“Can you hear it? The murmur?”
She looked around like she was afraid someone would hear her. “You know,” she said as she whispered and leaned in closer to me. “I really can’t.” She smiled at me. “Not that I think they are making it up, but sometimes when babies this small come in, the doctors just really try to be thorough. I’m sure if Dr. Edwards said she heard something, she’s just being thorough.” Everything was quiet for a moment while Melody finished her examination.
“So,” she said, drawing out the word. “Your husband is very sweet.” I could see her trying to hide her smile and it made me smile in return. I was used to women fawning all over Porter. It was inevitable and it usually didn’t bother me. I knew exactly what other women saw when they looked at him and I could appreciate it just as much as they could. Seeing Melody turn a pretty shade of pink as she blushed made me laugh out loud.
“He is very sweet. I’m a lucky lady.”
“How did you two meet?” She asked, moving around the room trying to avoid eye contact.
“Oh,” I said with a sigh. “It’s a long story. I guess you could say his mother introduced us.”
“Ah ha, well, if he has any younger brothers who don’t mind overworked nursing students, I’d be happy to meet them.”
I laughed out loud at her.
“Unfortunately, Porter is an only child. But my brother-in-law is closer to your age and he has brothers.” I paused and smiled at her. “He’s not as good looking as Porter, but he’s easy enough on the eyes.”
She laughed and our conversation moved on effortlessly as we stood in Mattie’s hospital room, prepping to give her a bath. It occurred to me, five minutes later, that this was the first time in over twenty four hours that I didn’t feel like my world could collapse around me at any moment. Something about Melody’s sweet nature and ability to take my mind off of the very real trauma happening around me, lifted my spirits in a way that I would be forever grateful for.
We had just finished drying Mattie off and dressing her again when the door opened and another white-coated person walked in. My heart stopped and my eyes darted to Melody.
“Can I help you?” Melody asked, her voice firm, but polite.
“I’m here on orders from Dr. Edwards to get another blood draw.”
My blood started pumping faster and I could feel the panic starting to come over me at the thought of another incompetent person poking Mattie.
“I very explicitly stated in the patient’s chart that there were to be no more phlebotomists sent here to draw her blood. Tell me what you need and I’ll make sure the lab gets it.”
“Listen,” the woman said to Melody. “I just go where the doctors tell me to go. You want to take care of this, be my guest. All the info is in her chart.” She swiftly left the room, not looking our way again. I was still a little stunned that Melody had so easily and effortlessly put her in her place, that I hardly noticed when she picked up the phone.
“Hi, who’s the nurse in charge up on your floor tonight?” She listened to the person on the phone and I saw her nod. “Great, can I speak with her?” A few moments later and someone else came onto the other side of the line. “Hi, Barb? Hey, it’s me Melody down on the pediatric floor. Do you think you could come down here and help me with a special patient? We’re trying to draw blood but she’s a tiny little thing and we need some extra help.” A few moments later Melody hung up the phone and turned back to me. “Barb is the charge nurse up in the NICU and she’s going to come down and help. She’ll be better at finding a vein and Mattie won’t feel a thing.”
I stared at Melody and even though my heart still pounded, coming down from the fear that I was going to have to watch my child be tortured again, I felt a warmth swarm it at the same time. This woman, who I didn’t know more than a day, had just taken a situation that could have been terrible and eased all my fears. I wanted to hug her. Words couldn’t express how much I appreciated what she had just done for me and for my baby.
“You’re incredible,” I managed to whisper. “Thank you.”
She waved a hand at me as she made some notes on the computer, as if she hadn’t just done something for me that I’d remember forever. I knew, years from now when I told Mattie about the time she was rushed to the hospital when she was a tiny baby, I would tell her about Melody and how she fought the white-coated monsters for her. She was my hero in that moment.