Practice Makes Perfect by Kathryn Shay Page A

poisoning kept coming up. But the baby was being breast-fed exclusively.
    At six she gave up and went back to the emergency room. Little Sean was sleeping soundly in his crib, his face less pinched because of the fluids he’d gotten all day.
    Tonight Anne Corriddi’s mother-in-law kept Anne company. “My Anthony got a part-time job at the gas station, so I came to sit with Annie” She clutched her rosary beads to her ample chest. “Is the baby going to be all right?”
    “I hope so, Mrs. Corriddi.” She smiled at Anne. “The tests we’ve done have ruled out a lot. That’s good.”
    “He’s a big boy,” the mother-in-law continued. “This breast-feeding, I think it’s wrong. In my day, we put babies on cereal right away.”
    Paige sat down and faced the women. “Well, that was the thinking a while back. But solids for infants are not recommended now.”
    The elder Mrs. Corriddi looked away, alerting Paige to something. “Mrs. Corriddi, do you baby-sit Sean at all?”
    “Annie works at Hannah’s Place in the afternoons. I take care of him.”
    “I leave breast milk, though,” Anne explained. “The books say to.”
    “You should.” Paige addressed the issue directly, as they didn’t have time to spare. “Have you given Sean solids, Mrs. Corriddi?”
    “No, no, she wouldn’t.” Anne was vehement. “I told her not to.”
    Mrs. Corriddi reddened. “Just a little cereal. With honey on it so he’d take it.”
    Honey
. It was like finding a crucial piece of a puzzle. Everything fell into place. Paige shot off her chair. “I’ll be right back” She strode out of the room and bumped into Ian outside the door.
    “What is it?” he asked, steadying her.
    “I think I know what’s wrong with Sean.” She could hear the excitement in her own voice. “Walk with me. I want to confer with the pediatrician on staff.” They hurried down the hall. “It’s infant botulism.”
    “Botulism?”
    “Yes, it can occur within the first four to six months of life. It’s caused by the ingestion of spores that germinate and produce toxins in the gastrointestinal tract. This sort of botulism is quite uncommon and often goes undiagnosed.”
    “Is it curable?”
    “Very much so. I’m starting him on antibiotics right away. Respiratory and nutritional care are the mainstays of the treatment. He might need intubation. But basically, the disease is self-limiting and should work itself out within two to six weeks.” She smiled. “Full recovery is expected in three to four weeks if he gets the proper treatment.”
    Ian’s face glowed with joy, and she felt a deep connection with him. Their tiny patient was going to get well.
    Paige glanced at the clock. Ian’s day should have been long over. “Did you have a delivery here?”
    “No, I came because I was worried about Anne and Sean.”
    “You’re a nice guy.” She started toward the desk.
    “Paige.” He snagged her arm. “How did you figure this out?”
    “Anne’s mother-in-law was feeding Sean cereal with honey. It was the honey.” She smiled again. “I ran across a case of honey food poisoning when I was an intern. It was so odd, it stuck with me, but I didn’t make the connection here at first, because I thought the baby was only on breast milk.”
    “So your experience really paid off.”
    “Of course.” She gave him a sideways glance. Gray eyes, set off by his slate-colored shirt, twinkled back at her. “What?”
    He shrugged. The tease was back. “Oh, nothing. Just looks like having the best doctor on staff saved the day.”
    “Don’t press your luck, Ian.”
    He squeezed her arm. “Go talk to the pediatrician, Dr. Lifesaver.” He headed down the hall whistling, and Paige watched him till he disappeared.
    o0o
    DON’T PRESS your luck
.
    Ian tried to remember Paige’s warning as, once again, he and Scalpel approached her backyard. But he’d had to come. He could still see her blue eyes sparkling with excitement when she’d figured out