by Marie Jem
As I worked for another hour, I felt the cramping worsen. It was time for Laura to go home and I said goodbye to her, but still didn’t mention anything about the cramping. I called Dr. Holmes’ office across the street and they said I could just walk in and see the doctor whenever I wanted to.
“Do you have any bleeding or spotting at all?” asked the nurse.
“No, it’s just a menstrual cramp feeling in my belly,” I replied.
“Why don’t you come to the office and Dr. Holmes will take a look at everything to make sure the baby is doing well,” she stated.
“I can be there in less than twenty minutes,” I replied and called Alex to let him know I would be at the clinic at five o’clock if he wanted to meet me at Dr. Holmes’ office.
“What’s wrong, baby? You’re having pain? Should I come across the street and wheel you there in a wheelchair?” he offered.
“No, Alex, I’m fine. It’s just cramps and I don’t have any bleeding or spotting and can walk perfectly fine, so I will meet you up there in twenty minutes,” I promised.
I shut down my computer and closed up everything at the office and headed for the restroom before walking across the street. The cramping became more and more intolerable by the second. I had a feeling I had to use the restroom very badly. I even began to feel nauseated from the pain in my belly and felt very wet in my underwear. I pulled down my underwear, fearing the worst and sure enough, there it was. Blood. A large amount of dark red clotted blood filled my undergarment. I began to panic as more blood trickled down my thigh. I grabbed as much toilet paper as I could and padded myself before pulling my panties up again and ran out of the restroom.
I called the elevator, but it was so slow and I just couldn’t stand there and wait in pain, bleeding down there. I headed for the stairs, lightheaded from fear, nauseous from pain. I felt more and more nauseated as the cramps intensified and the bleeding continued out of my control. I was at the top of the stairs, looking down, everything blurry in front of me. Dark spots filled my vision as I felt my legs give out from under me as I rolled down the stairs, bumping my forehead, and the back of my head. My ribs hit hard against the steps as I finally hit the bottom and stopped. I just lay there, as I couldn’t move. I didn’t know whether it was from fear that I could be paralyzed, have a brain bleed, or lose the baby that caused me to freeze at the bottom of the stairs, listless. I tried so hard to get up, but the pain in my belly, my head, my ribs, and countless other areas of my body left me motionless. I could hear my cell phone ring and ring. I closed my tear filled eyes and thought if that was how my life was going to end. Alone. Bleeding. Broken. Dead. Everything went black.
Chapter 26
Moments later, I heard a door open in the stairwell and footsteps toward the top of the stairs. I was still frightened as ever, but relieved that someone was going to discover me and that I wouldn’t lie there and die alone. I heard my phone continue to ring, but it was far from me, since my purse had fallen out of my reach.
“Miss? Are you ok?” I heard a woman’s voice as she hurried down the steps to see if I was hurt. “Oh my goodness, you are bleeding. Don’t move. I will get help,” she said and began to get up. She was a very petite, older woman, probably in her sixties, with short brown hair and glasses.
“P-please answer my phone and let my boyfriend know where I am. He’s a doctor and is working a-across the street, waiting for me,” I pleaded. The kind woman answered my cell phone and let Alex know exactly where I was and what had happened to me. He instructed her to stay with me until he got there with a team of doctors.
“Don’t you worry, dear, I got you. You’re going to be just fine. Your boyfriend, Alex is on his way,” she assured. She distracted me from my condition for the very short amount of time we had together by talking to me about her husband. She was visiting him at the hospital, as he was a patient with a heart condition. Just then, I heard footsteps running up the steps and toward us. It looked like Alex had called the entire trauma team for help. They examined my head, neck, and other possible injured areas of my body. They noticed I had bled down there and was possibly still bleeding.
“Claire, baby, what happened?” Alex asked, his voice filled with worry. “Tell me how it happened, baby,” he said.
