Douglas Kennedy - A Special Relationship

She took him through my decline and fall - her language economic, rigorous, and devoid of melodramatic pity for what had befallen me. She was a first-rate storyteller - and she had Traynor's full attention as she pressed forward to the end of her opening statement.

'Though Ms Goodchild has never denied that - while in the throes of a clinical depression - she once expressed lack of concern about the child's survival, and once uttered a threat against her son, she never carried out this threat, nor committed any violent action against him. She also openly admits that, while suffering from sleep deprivation and her ongoing postnatal depression, she did accidentally breastfeed her son while taking sedatives - an incident for which she still feels ongoing remorse.

'But those three incidents I've just outlined are the entire sum total of the "crimes and misdemeanours" that my client has been accused of committing by the applicant. And out of these three incidents, the applicant manipulated the facts to initially obtain an emergency ex parte order against Ms Goodchild - a hearing that conveniently took place while she was out of the country at a family funeral. The applicant has since further exploited these incidents to win the Interim order, granting him residence of the child, essentially condemning Ms Goodchild as an unfit mother, and, with the exception of one pitiful hour a week, separating my client from her infant son for the past six months. I say that the applicant has acted in a ruthless, opportunistic fashion against his wife - and all for his own gain'.

She sat down. There was a moment's pause. Then Lucinda Fforde stood up and called her first witness: Mr Thomas Hughes.

In he marched, dressed in an excellent suit, his demeanour every bit the arrogant Harley Street specialist. He stepped into the witness box, took the oath, and then nodded with a certain old boy politeness to Mr Justice Traynor. It was at that moment that I noticed they were wearing the same school tie.

'Mr Hughes, you are considered, are you not, one of the leading obstetrics specialists in the country', Ms Fforde began, and then reminded the court that his witness statement had been submitted earlier. But just to verify the details of this statement, was it his opinion that Ms Goodchild's behaviour was abnormally extreme while under his care at the Mattingly Hospital?

He launched into this subject with reasoned relish, explaining how, in all his years as a consultant, I was one of the most aggressive and extreme patients he had encountered. He then went on to explain how, shortly after the birth of my son, the nurses on the ward had reported to him about my dangerously 'capricious and volatile behaviour'.

'Desperate stretches of crying', he said, 'followed by immoderate bouts of anger, and an absolute lack of interest in the welfare of her child - who, at that moment, was resident in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit'.

'Now, in your witness statement', Lucinda Fforde said, 'you emphasize this latter point, noting how one of the nurses reported to you that Ms Goodchild said - and this is a direct quote: "He is dying - and I don't care. You get that? I don't care'."

'I'm afraid that is correct. After her son was recovering from jaundice, she became extremely unsettled in front of the entire maternity ward, to the point where I had to verbally calm her down and inform her that her behaviour was most unacceptable'.

'Now it has been clinically argued that Ms Goodchild was in the throes of a postnatal depression during this time. Surely, you have dealt before with other patients suffering from this sort of condition?'

'Of course. It is certainly not an atypical condition. However, I have yet to deal with a patient who reacted in such a profoundly aggressive and dangerous manner - to the point where, when I heard that her husband had sought a court order to remove the child from her, I was not at all surprised'.

'Thank you very much, Mr Hughes. No further questions at this juncture'.

Maeve Doherty now stood. Her voice was cool, level.

'Mr Hughes... I'd like to ask you when you had Ms Goodchild bound to her hospital bed'.

He looked startled. 'I never ordered that at all', he said, his tone indignant.

'And when did you have her heavily tranquillized?'

'She was never heavily tranquillized. She was on a modest anti-depressant to deal with the postoperative shock she suffered from her emergency Caesarean...'

'And when you had her committed to the psychiatric wing of the Mattingly...'

'She was never committed, she was never heavily tranquillized, she was never bound to her bed'.

Maeve Doherty looked at him and smiled.

'Well sir, having stated that, how can you then say that she was a dangerous patient? Surely if she had been a dangerous patient, you would have ordered her to be bound...'

'It is true that she did not commit acts of physical violence, but her verbal behaviour...'

'But, as you just said, she was suffering from postoperative shock, not to mention trying to cope with the fact that her son was in Intensive Care. And there was an initial worry about whether the child had suffered brain damage during the delivery. Now, surely, under such circumstances, one might expect the patient to be rather agitated'.

'There is a large difference between agitation and...'

'Rudeness?'

Traynor came in here.

'Please refrain from putting words in the witness's mouth'.

'Apologies, My Lord', Maeve Doherty said, then turned back to Hughes.

'Let me put it to you this way: if we have agreed that Ms Goodchild wasn't violent or so extreme in her behaviour, then how can you justify your claim that she was one of the most extreme patients you have ever dealt with?'

'Because, as I was trying to say earlier, before you interrupted me, her verbal abusiveness was so immoderate'.

'In what way immoderate?'

'She was thoroughly rude and disrespectful...'

'Ah', Maeve said loudly. 'She was disrespectful. Towards you, I presume?'

'Towards me and other members of the staff, yes'.

'But specifically, towards you, yes?'

'She did act in an angry manner towards me'.

'Did she use obscene language, did she hurl insults at you, or call you names... ?'

'No, not exactly... But she did challenge my medical judgment'.

'And that is extreme verbal abuse, in your book?'

Hughes glanced at Lucinda Fforde, like an actor asking for a prompt.

'Please answer my question', Maeve Doherty said.

'My patients usually don't question me like that', he said.

'But this American one did - and you didn't like it, did you?'

But before he could reply, she said, 'No further questions, My Lord'.

The judge turned to Lucinda Fforde and asked if she'd like to re-examine.

'Please, My Lord', she said, standing up. 'Mr Hughes, please repeat for me the comment which one of your nurses reported as being said by Ms Goodchild when told about her son'.

Hughes's lips twitched into a relaxed smile. Then he wiped that off his face and stared at me with cold ire.

'She informed me that Ms Goodchild said: "He is dying - and I don't care. You get that? I don't care."'

'Thank you, Mr Hughes. No further questions'.

He looked to the judge, who informed him he could step down. Then, glowering at Maeve Doherty, he left the court.

Next up was Sheila McGuire - the ward nurse who had shopped me to Hughes about the breastfeeding incident. She seemed desperately nervous and ill at ease on the stand, and had a handkerchief between her hands which she continued to knead. Maeve knew she was going to be the second witness, and told me that a useful passive-aggressive tactic against someone who would be testifying against me was to catch her eye, and simply stare at her throughout her testimony. I did just that - and it did have the desired effect, as her discomfort level increased proportionately. But she still managed to recount the entire story about how I yanked Jack off my breast in anger while feeding him, and had to be restrained from throwing him across the room.