CHAPTER ONE

"Mrs Mary Logan?" asked the nurse at the reception.

"Yes, that is right," Mary answered.

"How are you feeling? Did you find the hospital all right?"

"Yes, I am feeling all right and yes, I found the hospital all right."

"I am calling a nurse to take you to the ward and then you can sit or lie down.  I am sure you could do with a bit of rest after that long journey. She will take you details and fill in the forms which won't take long. There you are Nurse Ellie, this is Mrs Logan, she was booked in today. Ward Anne and there are her file. Now don't worry Mrs Logan you will be in good care and all the best," said the nurse in the reception.

"Thank you very much," said Mary.

"As you know my name is Ellie and I will look after you. Sister Maureen will be coming later on to see you. I take you to your ward and fill in the paperwork with all the details. Here you are. There are three other ladies in here at the moment and the two empty beds where the ladies left this morning. Would you like a cup of tea or do you want to settled in first?"

"I wouldn't mind a cup of tea because I came right across London. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. To tell you the truth, it will give me an excuse to have one while we'll do the paperwork. I won't be long and you can get yourself into the bed in the meantime."

Mary got undressed and folded her clothes away and got into bed. Nurse Ellie came and pulled back the curtains and had two cups of tea.

"Did you come by yourself or did somebody bring you?"

"No, I came by myself because my husband has a phobia about hospitals and also he is working this afternoon. I don't mind because I always done everything myself what I could do. I am a bit independent. My husband also goes and does what has to be done. We don't go shopping together like most of married couples do. I am sorry, I get carried away and you have to do this paperwork. Sorry to keep you. I am sure you have a lot of work to do."

"That's all right. It is nice to have a talk sometime and the paperwork gets done just the same. Now your surgeon Mr West will be coming this afternoon on his round and you can asked any question you like. He is a very nice man, actually our nicest. He will explain everything to you. Sister Maureen will also visit you and have a chat with you. You can see you will be well looked after. You are not scared of hospitals, are you?"

"Oh no, I am right the opposite. I love the care you get in hospitals and appreciate it. Especially the devotion of the nursing staff and doctors."

"Well you have your tea and rest a bit and I will be back to measure your pulse, temperature and put the monitor on the baby. Babies don't like it and they move around like anything but we have to do it," said Nurse Ellis and laughed as she walked out.

Mary didn't realized she fell asleep. When they woke her up they brought her a lovely lunch of chicken, potatoes and peas.

"Well, that looks great, thank you very much. I am a bit hungry after all that long journey through London," Mary said.

No sooner they took the tray away there came Sister Maureen and asked whether Mary felt all right. Sister Maureen told her that she will be with her all the time until the baby is born and they leave hospital. If she has any problems not to hesitate to say or ask.

After that Mary had another lay back and again she fell asleep. Somebody notched her and when she opened her eyes she looked into a man's face with a big smile.

"I am sorry to wake you but I like to have a word with you. I am Mr West. Now you know they found on the scan that your baby had not his skin grown together in the front. From the scan we can't tell whether the skin grew up to the opening or if the skin is all there put didn't grow together. The last would be better because we wouldn't need to do skin-grafts which would be a more complicated and lengthy process. We have to wait until the baby is born. We are trying to push the baby's birth as closed to the actual date as possible. we don't want to have premature birth as well which would add to problem we have already. I am afraid you have to have a cesarean operation to avoid more damage to the baby. How do you feel about that?"

"Mr West I don't mind any operation and thank you for explaining everything. The only thing worries me will the baby have any after-effect like being disabled?"

"No, I have had many cases like that and not one I know had any after-effect. I can guarantee this. If it would be in the back, yes, then baby would be disabled. All right? Any other question?"

Mary shook her head and said, "thank you, Mr West, for explaining everything to me and put my mind at rest. I was worried about any after-effect."

Mr West had such a fine nature that you straight-away felt in good hands and Mary knew everything will be all right. After that she never worried and was relaxed. The nursing staff were worried about that. She looked too relaxed to them. They measured her pulse, temperature and monitored the baby which, as Nurse Ellie said, he didn't like it at all. Some how or the other Mary knew when she fell pregnant that it was a boy. She never said it because people might think her odd.

She felt so well, being pregnant; she never felt so healthy in all her life. She worked in an office and worked until they found out about the baby and she was told to go to the hospital so every care was there when needed. The friends in the office were so thrilled and bought her practically everything she needed for the baby.

Mary thought back and remember when her husband John came home from work and said, "Mary, somebody at work offered me to buy a Silver Cross pram for £60 and it is practically new because his wife is very clean. How do you feel about that?"

"Yes, if it is in perfect condition and I know them and where it came from, I don't mind."

The pram was in absolute perfect condition even a new pram wouldn't have looked better. They also offered the little cot and again Mary knew how clean she was, she didn't mind.

"Hello, your name is Mary, isn't it? I am Joan." said one of the girls in the ward and brought Mary back from daydreaming, "I have to lie here for another three months to keep hopefully my baby. I have lost already two. This time they are trying to get my pregnancy as closed as possible. I am bored but I don't like reading and therefore talk everybody's head off. You have any family or friends?"

"Yes, I got friends and my husband but they all live right the side of London. My husband has a phobia of hospitals. So he won't show his face until the baby is born. I don't mind as long the baby is all right."

"Anything wrong?"

Mary told her new found friend what was the matter and she was very sorry. She cheered Mary up with saying, "I can tell you, because I live round here and hear a lot, this hospital, doctors and nursing staff are great. If anybody can put it right and he assured you, Mr West can put it right. He is great. You just sit back and relax and let them worry and see to it."

