‘Urine first,’ Cameron said firmly. Once the nurse had taken away the sample for testing, Cameron examined Rhona again while Meagan looked on.
‘Any lumps or bumps anywhere? In your breasts?’
‘Not that I’ve noticed.’
‘Any chance you could be pregnant?’ Cameron asked.
Rhona laughed. ‘You know as well as I do that the answer to that is no.’
Meagan was still none the wiser. Where was Cameron going with this? Could Rhona be pregnant? She had heard of cases where women had fallen pregnant even after having their tubes tied. That would make it all even worse. She couldn’t have treatment while pregnant. The pregnancy would have to be terminated.
‘Any other symptoms apart from the breathlessness?’
‘No, except for feeling tired all the time—but I put that down to years of sleepless nights.’ She laughed nervously. ‘You don’t think I could be pregnant, do you? Even if I hadn’t been sterilized, it wouldn’t be possible.’ She blushed furiously. ‘You know, with having three small children we haven’t…not since—I mean I am just so darned exhausted all the time. It’s not as if I don’t love my husband. Oh, dear…’ She tailed off.
‘No, I don’t think you’re pregnant,’ Cameron said. ‘I think there’s a chance it’s something else, but I won’t be sure until I get the result of the urine test. We’ll have the results shortly. In the meantime, you can get dressed. I’ll be back in to see you in a minute.’
Even more confused, Meagan followed Cameron out of the room. He looked satisfied, even cheerful. Didn’t he care that they were about to deliver a death sentence to a woman who had three young children depending on her?
Before she had a chance to question him, the nurse arrived back.
‘The pregnancy test is strongly positive,’ She told Cameron. ‘Good news?’
‘You could say that,’ Cameron said, smiling.
‘How can you possibly think it’s good news?’ Meagan burst out, unable to contain herself any longer. ‘If she decides not to terminate then she’ll die more quickly and then there will be four children left without a mother.’
Cameron placed a hand on Meagan’s shoulder. Something in his expression stopped her in her tracks.
‘Have you ever heard of a condition called choriocarcinoma?’ Cameron asked.
Meagan shook her head, although somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind the term sounded familiar.
‘Well, it’s a type of cancer that originates in the placental tissue after a pregnancy or miscarriage,’ Cameron explained. ‘As far as Rhona’s concerned, it is really good news. The tumours will respond quickly to treatment and there is every chance she will make a complete recovery.’
‘Are you sure?’ Meagan asked, wanting desperately to believe him. But what if he was wrong?
‘I’m positive. We’ll need to do further tests, of course, but I have no doubt that is what we are seeing here.’
Meagan felt herself sag with relief. If he was right and she had no reason to doubt him, there was every chance Rhona would be around for many years to come. She grinned at him.
‘What made you think of it?’
‘When I saw the X-ray and the magnitude of the tumours, it got me thinking. With that kind of invasion Rhona should have been much sicker than she is. Then when I examined her and there was no obvious primary source of the tumours, I began to think of choriocarcinoma. I remember reading about it in one of the medical journals a year or so ago. The positive pregnancy test all but confirms the diagnosis. It’s still a serious condition, but thankfully it responds extremely well to chemotherapy.’
‘Thank God you thought of it. Imagine if you hadn’t. We would have told Rhona she was going to die and put her through torment. She might even have decided not to have treatment, in which case she would have died.’ Meagan shivered. ‘She’s a very lucky woman to have you around. I would have missed it if it hadn’t been for you.’
‘Don’t beat yourself up. You did the right thing by discussing her with me and thinking of the chest X-ray. Someone else might just have given her more antibiotics and sent her home. If you hadn’t insisted on investigating further when you did, the condition could have advanced quickly to a point where we would have been too late to help Rhona.’
Meagan shuddered. It had been a close call. Thank God she had decided to investigate further and thank God Cameron had been there to look at the X-ray with her. Otherwise she might be having an entirely different conversation with Rhona right now.
‘You did well, as did Sophie, by insisting Rhona see you. That’s what general practice is all about. A team effort where everyone pulls together. It seems we made the right decision taking you on after all. Well done. Again.’
When Cameron smiled at Meagan, she felt her stomach flip. She smiled back. She couldn’t help but feel pleased at his praise. More than anything else she wanted his respect and approval—as a doctor, of course.
‘Let’s go and tell her the good news, shall we?’ he said.
A few days later, on a Saturday afternoon, as Meagan sat outside her cottage, coffee in hand, marvelling at how the sun lit the sky and turned the sea pewter, she was surprised to see Cameron’s battered vehicle making its way up the track. He jumped out and walked towards Meagan with long strides. He was wearing faded jeans that moulded to his thighs and a thick dark sweater. At his side was an excited-looking Ian and ashy Effie.
‘Dr Galbraith.’ Ian ran up to Meagan. ‘We’re going out in the boat. And Daddy said I could ask if you’d come. You will come, won’t you? You said you would.’ The little boy was hopping excitedly from foot to foot. ‘We have a flask of orange juice and some scones from Jessie.’
Cameron looked apologetic. ‘He’s been on at me ever since you told him you like going out in boats. I told him that you’d have other things to do, but I agreed we’d ask you.’
All of a sudden she wanted nothing more than to be out in a boat with the wind in her hair. It was such a beautiful day, with just the right amount of breeze. On the other hand, the children had probably put Cameron in a difficult position. Somehow she doubted that he wanted to spend time with her away from work. And did she want to spend more time than absolutely necessary with him?
‘Oh, I’m sure you and your daddy will enjoy it better without me,’ Meagan said. ‘Besides, you have Effie here for company. How are you, Effie?’
Before the small child had a chance to answer Ian interrupted
‘Daddy says we need two adults if Effie is coming too. And she wants to come, don’t you, Effie? And Mummy won’t come. She says she can’t bear boats.’ Meagan almost laughed out loud. He had mimicked his mother’s voice perfectly. ‘Please, Dr Galbraith, say yes.’
Meagan looked at Cameron. She was sure this hadn’t been his idea.
‘I think Dr Galbraith has other plans, children,’ Cameron said softly. ‘We can go another time. Why don’t we go to the beach instead? We can look for starfish in the rock pools.’ He turned to Meagan.
‘I’m sorry for the interruption. We’ll be on our way. Come on, guys—back into the Jeep.’
But one look at the two small disappointed faces was enough for Meagan to make up her mind. Then she remembered. Even if she wanted to go she couldn’t, it was her turn to be on call.
‘I’d love to go with you and Effie,’ she said a little wistfully, ‘but I’m afraid I’m supposed to stay here in case any one gets sick and needs a doctor.’
‘If that’s all that’s stopping you,’ Cameron said, ‘I’ve already