Capítulo 127: 10.05
Helena was on the stand on Callie's trial, the woman being sued for malpractice. Travis Reed, an Olympic athlete, had gone to Callie for a hip replacement, a series of complications resulting in a double amputation.
Now, his lawyer questioned Helena. "Would you explain your involvement with this case, Dr. Campos?"
"Yes." She smiled softly. "I was working in the ER, the emergency room, when Mr. Reed came in, about two weeks after his operation."
"And how was he then? Was he good? Happy? Recovering well?"
"Uh, Mr. Reed came in with a fever, he apparently hadn't been eating... As I examined him, I realized he had what sounded like a slight heart murmur. So I checked his incision site, uh, h-his hip." She explained, looking to the jury as she attempted to be clear. "When I realized the wound was infected, I immediately paged Dr. Torres."
"And you also informed her of the murmur?" He questioned.
"Yes. But, like I said, the murmur was slight, so-" She nodded, but was cut off.
"And, let me get this clear, Dr. Torres did not address it?" The man pressured.
"His vitals were stable, so the logical choice for any of us would have been to treat the infection first, the murmur after. Sometimes you have to prioritize certain-" Helena started.
"But Dr. Torres didn't treat ur murmur after, correct? Neither did she inform Dr. Yang, who had done a valve replacement on Mr. Reed, of the condition, that you're aware of?"
"He wasn't my patient and I trust Dr. Torres discernment. I trusted that she had it under control, that she would contact cardio when she deemed necessary. I did not know she patient like she did. It was not my place to question her decision." The short girl explained, Callie smiling at her friend.
"So it's not what you would have done?"
"Like I said, I understand that Dr. Torres-"
"Dr. Campos, what I'm asking is whether you would have chosen to to ignore a murmur in a heart patient. If you would have chosen to not contact Dr. Yang, like Dr. Torres did." The man cut her off again
Taking a deep breath, annoyed at the constant interruptions, Helena exhaled. "No. No, I wouldn't have."
"Now that we've established that, I would like to present Exhibit A, a picture that Mr. Reed's fiancée took of his incision site." The lawyer requested, a picture being passed to Helena as well as the judge and jury. "As you can see, it looks pretty nasty."
"Post op infections are very common." Helena simply explained.
"Is that your professional opinion?" He asked.
"It is, yes." She nodded, her expression a little bit softer, now that she'd finally managed to get a word in without interruptions.
"I see. And, in your professional opinion, is it also common for a post-op infection to result in a double amputation? Does that happen all the time, too?"
"Just because a complication is not frequent, it does not mean that it's the doctor's fault when-" Helena began.
"Hon, hon, it's a yes or no question. Thank you." He interrupted.
At that, Helena couldn't help but let out. "Sir, respectfully, it's doctor, not 'hon.'" She smiled and kept her voice soft as she said so, hoping it would keep her and, consequently, Callie, on the jury's good side. "And I'd very much appreciate it if I got the chance to answer your questions, today. You know, since I haven't been able to without being interrupted, so far. That is the whole purpose of me being on stand, right?"
The lawyer simply nodded, making the doctor continue. "What I explaining is that because a complication is rare it does not mean it is the doctor's fault when it does happen. Different bodies react differently to procedures. That being said, no. No, it doesn't often happen that a post-op infection results in a double amputation."
"No further questions, your honor." The lawyer nodded.
And, as Helena left the stand, she saw Callie shoot her a grateful smile.
Sitting down in the audience by Mark, he whispered in her ear, his eyes shining with pride. "Good job, doll. You put him in his place "
——
"Mark?" Helena called out, from her bathroom. "Mark, ?"
"Coming." He called back, entering their bedroom. "Turns out Alice doesn't want to wear the red dress after all, she's changing into-"
Mark froze as he saw Helena in front of the sink, tears in her eyes. "What happened?"
At that, a she smiled widely, taking the pregnancy test from behind her back. "We're having another baby."
"We're... Really?" He smiled, his wife nodding. After pressing a kiss to her lips, he muttered, taking his hand to her stomach . "We're having another child, Lee."
——
"We've been treating him with diuretics and beta blockers, but he's still got a lot of edema." Helena told Cristina, auscultating the baby that was getting the printed graft.
"He'll rally once we put in the graft." Cristina sighed. "Then we can get him out of here. Poor kid's been here for almost three weeks."
"Are you done with the test prints?" The short girl pulled her hair to the side, as she put her stethoscope around her neck.
"We finished last night. Shane's printing out the real one, now." She nodded, then changing the subject. "Emma's here. With muffins."
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