July 18, 1956

"Matthew, you are simply going to have to hire a nurse for the baby. You know very well that you can't stay home to care for it. If you won't call the nursing agency, I will. I mean to see to it that my granddaughter receives proper care." Catherine's voice was shrill with annoyance. She couldn't understand why Matt and Maddie hadn't taken care of this matter before the baby was due. It was completely ridiculous, in her opinion, for Maddie to tie herself down to a baby. For one thing, she had social obligations, as the wife of Matthew Wheeler. Natalie was completely silly about this subject, but at least she didn't have a social position to maintain. Catherine sniffed as she thought about Natalie's husband, a traveling photographer for the National Geographic magazine.

"All right, Catherine! I'm calling them now, and I will interview applicants at my office." Matt was determined to run this show himself. And although he would not admit it to Catherine, the nursery supervisor had also suggested that he hire a baby nurse.

"Even after Mrs. Wheeler comes home, she won't have the stamina to care for a baby full-time for a while," Miss Reid told him. She gave him business cards from several nursing agencies.

***********************

After interviewing 15 women, Matt chose a kindly-looking middle-aged woman for Honey's nurse. Her name was Mrs. Carter, and she was a widow, the sole support of an invalid mother. Matt felt reassured by this since he felt her situation meant she would be motivated to work hard and do a good job. She spoke as if she was very knowledgeable about babies, and also as if she enjoyed children.

"I was in my last position for five years, Mr. Wheeler," Mrs. Carter told him. "I only left because the twins I cared for started school. You will find a reference for me from the Banks family."

In fact, the Banks family gave Mrs. Carter a glowing reference, and seemed to be very sorry she was no longer in their employ. Matt had his secretary research Robert Banks and his wife, and was satisfied that Mrs. Carter was the jewel they claimed her to be.

July 20, 1956

The day Matt was to bring his daughter home was another Hudson River Valley scorcher -- bright, sunny, and already in the upper 70s by sunrise. Mrs. Carter and her personal belongings had arrived at the Wheeler apartment the previous evening via car service as Matt had arranged.

"Mr. Wheeler, I'm ready to go to the hospital now if you are," she now said briskly, closing the door to the nursery and carrying a small suitcase which held the soft receiving blanket, lightweight kimono, and tiny booties she had chosen as Honey's coming-home outfit.

At the hospital, Matt waited impatiently with Mrs. Carter in the room where he had visited with Honey every day. He paced the floor for what felt like hours before all of the baby's paperwork was completed. Finally, Honey appeared in the arms of Miss Reid for the last time. Mrs. Carter took the baby and efficiently outfitted her, fastening the diaper pins perfectly evenly before slipping a pair of tiny rubber pants over the absorbent cloth. Next, she swaddled her neatly in the receiving blanket, without a wasted motion, refastened the suitcase, and stood with her charge cradled in one arm and the case in her other hand.

"I think we're ready now, sir," she said.

Matt had begun to feel himself very skilled at infant care – well, not diaper changing – but he was a rank amateur compared to Mrs. Carter. He felt reassured, but somehow unnecessary. Quickly, he brushed that feeling away.

"Let's take Honey upstairs and introduce her to her mother," he said eagerly.

"Oh, Mr. Wheeler, I'm terribly sorry." His friend, Miss Reid, was speaking. "There are infectious cases on your wife's floor. That's the last place you should be taking a newborn." Her voice was regretful but very firm.

"If there are infectious cases on my wife's floor, shouldn't I be worried about her being exposed to those patients?" Matt was shocked that it would be all right for Maddie to be on such a floor when she was so fragile and had been so close to death. He felt a tingle of renewed fear for her at this revelation.

"Infants' immune systems aren't developed, sir. That's the reason you shouldn't take your daughter to that floor. Besides, they are very strict on visitors – absolutely no one under sixteen years of age is allowed above the first floor, unless they are a patient. I'm sure there is no danger to your wife. She is in a private room, and didn't you tell me they are giving her penicillin injections?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose that will kill any germ that might try to infect her. I know she would get better faster, though, if she could see our beautiful daughter," Matt responded wistfully.