“After I hung up with you, the cramping got much worse and I felt as though I needed to use the restroom. I went to the restroom and noticed I had begun to bleed. Then the bleeding continued and continued until the blood was coming out in clots. I panicked, put a lot of toilet paper down there and headed for the elevator, which was taking such a long time that I thought it was broken and decided to take the stairs. The cramping was so severe at that point that I felt nauseated and lightheaded when I reached the top of the stairs and here I am,” I explained.
“We’re going to put her in a cervical collar before we take her to the ED. I’ve already paged OB,” one of the physicians explained to Alex. The next thing I knew, I was on a stretcher with a thick object around my neck, holding me still. Alex didn’t let go of my hand while they wheeled the stretcher into the elevator and to the Emergency Department. The pain in my head was getting worse, along with the pain in my arm.
“Alex, I hope nothing happened to the baby. I’m scared,” I confessed.
“Everything is going to be all right. They’ve ordered an ultrasound to see how the baby is doing,” he said.
As I was wheeled into the Emergency Department, I could hear one of the physicians explain my situation, “Twenty-five year old female, in c-spine precautions due to fall from a flight of stairs. Patient is approximately ten weeks pregnant and has vaginal bleeding and abdominal cramping. Patient possibly has a forearm fracture. She will require a CT scan of the head due to head injury from the fall, and a chest x-ray for possible fractured ribs,” and he went on and on. I decided to distract myself by zoning out if I didn’t want to hear too much about my injuries and possible fracture, brain bleed, broken neck, or whatever else they thought I had.
“Alex, may I see you for a minute?” One of the physicians asked to speak with Alex, as they walked far from me, so that I couldn’t hear them. He looked very worried and I wondered what the other physician was saying to him.
The kind nurse took my blood for lab tests and checked my blood pressure. The obstetrician stepped into the room and introduced herself.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Jones. I heard you took a bad fall. I’m going to do a quick ultrasound to make sure everything looks good in there,” she explained. “When did the cramping and bleeding start?” she asked.
I explained everything to the doctor as best I could. “The bleeding was so sudden and unexpected. I didn’t begin spotting lightly or anything. It was sudden, heavy bleeding and clotting,” I said. Alex was by my side, holding my hand tightly and assuring me that nothing bad was going to happen. I had difficulty agreeing with him. When Dr. Jones began the ultrasound and looked at the screen on the monitor, she frowned. She looked at Alex and then at me.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” she said, which answered everything for me. I looked at Alex with tears in my eyes, speechless.
“I knew something horrible was going to happen, Alex. I just knew it. My premonitions never fail. I just had to fall down the stairs,” I said.
“Miss Morgan, statistics show that most first pregnancies end in miscarriage. Falling down the stairs did not cause this. It was just a hormone imbalance, which is very common. You’re young and healthy and can always try again,” she assured. Everything else was a blur after that moment. I just stared into space as she gave Alex instructions on what would happen next.
After Dr. Jones left the room, Alex took my hand, “It’s okay, Claire. We can always try again, baby. It just wasn’t meant to be, that’s all,” he said as he kissed my hand.
A gentleman walked in to notify us that I would have an x-ray of my arm and chest and a CT scan of my head to rule out any serious head injuries. Alex accompanied him as he wheeled me to the radiol
ogy department.
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After the x-rays and scans were taken, I was wheeled back into the emergency department with Alex by my side every second of the way. He held my hand firmly as we waited for the results, hoping for some good news for a change.
“Claire, I will never take your premonitions lightly from now on, I promise,” Alex said. I stayed quiet, for fear that if I said anything or even thought anything negative that it would come true. Alex began to pace in the room as we awaited the results of my other injuries. An older gentleman entered the room with what looked like results of my scans.
