Robert applauded. “Exactly. Well said, Eddie!”
“I will add, Ruth, that Miss Connor’s youth is helpful—her brain matter is likely healthy, and her system strong.” Edward smiled reassuringly.
Ruth stood from the dining table and began to pace. “We will, of course, need to get Charles’s approval. And ready the hospital. And then there is Father . . .” Ruth turned ashen; she knew that Bernard had become more skeptical of Robert’s research. She couldn’t imagine trying to convince him to let Emeraldine be the first hospital in the country to conduct surgery on a technically healthy brain.
“Ruth, your father may be the chairman of the board, but it is Hayden’s go-ahead that we truly need. Your father and the board should simply be presented with the positive results after the fact.”
Ruth thought about it. Technically, it was true. Her father did not need to know in advance about every new treatment they tried. Still, this was brain surgery. Could they really proceed without telling him? If he found out . . . She had done her best to establish a firm division between her personal relationship with her father, as his daughter, and her professional relationship as a representative of the hospital. But, technically, in her professional role, it wasn’t necessary to get his approval, unless Charles asked her to. She looked to Edward, hoping he might offer her some sense of comfort, or an opinion, but he simply shrugged. He knew better than to weigh in on this.
“Okay, I suppose that makes sense. Then we just need to get Charles up to date on your progress. Shall I set up a meeting for the three of you next week?”
“As soon as his schedule allows. And, Ruth?”
“Yes?”
“You should, of course, plan to be there as well. This is our big moment, and we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
Ruth’s heart warmed even as it pounded fiercely in her chest. She was acutely aware that her hospital stood on one side of the line between being mildly progressive and entirely radical. Although terrified to make the leap, she couldn’t wait to jump across to the other side.
Chapter Thirteen
Ruth gently patted the sweat from her brow as she, Robert, and Edward walked from Charles Hayden’s office back to her own to regroup.
“Well, that was more challenging than I anticipated.” Robert lifted his eyebrows for emphasis. He was right to be angry.
“I should have realized,” Ruth said apologetically. “I’ve been giving Charles periodic updates on your progress, but he hasn’t been with the two of you every evening to hear you debrief on your day as I have. I can see now that it was too large a leap for him to go from preliminary results of lab and primate research to suggesting brain surgery on one of our patients. I’m sorry.”
“You shouldn’t apologize, Ruth.” Edward looked at her, the kindness in his eyes offsetting the disappointment in Robert’s. “It is our job to make the case for this next step, not yours. Mr. Hayden was right to be concerned. There are risks inherent in any brain surgery.”
“Nonsense,” Robert snapped. “We have performed this surgery flawlessly on so many cadavers I could even do it. And with the primates, it was impeccable. Jacobsen was kicking himself for not snapping Eddie up for his permanent team. We are ready.”
“I agree. Which is why I said as much in the meeting.” Edward spoke calmly and evenly, a good counterbalance to Robert’s fire. “But we knew we would encounter some resistance; this is radical stuff, Robert.”
“Well, I surely could have prepared Charles better. Helped things to go more smoothly. Assured him that you’d already considered all the gravest risks.” Ruth put her hand gently on Robert’s back. “But he came around eventually. That’s the important thing, right? The two of you are going to perform your first leucotomy!” Ruth’s heart raced as she said this out loud. She believed unequivocally in Robert. Edward was a gifted surgeon, and she was sure he wouldn’t push forward if they weren’t ready. Still, this was brain surgery. On a real live patient. On Penelope. What if it didn’t work? Or she died? Ultimately it was Ruth who was bringing this radical treatment to Emeraldine, and she would be to blame if anything went wrong. “Really, it’s a good thing that Charles questioned you so intensely. It’s his job to be skeptical, and if he was convinced, then there is no doubt this is the right thing to do.”