My Dad the Brain Surgeon

Chapter 18

Meredith's POV:

When I got the 911 from Arizona, my heart stopped. I dropped the suture in my hand and took off down the hallway. We weren't supposed to move. We were in a soft lock down, but the rules had to be broken. Derek just told me he wanted me to adopt his daughter. I'd be damned if I was going to stand in the ER while something happened to her. He trusted me, it's my turn to show him that I will fight for her, for us. 

The pediatric ward was in complete chaos. I wasn't even sure why I was paged here. We left Taylor in the ICU. Most of the kids were thrown into one room together. Mark was standing in the doorway of the room at the end of the hall. He had his head in his hands and was pacing. 

"Mark! What the hell happened?!" He lifted his head, but his eyes never met mine. The alarm from the inside of the room caught his attention and set his legs into motion full speed. I was right behind him. I knew the sound, she was seizing.

"What happened?!" I was shouting to no one in specific. I just wanted answers.

Arizona was shooting drugs through the IV to stop the seizure. "She couldn't handle the stress, her ICP skyrocketed. She was asking for you. Derek is in a surgery."

Her body stilled, the seizure was over, but her ICP had barely improved. "I don't know who decided to break protocol and move her out of the ICU. We'll get to that later. I don't have to tell a room of doctors how dangerous a seizure is after brain surgery." I glanced around at the monitors. The surgeon in me was telling me this would keep happening. Her brain couldn't heal if every time she woke up the over stimulation caused a spike in ICP. "Get ready to administer Propofol. I need someone to get Derek on the phone."

"Meredith...stop, think about the risks of an induced coma. It's a last resort." I could see the guilt on Mark's face. I know he had something to do with this and his advice was not welcome. 

I tried to control the well of emotions building up inside of me. "I am a surgeon. I know the risks. I also know the risks of her ICP staying at this level. It isn't dropping back to normal. It's time for a last resort. Get the Propofol ready and get Derek on the phone. He has to approve this, she's a minor."

"I'll just page him. He'll want to check her before making that decision."

"Mark. Listen to me and do exactly what I say. Call the O.R. and get Derek on the phone. We don't have time for him to check everything. I need him to approve this before he comes down here. It'll give us time to start and him time to get here to be with her while she goes to sleep. Call him. Now!" The rage, confusion, and fear were all coming out at once and I was snapping at everyone in the room. I listened to Mark tell Derek what was going on. There was a pause on Derek's end. He was thinking. I could barely breathe. He said he trusted me, but I was now asking him to trust me with her life. I was asking one of the top brain surgeons in the world to trust my less experienced medical opinion on his own child. Mark nodded though. Derek gave his approval and was headed to this room. I cannot make a mistake here.