"Why don't you take some pictures of the baby when we get back to the apartment?" suggested Mrs. Carter. "There is an overnight film developing service near there. You can take pictures at home today, and bring the prints to Mrs. Wheeler tomorrow."

"That's a good idea. Let's go." Matt's spirits lifted. At last there was something he could do. Dirk and Natalie had given a very nice camera to the Wheelers for Christmas, and Matt had been intrigued by the techniques Dirk was eager to demonstrate. He had taken a number of snapshots of Maddie, the nursery, the ducks on the lake in Central Park, and the vacation lodge in the Catskills where he and Maddie had spent a weekend in early May.

Matt entered Maddie's room that evening with a bouquet of yellow roses in one hand and a lovely wrapped package in the other. He had left Honey home with her aunt Natalie, her cousin Ben, and Mrs. Carter. It was a balm to his spirit for once that Natalie was still visiting. Although he felt comfortable with the nurse, it reassured him to know that a family member was present when he left his newborn daughter with a stranger for the first time. After taking a whole roll of pictures of the baby and letting Ben play with the exploded flashbulbs -- until he put one in his mouth, Matt had called his secretary and asked her to go to Macy's, buy the prettiest negligee they had, have it gift-wrapped, and take it to the hospital gift shop. He would pick it up when he went to visit his wife. Meanwhile, he took his roll of film to the overnight developer and bought flowers at the florist shop in the hospital lobby.

Maddie looked up to see her husband entering the hospital room behind a huge bouquet of flowers. Not sure just what to do, she smiled shyly at him.

"How are you, my darling?" he asked, bending down to kiss her thin cheek. He tried not to let her see that it hurt him to look at her. Always slender, she had lost weight and her once-shiny hair was dull and lifeless. She grimaced with pain upon the slightest movement; her arms and legs still bore the marks from the skin hemorrhages. Matt felt a wave of guilt – she had been so ill as a result of bearing his child. He couldn't blame it on poor medical care; Dr. Harris had told him it was one of those things which just happened. All of the doctors and nurses had worked hard to help her. No, it was he himself that was to blame. A voice inside his head insisted, she wanted the baby too, but he still felt somehow to blame. God, please let her get well, he prayed, and I'll take care of her as long as I live.

"Matthew? Are you here to take me home? I've got to finish getting ready for the baby," Maddie said to him. "I don't think I like this hotel. The food is bland, and the bed is very uncomfortable. Besides, I miss you. Please take me with you."

"Darling, you've had the baby – she's a sweet little girl. You're still in the hospital. You were very ill, but now you're better. Dr. Harris says you'll be able to go home in another week or so." Matt smiled encouragingly at his wife, but he was beginning to wonder if her mind had slipped. He had answered her questions about going home every day for the past four days, but she couldn't seem to retain the information. Matt made up his mind then to ask Dr. Harris to have her examined by a psychiatrist.

Matt visited for the allotted thirty minutes, ringing the nurse to ask for a vase for the roses, and opening the package for Maddie so she could see the lovely ivory negligee and robe, with matching slippers. She smiled happily and exclaimed over the silky, lace-edged garments before placing them carefully back into their tissue–lined box. "I'll wear them for you once I get my shape back," she told him with a flirtatious bat of her eyelashes.

July 22, 1956

"Mr. Wheeler," said Dr. Harris, "The staff psychiatrist, Dr. Young, has examined Mrs. Wheeler, as you requested. It is his conclusion that she is suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation. He recommends that she be left undisturbed by the nursing staff from ten o'clock at night until seven o'clock in the morning. He wants her to receive a menu, so she can choose her food for each meal, and he suggested that she be taken to the solarium twice a day. Her condition has stabilized and I expect that she will be able to go home in another week to ten days, so I am in favor of implementing those recommendations. I think you will see a big change in her mental state."

