{"id":2011,"date":"2024-04-25T09:50:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T09:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2024-04-25T09:50:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T09:50:06","slug":"four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/four\/2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Four"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hunched at the desk of the paediatric consultant, her face eaten with anxiety, Jeanette briefly thought about her scream when the young doctor had told her. For fifteen months that scream had whirlpooled about her brain, making her feel like she was drowning. Next to her Simon gripped his fists, as if trying to crush the awful memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Dr Bennett, the report in his hands, said in his slow, self-certain voice: \u2018These are the hospitals own findings, let us not forget, and they are damning. Short-staffed, equipment missing or not working properly<\/em> and, most crucially, a doctor who didn\u2019t understand the significance of baby having different oxygen saturations, SATS, in her hand (99%) and her foot (88%). <\/em>Such a difference is an indicator of coarctation of the aorta, a congenital heart condition.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

            \u2018Congen\u2026? From birth?\u2019 Simon asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018The investigators find Zara should\u2019ve been referred to a more senior doctor<\/em> for a review of the SATs<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018Definitely didn\u2019t do that,\u2019 Simon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018And yet despite multiple signs that Zara was unwell \u2013 observed to be blue, spitting up blood, failing to feed, <\/em>plus the SATs \u00ad<\/em>\u2013 they say an occlusion of the baby\u2019s airway during skin-to-skin may have contributed to her collapse<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018Smothering? Not true, is that what you\u2019re…?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018It\u2019s garbage, Simon!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018Is everything OK?\u2019 she asked. The junior doctor, his assessment completed, nodded and hurried off. \u2018Too many babies, not enough staff,\u2019 a midwife muttered, scurrying by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            She tried breastfeeding Zara but she wasn\u2019t latching. \u2018Feed her formula in a cup,\u2019 another midwife said, not stopping. Jeanette dripped the milk into Zara\u2019s tiny mouth. Blood came out, staining the facecloth. The midwife waved Jeanette away, saying, \u2018Nothing to worry about.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            When Zara began making a repeated grunting noise, she was taken to neonatal intensive care. \u2018So busy here this evening,\u2019 the midwife said on her return, \u2018all these sheets to wash. Your baby\u2019s being looked after.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            At eleven o\u2019 clock the doctor returned and said quietly, \u2018I have some bad news.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            A week later in the church she saw a tiny coffin. It had taken two days to make, likewise she had gestated nine months: both labours for a life which lasted just a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018Thank you,\u2019 Simon was saying. \u2018You don\u2019t know how much\u2026 the relief. The support group said you\u2019d\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018Many times I wanted to kill myself,\u2019 Jeanette whispered, as though she were talking to herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018It happens too often, Dr Bennett said, \u2018the suggestion that responsibility for poor care lies beyond the hospital\u2019s walls. You are not <\/em>to blame.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018A weight gone,\u2019 Simon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018She might have lived with prompt care. If the drug Prostin had been administered, she might possibly have survived.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018If<\/em>\u2026\u2019 Simon repeated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018I\u2019m sorry for your loss,\u2019 the consultant added. \u2018You have a living child, I believe.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u2018\u2018We are learning to be parents to a child that is dead as well as one that is alive,\u2019 Jeanette murmured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018There\u2019ll always be four of us,\u2019 Simon agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The doctor put down the report.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr Bennett, the report in his hands, said in his slow, self-certain voice: \u2018These are the hospitals own findings, let us not forget, and they are damning. Short-staffed, equipment missing or not working properly and, most crucially, a doctor who didn\u2019t understand the significance of baby having different oxygen saturations, SATS, in her hand (99%) and her foot (88%). Such a difference is an indicator of coarctation of the aorta, a congenital heart condition.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10158782359051062_103813597863211":"","twitter_1225722811282530305_1225722811282530305":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[{"account":"facebook_10158782359051062_103813597863211","service":"facebook","timestamp":1752596553,"status":"success"},{"account":"twitter_1225722811282530305_1225722811282530305","service":"twitter","timestamp":1752596641,"status":"error"}],"rop_publish_now_status":"done","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1129,1202],"tags":[1246,512],"class_list":["post-2011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1129","category-april-2024-ruin","tag-angeline","tag-friend"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sbrNJE-four","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2013,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions\/2013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}