Two thousand and fourteen years ago a grey bearded man, famed for his ability to tell a good story, sat surrounded by children who gazed up in wonder as he continued his tale:
The hospital was full to its capacity. No patients could be moved from Accident and Emergency unless to go home. Even labour ward and the postnatal wards in the East Block were full. A hospital porter was moving a bed from the store so that one lady who had delivered could move out of labour ward into the corridor outside post-natal to allow one more into labour ward. He was whistling and watching the wheels on the bed cut through the snow, when he heard the cry of a baby as though taking its first breath. That itself is not unusual in a hospital, but the porter stopped in his tracks, because the cry seemed to come from within the plant room. He kept silent and listened hard. Sure enough, he heard a baby’s cry again and this time he heard muffled voices, “Quickly, Joe, wrap it up.”
|
The porter pushed open the door and saw a young couple. The boy was moving a tiny baby from near the feet of a crouching girl and placing it on some grubby sheets and folding these sheets over the baby. Joe picked up the swaddled baby and drew it into his chest. As he stood up, he became aware of the presence of a man in the doorway.
“Oh. My God!” muttered the porter, “I’ll get help.” He turned and was about to run, when he stopped once more, turned back and shoved the bed through the door way. “Here. Get yourself on this.” he said to May.
“Oh. My God!” muttered the porter, “I’ll get help.” He turned and was about to run, when he stopped once more, turned back and shoved the bed through the door way. “Here. Get yourself on this.” he said to May.
As the porter ran, a voice from behind told him to run to labour ward and tell anyone he should meet that a baby had just been born in the plant room. He looked over his shoulder, but saw no person there, just a fluttering of the snow that seemed to fill up his own and two other sets of footprints. He was soon at the Labour Ward office and there sat an unfamiliar midwife whose face shone out of the darkness. She sat writing in hospital records illuminated just by the angle poise lamp perched on the desk. She nodded calmly as she heard the porter tell what he had seen. “Your work here is done. Return to the doorway of the plant room so that you can direct staff to this family.” whispered the midwife.
The midwife pressed the keypad of the telephone on the desk three times and without lifting the handset spoke clearly and keenly to the switchboard operator. “Paediatric crash team to the Plant Room. Concealed pregnancy - baby delivered. The Plant Room is found on the outer perimeter path between Accident and Emergency and Hospital Stores and has a single light over the door way. Oh! And scramble the air ambulance, this one may need transfer to the special care baby unit in Birmingham Children’s”.
The midwife pressed the keypad of the telephone on the desk three times and without lifting the handset spoke clearly and keenly to the switchboard operator. “Paediatric crash team to the Plant Room. Concealed pregnancy - baby delivered. The Plant Room is found on the outer perimeter path between Accident and Emergency and Hospital Stores and has a single light over the door way. Oh! And scramble the air ambulance, this one may need transfer to the special care baby unit in Birmingham Children’s”.
Come and see the Cribs at St James Church Chipping Campden Tuesday 2nd December to Saturday 6th December 2014
Chapter 9
Chapter 9