I offered to help with public records and not to speak for her.
We exchanged numbers.
I went home understanding that the case was larger than my own birth without feeling entitled to anyone else’s story.
Graham Alden’s lawyer sent Dana a letter proposing a private meeting.
The letter described his client as a responsible custodian of historical records who wished to avoid unnecessary distress to families.
It offered to cover my legal expenses and the window repair if I agreed not to make public statements about the clinic without first allowing his company to review them.
Dana read the proposal with the expression she used when hospital administrators handed staff a policy that appeared helpful until the last paragraph.
“You are not signing this,” she said.
I had no intention of signing, but I asked why he would offer money if he believed there was nothing wrong.
Dana reminded me that settlement offers did not prove wrongdoing.
They could reflect legal risk, reputational concerns, or simple preference for privacy.
Still, the proposed restrictions went far beyond the damaged window.
Graham wanted control over the timing and contents of my speech about my own records.
I told Dana to decline the condition while leaving room for lawful exchanges of evidence.
The next day, Graham called the hospital where I worked and asked for my supervisor.
He did not identify himself as a patient or relative.
He claimed he had concerns about an employee disclosing confidential medical information.
My supervisor, Karen Liu, contacted me immediately and said the complaint lacked specifics.
She did not presume it was true.
She referred it to the appropriate internal channel and told me to keep my professional records separate from the family case.
I was furious that someone had tried to reach me through my paycheck.
At home, I told Leah about the call without repeating Graham’s accusation as fact.
She asked whether he could get me fired.
I said he could make trouble, but my employer had procedures and the truth mattered.
The uncertainty frightened her more than my attempt at reassurance.
I apologized for sounding too confident.
I told her that the situation might be difficult and that I would ask for help rather than hide it.
She said she wanted to be included in decisions that affected her safety.
We agreed she would receive updates about meaningful changes, not every threatening message or legal detail.
Later, Karen told me the hospital found no evidence of patient-data misuse.
