Dr. Campbell's Secret Son by Anne Fraser

relief. ‘It’s just if she goes home tonight without further tests and treatment, there’s no telling what could happen. And it’s not as if we could rely on the son to call us if there’s a problem. It simply wouldn’t be fair on either of them.’
    ‘Which cubicle is she in?’
    When Keith introduced her to the patient, a bright-eyed woman in her late seventies, Sarah knew she had a fight on her hands. Mrs Loveday was clearly frightened and upset, but more than that she had the air of a woman who was used to doing battle and getting her own way. Her son sat by her bedside, holding her hand. He had the distinctive features of someone with Down’s. He smiled engagingly at Sarah.
    ‘You really need to stay in overnight, Mrs Loveday,’ Sarah said gently.
    ‘Can’t I come back tomorrow during the day and have the tests then? I really don’t see why an overnight stay is necessary. I’d only be using up a bed. There’s bound to be people who need it more than I do.’
    Sarah hid a smile. Mrs Loveday reminded her of her grandmother. Another feisty soul.
    ‘You need to stay in so we can keep you under observation overnight,’ Sarah said carefully. She needed to impress the seriousness of her condition without alarming her even more. ‘I know you’re worried about your son—David, isn’t it? But Social Services will find someone who can stay with him in your home. It will just be for a night or two.’
    ‘If I let Social Services get their hooks into us, they’ll never leave us in peace. It’ll be meals on wheels, day-care centres and goodness knows what else before we know it. They’ll say I’m not fit to look after David and try and take him away from me. The same as they did when he was born. Said he’d never amount to anything—that he was unlikely to talk or dress himself or go to the toilet even. Told me I should put him into care and forget about him. You see…’ she grabbed Sarah’s hand in a surprisingly strong grip ‘…I was a single mother, and in those days it was still frowned on. They said being a single mother was hard enough, without trying to bring up a handicapped child on my own.’
    Her words brought memories of her own pregnancy flooding back to Sarah.
    ‘Is that what’s worrying you? You think they might take David from you permanently? I can see why you’re worried, but times have changed a lot in recent years. Social Services are there to help you and David to stay together in your own home. They know that’s where he belongs—with his mother.’
    Mrs Loveday still didn’t look convinced.
    ‘They thought they knew better when he was born, but they were wrong. David manages to do everything by himself. Can’t you, sweetheart? He can even drive a car. And he has a job.’ David grinned his pleasure at his mother’s praise. Then she turned to Sarah again. ‘You medical people were wrong before so why should I trust you now?’
    Sarah sat down on the bed next to the elderly woman. ‘You’re absolutely right. We doctors have, and still can, make mistakes. We try our best not to, but at the end of the day we are only human. And when we’re wrong and things turn out better for the patient than we’d predicted, we are delighted. The doctors were wrong about David. You were right to fight to keep him. All we could do then was give you an opinion based on the knowledge available at the time, but nowadays we’re more clued up and are more conscientious about giving patients as much information as possible so they can make their own decisions.’ Sarah thought for a moment. She could see that Mrs Loveday was beginning to waver, but she needed her to be absolutely convinced that she could trust Sarah.
    ‘I have a little boy. He’s coming up for seven months now and is a lively wee thing. But there was a time when I was pregnant that I thought he might have Down’s syndrome.’ Sarah noticed that she had Mrs Loveday’s full attention. She stopped pulling on her clothes and