Read Fertility: A Novel for Free Online Page B

to it. Dr. Cho, I’m interested in your account of the events surrounding the case of Ariel Arkin.”
    “Well, I came to room 405 after the code alert. As I was gowning up I saw an older man and a younger woman outside the door to the isolation room. I assumed they were family. Maybe the grandfather and mother. They were very upset.
    “I entered the room and Dr. Smith brought me up to speed. It was a clear case of a massive heparin overdose. I personally had only read about so large an overdose, and I hope I never experience anything like that again.
    “Dr. Smith and I agreed to administer 1 mg of protamine sulfate via IV for every 100 units of active heparin to reverse its anti-coagulating effects. He’d already put in an order for it. I reminded him to infuse it slowly to minimize hypotension, bronchial constriction and pulmonary hypertension. We also discussed using vitamin K to help stop the bleeding. We agreed on the optimal rate for infusing new blood into the infant to replace what she’d lost. Dr. Smith was on top of it. We were successful in our efforts to stop the bleeding. This morning, the baby is stable.”
    “Thank you, Dr. Cho,” Sarah said. “Do you have an opinion on how the overdose occurred?”
    “If I were you, I’d focus on the pharmacy.”
    “And what about the new computerized system for medications? How could it have failed to prevent the overdose?”
    “It’s beyond my purview to have an opinion on that,” the doctor said curtly. “I think the person you want to talk to is Joanne Marsh, the head of the pharmacy. She was the new system’s biggest booster.”
    “And the baby’s prognosis?” Sarah asked.
    “Given her response to treatment, I’m guardedly optimistic that she’ll recover, hopefully without permanent damage.”
     
    * * *
     
    As Esther Cho left the conference room at ten minutes before one, Nancy Howland popped her head in to ask Sarah and Doris if they would like something from the cafeteria. Doris begged off, raised a Tupperware container from her bag, and asked Nancy for directions to the nearest microwave. Sarah, though slim, never willingly skipped a meal. Skeptical about the quality of the cafeteria’s offerings, she answered that any vegetarian sandwich or wrap would be fine. As she started to reach for her wallet, Howland waved her off, saying it was on the house — and that she’d just brewed a new pot of coffee, which was welcome news for Sarah.
    By half past one, the two women had finished lunch. Right on time, the person Sarah was now most interested in arrived at the door. Albert Cappelli, the pharmacist who had filled the orders for the Arkin baby, was a pleasant-looking man in his sixties. Cappelli was balding, mustached and carrying an extra twenty pounds in the midsection of his sturdy frame. He smiled as he extended his hand to both Sarah and Doris. He seemed relaxed. Sarah wondered how he could be, knowing the reason for the interview. She thanked him for coming in and wasted no time in getting started. She nodded to Doris, started the recorder and gave her standard introduction before posing the first question to the kindly looking pharmacist.
    “Mr. Cappelli, how long have you worked at the hospital pharmacy?”
    “That’s a little complicated. I worked at this hospital’s pharmacy for twenty-seven years before I retired two years ago. But when I retired I told Joanne Marsh — she’s the head of the pharmacy — that I wouldn’t mind coming in to help out when they were short staffed. I figured it would help keep me in the game, as they say, and the extra money couldn’t hurt, either. So, to answer your question, I guess I’d say twenty-seven years full time and two years on and off.”
    “Could you give me an idea of how frequently you’re called back to help out in the pharmacy?”
    “Well, it goes in fits and spurts. Sometimes, nothing for a few weeks. Then, I can be called quite frequently. They’ve had a lot of pharmacists out