A wave of exhaustion washed over Jen as a second nurse entered the delivery room.
“OK, it’s time for Mom to check into her room. The pediatric nurse will take the babies to the greenhouse where you can show them off to your family.”
“Don’t worry, they call it the greenhouse because of all of the windows where friends and relations can come and see the babies,” explained Jim. “You will be here a few days because of your surgery, Jen, and you’ll need to get some rest. Dave, why don’t you go up with Jen and settle her in? I’ll stay here with the nurse and make sure the kids don’t get lost. I’ll be up soon.”
The new parents smiled and left the delivery room.
“Nice job, Doc.”
At that moment, Dr. Penny Smothers entered the room with a fresh-faced medical student.
“No sense in worrying the new parents. Hi, Penny. I am afraid we may have problems with the new arrivals.”
“Hi, Jim, nurse, this is Sam Jones. He’s a medical student interested in becoming a pediatrician. He’ll be following me around for the next few weeks. Now, the babies, were there any prenatal indications of problems?”
“I thought I heard a heart murmur, as I told you when Jen selected you to be the kids’ doctor, but it was tough to get a clear handle with twins.”
“OK, Sam, you’re up. Go listen to each child’s heart and tell us what you think. Please remember your bed-side manners. Their names are on the plastic ring around their ankle, so please remember how you upset the last set of parents with twins. Get into the habit of using their names rather than referring to them as that one!”
Sam listened to the heart of each child with a stethoscope.
“Christopher has a heart rate of about 120, his heart sounds are normal, and his color is pink. Brianna is cyanotic. Her breathing is much faster and deeper than Christopher’s, and she is beginning to cough. She has a heart rate of 160 and a heart murmur; there is a whirring sound between the lub and the dup.”
“Well, let’s hope that’s an exaggeration,” Penny whispered to Jim as they went over to examine the children.”
“Oh, my gosh, he’s right!” Penny exclaimed. “Nurse, get Brianna into the neonatal intensive care, stat. If there’s room, try to get Christopher in there too.”
She turned to her student.
“OK, Mr. Hotshot, what tests do you think we should do?”
Even though the tension was high and Jim had a personal interest in the health of his newly arrived nephew and niece, he couldn’t help but smile as Penny rewarded her student’s good work with more pressure.
Originally published at http://www.sciencecases.org/fetal_heart/fetal_heart3.asp
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