The ward was on the seventh floor and when Mary looked out she only saw the tallest buildings and being March the weather hadn't thought of spring yet. The sky was grey and it looked dismal out there. It didn't get her down because she was looking forward to her baby and loved every minute of it. She thought, 'I waited so long to have a baby and now I will enjoy every minute of it. After all we were married for ten years and skimmed and scraped. We have now a lovely house and it is all done up. Baby you just come and we will love so much.'

The weeks went by and Mary made several friends. The date of the birth came closer and Nurse Ellie kept monitoring more often. A week before the actual birth date Mr West came in and said, "we don't want to push our luck too much and therefore we decided to schedule the operations either for Tuesday or Friday. Would you like to chose which one? That is, if baby doesn't have any other ideas."

"Thank you, Mr West, and if you don't mind I would like to chose Friday. Is that all right?"

"It is all right by us but as I said hopefully baby hasn't got any other idea. So we keep it for Friday. One more thing I have to tell you that you have to have gas because we don't want to cause any more damage to the baby with an anesthetic. Will you be all right with that? Would you like me to inform your husband."

"Thank you for all your care. The gas I am not fond off but I will do anything as long the baby will be fine."

Friday morning at 12.05 our little boy was born and they woke Mary up and clled her to look at the baby before they take it into the operating theatre. Mary remembers when she looked over, she saw a little human being on a big bed being wheeled along. The baby was screaming his head off and all she saw was a big mouth yelling it protest to the world. Mr West told me quickly that our little boy had all the skin and didn't need a skin-graft. Although she was still under the influence of the gas, she sighed a relief.

Mary went to sleep again and when she woke up she was in a room by herself. Her little boy was in the intensive care unit. To avoid any distress to the mother, not to have her baby with her, they put them in separate rooms.

"Hello, Mary, how are you?" said John, her husband, and two of the friends standing at the back of him.

"I am fine and the baby is in the intensive care. He had the operation and is doing fine, Nurse Ellie tells me. If you ask the nurses, one of them will take you down to see him. It is a little boy. Thought of any name yet?"

He just stared at Mary and although she had a funny feeling, she just put it out of her mind. 'Maybe he feels uncomfortable and it hit him being a father,' she thought.

The three of them went down to see the baby and came back. Many, many years later on, Mary was thinking back and realized it was an odd atmosphere and strange situation. Not a congratulation card, flowers, box of chocolate not to dream of a bottle of champagne. Mary just laid there and look at them and they looked back at her.

When they came back, not a word was spoken about the baby. Mary put it down to the shock of seeing the baby all with tubes on the little body and wires.

Mary tried again, "well, have you thought of a name and what do think of the baby?"

"No, I haven't and I will leave that to you. Do you mind?"

Mr West must have been worried about something because on the second day he ordered them to wheel Mary down in the bed to see our little boy. Mary was not allowed to get up because of her operation.

"We have to watch now, whether there will be any blockage because we put the intestine in there as best as we could. We have to monitor every drop of food to catch it straightaway, if possible, if there is a blockage," explained Mr West.

When Mary was aloud to get up she went straightaway after breakfast down and sat with the baby, holding its hand. He latch on and although it barely covered the tip of her finger, he held on. The baby was doing very well and never had any blockage.

"Good morning, Mrs Logan, congratulation, your baby is doing very well and I think we sent you down to your local hospital tomorrow with the baby. By the way have thought of a name yet? said Mr West.

"Yes, we thought we will call him Adam."

"That is a lovely name and you both have done well, I am so glad for you all. You both have to stay another three days in the hospital to make sure and then you go home."

"Thank you, Mr West, for all you have done. I can't thank you enough," said Mary.

"That is all right. That is our job and what we love to do. You take care of yourself and the baby," said Mr West and went to the next patient.

The next day in the morning, Nurse Ellie came in, "Well you have done well. It is only ten days the baby was born and you can take baby back to your local hospital. After three days you both can go home. I am so pleased for you that everything went so well. Now the ambulance will take you back to your local hospital and I will come with you, just in case, but I don't think there will be anything to worry about. We have to make sure."

When we arrived there we were given a beautiful room with a cot in it. It was more like a hotel room than a hospital room.

"Well, hello, Mrs Logan, let me have a look at your baby and you." Mr Moore came into the room and said, "he is doing fine and it is a lovely baby you have got yourself. Congratulation. What are you calling him? "

"Thank you, Mr Moore, and many thanks for all your care and help. The baby's name it Adam."

"That is a nice name and I will tell you that my son's name is Adam. I am so glad everything went well. I will see again before you go."

Mary's husband never came again and she didn't realize it till many years later.

After the three days of observation, Mary's gynecologist, Mr Moore, came to see them. "Hello, Mary, how are you? After all that shock it did come out all right, didn't it. I am so pleased for you and you have a lovely little boy, congratulation."

"Thank you, Mr Moore, for the help you gave me. I couldn't have been treated better if I were the Queen's daughter. Our little boy is fine. I can't thank you enough."

"This is what we are here for and when every thing goes well we get a satisfaction from our job. I am glad you had such a nice little boy. Well, tomorrow you both can go home. Everything is fine with the both of you. You got to come back after a few weeks to have a  check-up. The nurse will give you all the details. There also will be a health visitor coming, regular. I am so pleased for you both. I'll tell something that with all the thousand of babies I saw, I have never seen something like that. I knew my friend from Medical College was very familiar and therefore I send you there."

The next morning the nurse came in and done a last check-up and then said, "Everything is fine and you are allowed to go home. Your husband is waiting and I will tell him to come to help you. All the very best and congratulation."

He came in, said, "hello" and sat on the bed while Mary got ready. When everything was ready they went out and he took them home.