Dr. Alec McDonald peered once more into thirteen year old Annie Wilson’s wide open mouth. He didn’t like what he saw, not one little bit. In all his thirty years at Western hospital in Alberton Prince Edward Island he had never saw anything like this.
The blonde haired teenager’s throat and tonsils were swollen and red except for a small patch of greyish white membrane near the back. He closed his coal black eyes and dredged up a memory from his life time ago medical studies.
The one word that floated through his mind sent cold shivers racing up his spine. “Diphtheria, it can’t be. It’s supposed to be eradicated from the western hemisphere.”
“What is it Doctor?” Worry lines etched themselves deeper into Susan Wilson’s forehead. The heavy dark bags under her eyes spoke of more than one sleepless night.
“Mrs. Wilson, may I please speak to you outside?” He winked at Annie and grinned, “Grown up talk, nothing serious.”
Annie frowned and croaked, “I’m not a kid.”
“Sorry, get dressed, your mom and I will be back in a minute.”
She tugged at the sleeve of his white coat as he turned away, “How’s daddy?”
Alec looked into the teenager’s blue, fear filled eyes. “I haven’t had a chance to examine him yet but I’m sure it’s nothing more than a summer cold.”
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” The question hung heavy in the air between Mr’s Wilson and Alec as the door of an empty examination room clicked closed.
He nodded his head, “I think its diphtheria.”
Her red painted lips opened into a big O, colour drained from her face and her body started to tremble. She managed to get out a weak, “Are you certain,” before her legs started to give way.
McDonald grabbed the woman with his strong tanned hands before she could fall and helped her into the metal and canvas chair at the foot of the examination table. “Not a hundred percent but I can’t afford to take any chances. I’m going to have to quarantine the three of you until I am. Have you or any member of your family been out of the country lately?”
Susan took a deep breath before answering, “We got back from Moscow four days ago. My husband Tom had business there, so we thought we’d make a bit of a holiday out of it. We stayed at home for a day and then flew to Charlottetown from Victoria.” There was a sudden catch in her throat, a few tears escaped her sea green eyes and rolled unnoticed down her cheeks. “What now? Is there any kind of treatment?”
Alec forced his thin lips into a smile, “There is an antitoxin. Once you get that you and your family will be as right as rain.”
Susan stopped shaking, “You have it here of course?”
McDonald rubbed the grey stubble of his beard, “No.”
Green eyes once more filled with fear and a body started to tremble again.
“I’m sure they have some at Hillsborough Hospital in Charlottetown.” The Doctor put as much reassurance into his deep voice as he could muster.
His steady, calm voice did nothing to quell the fear gnawing at her stomach. “How will anyone manage to get it here with hurricane Harry on its way?”
“It is beginning to blow a wee bit but they should still be able to get a helicopter off.” Small tendrils of doubt crept into his voice for a moment. “If they can’t bring it, I’ll go and fetch it myself. That I promise.”
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