"That sounds reasonable," Matt replied. "But why can't she just go home now? I could have a private duty nurse for her there; we have a cook and a maid, so she would be able to rest and eat good meals, and she would be in familiar surroundings."

"That is true. However, I'd like for her to remain in the hospital until her stitches can be removed, and she has another five days to go for that. She is still having fever intermittently, and needs to be watched for signs of infection. She is not out of the woods for some kind of late complication, and I'd like to see her regain more of her strength before I send her home."

"All right. You're the doctor. I defer to your expert judgment. But I expect to see some real progress in the next couple of days." Matt was struggling to control his impatience, but he knew Dr. Harris was thorough and concerned for Maddie.

It took several days, but finally Maddie Wheeler achieved a full night's sleep three nights in a row. With Matt's help, she had filled out her menus, although her appetite was still poor. Her nurse took to the solarium each day in a wheelchair, and she took an interest in the horticultural displays as well as seeing the outdoor walled garden. Her confused episodes gradually decreased, and her lucid intervals were more consistent. Although her memory still seemed to fail sporadically, she was quicker to accept explanations.

Natalie and her son went back to Boston, since it seemed that the danger was over. However, Catherine Hart planned to continue her stay at the Plaza until after her daughter returned home.

July 28, 1956

At seven o'clock in the morning Maddie lay in an early stage of wakefulness, not quite ready to open her eyes, although she could smell the flowers which filled her room. She felt some soreness in her lower abdomen, and wondered for a moment if this was an early phase of labor. Reaching down to feel her belly, she was frightened to discover she was no longer pregnant. Her breasts, too, had shrunk – they were even smaller than they had been before her pregnancy. She opened her eyes to see a white-clad nurse at her bedside, holding a basin of warm water.

"Are we ready for our bath?" inquired the nurse with a smile.

"Where is my baby?" Maddie's voice was sharper than she meant it to be.

"You've had your baby; in fact, she is seventeen days old today," replied the nurse. "Your daughter is at home and doing well. You were very ill after the birth, and had to stay in the hospital longer than usual." This explanation had been repeated over and over until it was routine for the nursing staff. Today, Miss Dennis determined to try to do more to stimulate Mrs. Wheeler's memory. "Do you remember being in the ICU and receiving blood transfusions?"

"ICU – you mean intensive care unit? Was I in intensive care? And you say I had to have blood transfusions? I don't remember any of that. Where am I now?"

"This is a regular post-surgical floor. What about that bath now? We don't want our water to get cold, do we?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want mine to get cold!"

While the nurse bathed Maddie and then changed her bed, Maddie quietly submitted to her care and tried to remember the past seventeen days. She couldn't remember anything past this room, though, and finally gave up trying.

Dr. Harris visited just before lunch. He pronounced himself very pleased with her progress. "Your incision is healing well," he said. "Your temperature has been normal for the last three days. No signs of infection or separation of the wound since I removed the stitches. You should be able to go home in a few more days. I'd like to see you eating more and walking the length of the hallway four times daily. Besides that, I'm going to start you on an iron supplement."

Her face lighted up, and Maddie glanced to several framed photographs of her new daughter, displayed on a small table which also held a fresh bouquet of roses.

"Oh, Dr. Harris, I'll try to eat more. I can't wait to go home to my husband and baby. Even though I've seen her pictures, she still doesn't seem real to me. You know I did plan to breastfeed her, but I don't think I have any milk now. Did I ever have any?"

"Yes, you did, but it dried up a long time ago. It sounds like she is thriving on her formula, though. Your husband gives me daily reports, and she's gaining weight well."

"That's good. I guess he's told me, too. It's so hard to remember things. I wonder if I'll be able to take care of her. I know Matt did tell me he hired a nurse for her. I was looking forward to caring for our baby myself." Maddie's voice was wistful.

"Mrs. Wheeler, it's for the best that he has a nurse for her. You won't have the stamina to care for an infant for a while yet, and Mrs. Carter is excellent. However, you should be able to help with her care while you regain your strength."