“Hello, Alex, I would say it’s good to see you, but not in here. Hello, Miss Morgan, I’m Dr. Holden,” he introduced himself to me. “I have the results of your tests. Most of it is good news. Your forearm x-ray came back negative for fracture. It is only a sprain and we will have that splinted for you in a few minutes. The CT scan of your head came back negative as well. There is no swelling or bleeding, but we do believe you may have a mild concussion, which is why you have a headache. We are going to keep you in the hospital for at least a night or two, so that we can monitor your concussion and make sure you are in good condition before we send you home. Your chest x-ray shows two rib fractures. Your vaginal bleeding is under control now and I’m very sorry about the miscarriage. Someone will be in shortly to splint that arm and as soon as we have a bed available upstairs, it’s yours. You will have your own private room, so Alex can stay with you. I’m glad your injuries are very minor, considering the rough fall down the stairs. Feel better and take care of this lovely young lady, Alex,” he said, turning to Alex before leaving the room.
Alex looked relieved, “Oh, baby, that was good news. I was so afraid of something horrible showing up in the head CT and I’m so relieved that it’s only a mild concussion. I’m going to stay in the hospital with you until you’re discharged,” he stated.
“Alex, you can go home once I’m admitted. You look like you could use a warm shower and a good night’s rest,” I replied.
“I’m not leaving your side, Claire. I can take a shower here in the hospital once you are settled into a room,” he said. “Besides, did you actually think I could sleep for one minute without you by my side?” he asked.
A splint was applied to my arm as promised and I was admitted to a private room. Alex went to grab a change of clothes from his locker and took a shower in my room. He took a seat at the edge of the hospital bed, his hair wet, and his eyes a darker shade of blue.
“I have an early morning surgery tomorrow, but I’m going to have someone cover for me in the clinic for the afternoon,” he said as he moved closer to me. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, as I winced from the pain in my ribs.
“It just hurts when I take a deep breath,” I replied.
“I’m going to ask for some IV pain medication. You’re going to need it, so you can comfortably take deep breaths to prevent your lung from collapsing,” he explained. I didn’t argue with him after that explanation of possible complications. The nurse pushed the pain medication through the IV and I became drowsy almost instantly as the pain vanished.
“Take a few deep breaths before you fall asleep, Claire,” Alex advised. I did just that and was out like a light bulb.
I didn’t get good sleep that night. Nurses and doctors were in and out of my room, checking on me to ensure my pain was manageable, checking my blood pressure and other vital signs that Alex made sure they addressed. The bleeding had stopped completely, so they no longer feared blood loss.
Alex kissed me goodbye shortly after five in the morning to head to the operating room for his early morning surgery. “I miss you already,” he said before leaving the room. A sudden feeling of sadness and loneliness kicked in after Alex left. I thought about calling my mother to let her know what had happened, but didn’t want to worry her. I prayed the doctor’s would allow me to go home soon, so I could gently break the news of the miscarriage to my parents and close friends.
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I could hear a familiar voice coming from the hallway around eight o’clock that morning as I lay in the hospital bed. It sounded so much like my mother. A gentle knock on the door followed that voice and in walked my mother and my father.
“Sweetheart,” my mother began, sadness in her eyes, as she took my hand into hers, “Alex called us late last night and told us about what happened. How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Honey, it breaks my heart to see you like this,” my father said.
“My baby is gone, I have a concussion, a sprained arm, and a couple of broken ribs. If I can get through this, I will consider myself a very strong person,” I replied.
“You are a strong person, Claire. You are one of the strongest people I know,” said my mother.
“Where is Alex?” my father asked.
“He’s in surgery. He will be here right after he’s done,” I replied.
“Sweetheart, after you’re discharged from here, why don’t you come home and I will take time off to take care of you until you’re better,” my mother’s idea.
“I’m fine, mom. I just want to be with Alex at my place. He takes very good care of me,” I replied.
“I know he takes good care of you, I’m not saying he doesn’t. Wherever you want to stay is fine with me. I just wanted to offer,” she said.
“Thanks mom. I don’t know what I would do without you guys,” I said, looking at my father.
My parents stayed for a while, but noticed I was getting very tired. After they left, I realized how nice it was of Alex to call them and let them know what had happened to me. Not even ten minutes after my parents left, Stefano walked in with flowers and get well soon balloons.
“Hey you. I’m so sorry about what happened to you, Claire. How are you doing?” he asked.
