Someone To Watch Over You

Chapter 4

We are sitting in Dr. Devereaux's office. He got Cat in, even though we weren't to see him again until after Spring Break. Cat had just finished telling him about our conversation with Dr. Packert and he is livid. He picks up the phone immediately and calls that office. 

"Dr. Packert, please. Yes, I'll hold."

They left him on hold for quite some time, then...

"Dr. Packert. I have a young woman in my office that is extremely upset with how you handled things with her a few days ago. Cat Fischer? Yes. I see. You are to counsel my clients, Dr. Packert, not bully them into making decisions that might hurt them or the child they are carrying."

"No! You listen to me. I don't appreciate my clients being mishandled by you. You work for me and if you can't handle yourself properly, then I expect you to have no further dealings with Ms. Fischer. Am I understood? Good," Dr. Devereaux said and hung up the phone.

"I am sorry you had to go through that, Cat," Dr. Devereaux says, still obviously annoyed by the conversation he had with Dr. Packert.

"What scares me most, Dr. Devereaux is that if Alex hadn't been there to work out the math, who knows what Dr. Packert would have talked me into. Or how many other women he may have convinced to have an abortion for a 25% chance that something might go wrong. There is something wrong with that man."

"Cat. Not that this excuses his behavior in the slightest, but Dr. Packert's son is severely handicapped. He lives his days strapped in a wheelchair with his mother, taking care of all his physical needs. She feeds him, dresses him, bathes him, and their son is now twenty-seven years old."

"Back when his wife was pregnant, there was no way to detect such abnormalities in the womb. Seeing the quality of life his son has, his wife has, I imagine taints his council."

I can see Cat feels bad for the doctor, but I couldn't help saying, "Oh, screw that!"

Cat looks at me shocked, but Dr. Devereaux just grins. "Tell me what you really think, Mr. Bragin."

"Look, I understand, and I feel for the guy, but that doesn't give him the right to project his own opinion on every mother that comes into his office. He had Cat really shaken and hell me too until I realized everything he's saying is B.S."

"Well, not everything," Dr. Devereaux corrected. "There is still a 25% chance that something could go wrong with the baby, and he was correct in telling you what those things might be."

"But we can rule out some of those things, right?" Cat asks her eyes pleading.

"Yes, Cat. I will put through to your insurance the need for a high-level ultrasound. I've gotten the results back from your tests and there are no signs of Down Syndrome. Your markers came back good and so did the ultrasound."

Cat reaches out and crushes my hand, and although I'm in pain, I smile at her. This is wonderful news, and we needed it after spending several days with 'What If's' playing in our minds.

"The high-level ultrasound will let us rule out any obvious abnormalities, but I'm also going to have NICU standing by when the baby is born."

Dr. Devereaux leans forward, and I immediately feel nervous again as I've picked up this movement as a tell of Dr. Devereaux's that he's about to discuss something uncomfortable or serious for his patient.

"Cat, I would seriously advise not to go natural to deliver the baby. I think it's best we do a C-section. This way we can plan when this baby is coming and be ready just in case."

"C-section?" I ask, not liking the sound of it already.

"A Cesarean Section is a surgery to deliver the baby as opposed to a vaginal birth," Dr. Devereaux explains, looking at me. "We make an incision along the abdomen and take the baby out that way instead of having her deliver vaginally where too many complications can happen."