Rounds moved on. Dr. Wagner strode into the NICU, stop
ping to talk to one of the pediatricians who was listening to
Dr. Sheldon discuss one of the babies. Dr. Wagner put a hand
on his shoulder in a friendly gesture, and the doctor looked up
and smiled broadly at him. The two doctors looked in Sophie’s
direction.
“Looks like Dr. Wagner is going to introduce you to Dr. Patel.
He’s one of the best pediatricians in the city. All the parents love
him. You will too, you’ll see,” Kim said.
Dr. Wagner and Dr. Patel made their way over to Danny’s
incubator.
“Sophie, I’d like you to meet Dr. Patel, a dear friend and one
of the very finest pediatricians around,” Dr. Wagner said. “Am I
right, Kim?”
“Absolutely.”
Dr. Patel smiled graciously and shook hands with Sophie.
He held her hands in both of his for several moments, his deep
brown eyes connecting with hers.
In an Indian accent, Dr. Patel said, “It is truly my pleasure to
meet you, Mrs. Young.”
He let go of Sophie’s hand and looked into the incubator. He
opened the portholes, slowly reached in, and caressed Danny’s
head. He spoke softly to Danny, then withdrew his hands.
“I will be happy to be Danny’s pediatrician,” he said with a
smile. “It would be my honor.”
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Then with a slight bow, he excused himself and slipped out
of the pod to rejoin rounds. Dr. Wagner explained to Sophie that
Dr. Patel’s father and his father were the best of friends through
medical school and after. Naturally, Dr. Wagner and Dr. Patel
became friends as well. Now, on Dr. Wagner’s request, Dr. Patel
had agreed to accept Danny into his otherwise closed practice—
that is, if Sophie would like. Kim vigorously nodded her head
at Sophie, giving her a thumbs-up. Sophie gladly accepted and
thanked Dr. Wagner. Maybe he really doesn’t know that he makes
women uncomfortable during labor.
Dr. Wagner’s pager went off, and he left the unit.
Kim looked at her computer screen. “Hey, Sophie, good news!
Dr. Sheldon has written an order for Danny to be extubated. He
can come off the ventilator.”
Suddenly there was a commotion outside of the pod. A man
with a parent ID clipped to his jacket was stumbling around the
unit, wielding a knife. Eyes glazed, and unsteady on his feet, he
yelled loudly that he was there to take his son home.
Sophie panicked. She instantly knew the threat this man
posed even before she saw the weapon. She’d seen this same crazy
look in her father’s eyes when he came home drunk and looking
for a fight. Something had set this guy off just like something
always set her father off. It never made sense but could bring out
the worst, most violent behavior. Sophie and Kate had learned
early to either hide or run away.
“They can’t keep him! He needs to come home with me. The
doctors don’t know what they’re doing!” slurred the man.
The charge nurse, who had been on the phone, hung up and
turned to the man, trying to talk him down.
“Get away from me!” yelled the man, raising his weapon.
Then came the overhead, hospital-wide announcement:
“Security alert: armed intruder, fourth floor, NICU.” The charge
nurse tried again, talking to him in a calm voice. Rounds had
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ended abruptly, everybody scattering to take cover behind doors
and chairs.
The charge nurse told him that she had called security and
they were on their way. Could he please put the knife down?
“There’s no need to scare everybody—we can work this
out. Think about what security will do if they see you with this
weapon. Just put it away so we can talk.”
Sophie trembled as she watched the scene unfold. The
security alert boomed over the intercom again. “Repeat, armed
intruder, fourth floor, NICU.”
Sophie texted Adam: There’s a guy with a knife. Don’t come
in. Keep Kate away. Security’s coming. She grabbed Rihanna and
pulled her behind a portable X-ray machine.
Dr. Sheldon stepped between the charge nurse and the man.
Rihanna gasped. Sophie put her hand over Rihanna’s mouth to
quiet her.
The man turned toward Dr. Sheldon with the knife raised
over his head. “Stay away!” His eyes darted around the staff
beginning to crowd around the escalating scene.
Dr. Sheldon continued to talk to the man, drawing the man’s
attention back to him with his stream of conversation. Dr. Wag
ner came back into the NICU. He and Dr. Sheldon made brief
eye contact, and Dr. Wagner came around to face the man. He
towered over him and began to talk.
“Give me the knife, sir. Give it to me, and we’ll get your son
home to you. But we can’t get him ready to go with everybody
cowering from you and your weapon.” Dr. Wagner continued
talking, slowly circling him.
The man frantically looked around, disoriented. The hand
holding the knife began to shake.
“Hey, focus here. Look at me,” Dr. Wagner said, putting two
fingers up to his own eyes.
The man looked at Dr. Wagner.
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“Good. Now, just drop the knife, and we’ll get your baby
ready to go home with you.” Dr. Wagner continued distracting
him as they waited for security to show up.
Four security guards ran in and forced the father to drop his
knife. They dragged him out of the unit, the man yelling threats
and obscenities as they pulled him into the elevator.
Everybody started talking at once.
“How did he get up here with a knife?”
“This was a first for me,” Kim exclaimed.
“Is everybody okay?”
Sophie collapsed into a chair.
That afternoon, after things had settled down, Sophie texted
Adam to tell him the doctors were going to extubate Danny
soon. He immediately texted back that he and Kate were on their
way in.
“We’re coming in the triage entrance. Come down and meet
us there.”
She went down to the lobby and left through the main
entrance. As she rounded the corner and headed toward the tri
age entrance, she nearly bumped into them. Adam was sweaty,
dressed in his running gear. Kate walked beside him, bundled up
against the cold.
“You’re running in this weather?”
“Yeah. You know me, Soph. I run best when stressed.”
“Makes sense to me,” Kate, who was also a runner, said.
Adam led Sophie and Kate through the maternity triage
entrance.
“Why are we going this way?”
“I always come this way. It’s closer to where I park the car.”
He waved to the nurse on duty at the triage desk.
She smiled and gave him a wave back. “Hey, Mr. Young.
How’s Danny doing?”
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“You know the staff down here already?” Sophie whispered
after they walked by the desk.
“Kind of. I’ve been in and out of here so much in the past
couple of days.”
Kate and Sophie snickered at Adam’s blushing face