“Hi, Stefano, so sweet of you to come. Let me guess. Alex called you last night,” I said.
“Yes, he did and I didn’t like what he had to say. I’m just glad you’re all right. It could have been so much worse,” he replied.
“How have you been? How is Mandy? I missed you guys,” I confessed.
“We missed you too. Mandy is very good, actually. She couldn’t come with me because of work, but she sends you good health wishes and hopes you feel better very soon. You need to stop spending time as a patient in these hospitals, Claire,” he joked.
“Believe me, I tried, but it just didn’t happen,” I smiled. I was so happy to see Stefano. He kept making me laugh, but the pain in my ribs wouldn’t allow me to have any fun. I begged him to stop, as it was difficult to tolerate when I began to laugh at his jokes.
“Knock knock,” Alex said as he returned from morning surgery. I hadn’t realized it was almost one o’clock in the afternoon. He greeted Stefano as if he were his good friend. I liked the change I saw in Alex that day.
“I’m going to head out and leave you two lovebirds alone,” Stefano joked. “I hope you feel better soon and I will come see you with Mandy next time,” he said as he leaned down and gave me a light hug, making sure he didn’t hurt me. He gave Alex a quick hug as well and headed out.
“Alex, how sweet of you to let my parents and Stefano know about my condition. My day went by so fast, since they all visited. I’m feeling so much better and my mood is much higher than it was this morning after you left for work,” I confessed.
“I contacted all the people you care about and who care about you. You shouldn’t be alone at a time like this,” he said as he lay down on the bed next to me, trying hard not to hurt me as I was still in pain from my ribs. He gently put his hand on my face and turned it to face him.
“I love you, baby,” he said, softly kissing my dry lips. “I love you so much that if anything had happened to you yesterday, my life would have ended as well,” he confessed.
The nurse came into the room to check on me as she did every hour to make sure I was comfortable. “Oh, hi Dr. Blake. How are you feeling, Miss Morgan?” she asked.
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“It hurts a lot when I try to take a deep breath,” I replied.
After looking in the computer, she agreed that it was time for some IV pain medication. She left the room and came back with the medication she pushed through the IV, causing my eyelids to get heavy, but making it so much easier to take deep breaths. Alex made sure I exercised my lungs, so that they didn’t collapse, as he feared could happen.
I must have slept for a good three hours because when I opened my eyes, Laura was standing next to me, speaking with Alex. Her eyes lit up when I awakened, “Claire, how are you? I’m so glad you are all right. Why didn’t you mention anything about cramping yesterday? I would have stayed with you and wheeled you to the doctor,” she said.
“I really didn’t think I was going to start hemorrhaging and miscarry,” I replied. Laura was such a genuine person. She stayed with me for a few hours and told me about the interesting day she had with Taryn barging into Walter’s office as usual. She was making me laugh until she realized it was too painful for me and began to talk about serious things.
A gentle knock on the door brought in Katherine and John, and my brothers Kyle and Calvin followed with Molly holding a box of my favorite chocolates. Alex hadn’t left anyone out. He knew the only way to bring my mood up was to be surrounded by those that I loved.
As if I didn’t already have a room full of visitors, Walter and Taryn showed up as well. I wasn’t comfortable with Taryn in the room at all. I couldn’t help but feel that she was happy about what had happened to me. I didn’t need her artificial sympathy.
“We missed you up there today, Claire,” said Walter. “Take all the time you need to recover. I don’t want you to come back until you’re one hundred percent back to your healthy self,” he added.
Alex helped introduce everyone to each other as I was lacking energy from entertaining visitors since that morning. Everyone began to mingle with one another, making small talk, when Taryn decided to open her mouth, “So, Claire, you’re not going to sue the hospital or anything are you? I mean you did fall at the work place,” she laughed. No one else seemed to find it funny, especially Walter. She must have noticed the tension because she made up an excuse about running errands and left. Katherine looked at me and smiled, as she had finally met the promiscuous woman from work that I kept telling her about.
