst is here." Gil soothed, squeezing her arm. "There are cases of people who have lived to adulthood, even studies where several patients have improved with bone marrow transplants. Chediak-Higashi doesn't have to be an instant death sentence. It's not like you'll be going through it alone. You have family, friends, everyone here at the center."
Nana looked up at him, then nodded slowly. "Y-you're right." He was! And... What if the baby didn't have it at all? She tried her best to smile. "She might not even..." She rubbed her stomach lightly. "I have to think the best."
"You should, for both of your sakes." he said, covering her hand with his. "They react to stress just like we do in there, you should take it easy, maybe take fewer shifts at the center until there's a game plan in place, yeah?"
"That's probably a good idea," she said. But she loved working... Ah, well. It was all for the baby. Somehow, Gil always managed to cheer her up. "Do you know of any good obstetricians that have their own offices? Maybe someone I've not worked with a whole lot?" She blushed a bit. "I hate coming to work when I'm sick, this'll be a billion times more embarrassing..."
"I know of a few, yes." he chuckled, reaching for a pad and a pen. "I wouldn't be too embarrassed, you know you have a den of people here that'll jump to help you feel better when you're sick."
"Yeah," Nana said, shyly. "But I'd rather people saw me working than sick and whiny." She waited for him to write the information down, then took the note and folded it carefully before tucking it into her pocket. "Thank you..."
"No need to thank me." Gil said, writing names and numbers off of his PDA. OB/GYNs, geneticists, nutritionists and an immunologist. They would make sure that Nana and her baby stood a chance. "When I said I'd be here, I meant it."
Nana hesitated, then leaned forward and hugged him tightly. "You're a very good friend, Gil." She knew she could count on him, she always could. "It means a lot to me... We'll do our very best."
"We'll get through this," he nodded, returning the hug tightly, kissing her temple before pulling away. "Get in touch with the people on the list, they'll help. I'm going to ask my neighbor for referrals on good lawyers, he's dealt with his fair share."
Nana nodded. "Thank you..." She blushed when he kissed her, then shook her head. "I guess I'll need one if the baby's sick... I just hope I won't need one."
"You need one, even if you have a healthy baby." Gil insisted, standing. "They should have waited to see if you were pregnant before dissolving the marriage and they should see to it that that provide support for you and the baby. You shouldn't have to raise this baby on your own."
"All right," she said, stepping out of the room. She waved to him as she left, then reached into her pocket and looked over the numbers on the sheet of paper. She'd call the obstetrician first, then, and try and set up an appointment.