by Tamika Brown
He hung up, not giving her a chance to say anything.
She pressed the release button on her cell phone and placed it atop her night table. Shayla pulled her shoes from under her bed but decided not to put them on just yet. She had a feeling all her clothes would be coming off soon. Rushing into the bathroom, she took one last look at herself in the mirror.
It had been a few weeks since she last laid eyes on Calen, and she was twice as big! She ran her hands through her hair and smoothed her clothing just in time to hear a car door closing in her drive.
She hurried to the stairs and started down them. Normally, she was very careful going down those stairs. Pregnant or not, they could still be dangerous. But her foot hit a bump in the carpet as Calen walked through the door, and she tumbled down the stairs.
When Shayla awakened, she was lying in the backseat of Calen’s rented Tahoe. She heard him on the phone, almost sounding hysterical, and tried to sit up. A sharp pain ran through her back to the front of her stomach, and she cried out.
“No, don’t try to get up. Just lie back down. She’s awake now. We’ll be there in five minutes.” He hung up the phone and watched her through the rearview mirror. “Are you all right?”
“What… what happened?” she asked, confused. She hurt all over.
“You don’t remember?”
“No. Calen what is it?” She was getting more hysterical by the minute as she recognized the fear written all over his face.
“You fell down the stairs. We’re on our way to the emergency room.”
“Calen, the baby!” Her hands immediately went to cradle her belly, and tears welled in her eyes.
“I don’t know, babe.” He swallowed hard. “You were bleeding when I put you in the car.”
Shayla could see the towels Calen apparently put underneath her to soak up the blood were completely saturated. The tears she tried to hold in cascaded down her face at the realization of her condition.
The vehicle slowed down. They must be at the hospital.
CALEN
Calen hurriedly put the car in park, yanked the keys out of the ignition, and raced to scoop her out of the back seat, careful to bring the towels under her with them.
She draped her arms around his neck and nestled her nose under his ear, silently crying into his strength.
Calen reassured her, “He’s gonna be okay. Don’t worry.”
As soon as the words left his lips, Shayla let out a moan of pain that ripped his heart out. He was in a trot by the time he reached the nurse sitting at the front desk with Shayla still in his arms and still moaning.
“I need some help! We need to see the doctor,” he said, out of breath.
“What’s wrong, sir?” The nurse looked up from her monitor.
“She’s about eight months pregnant. She fell down the stairs. She’s bleeding and in a lot of pain,” Calen explained.
The nurse immediately called up to the OB floor while an orderly took Shayla from Calen’s arms and placed her in a wheelchair.
“He’s going to take her up to the OB floor. I need you to fill out some papers, answer some basic questions for me, then you can go on up.” The desk attendant handed Calen several papers, one being a release of records and permission to treat Shayla.
Once signed, the questions came.
“Is this her first pregnancy?”
“Um… yes, yes, I think so.”
“Any high blood pressure or complaint of headaches?”
“No.” But he couldn’t be sure. He hadn’t been here for the majority of her pregnancy, so he revamped his answer. “Not that she has said.”
“Who is her doctor?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her.”
“About how much blood has she lost?”
“I don’t know exactly. When I picked her up at the bottom of the stairs, I just noticed the blood. There was a pool around her, and her clothes were soaked through.” He was getting annoyed with the questioning. Calen ran his hand down his face. “I brought the towels with us,” he said, worried out of his mind. “Are we done?”
The demand came out more forcefully than he intended it to be. The questions the desk nurse asked him made him realize how little he knew about the mother of his child. It was embarrassing and frustrating as hell he couldn’t answer the basic questions about her or the pregnancy.
“Yes, we’re done. You can go up.” She handed him a visitor’s pass.
Once on the fourth-floor, he went straight to the nurses’ station, explained who he was, and she gave him Shayla’s room.
“Room 425, room 425,” he repeated as he glanced from room number to room number looking for hers.
Finding it, he took a deep breath before he reached for the handle. Shayla didn’t need to witness him out of control. He had to be a rock for her, for their baby. He forced himself to calm down and opened the door.
Two nurses were getting Shayla into a gown and putting a baby monitor on her belly, and another prepared to put an I.V. in her arm while the doctor explained to her exactly what was happening.
Calen rushed to her side and introduced himself. “Robert Calen. How is she, doctor?”
“How do you do? I’m Dr. Radford. We haven’t gotten any preliminary readings yet. The nurses are hooking her up now.” He turned to Shayla. “How many months are you?”
“Eight months.” Shayla’s shaky voice clued Calen into her present state.
“Who’s your regular OB? I want to contact them and let them know you’re here.” The doctor calmly asked the next question.
“I go to the Rose Medical Center. Dr. Simmons is my doctor. I was supposed to have my sugar test done today.” As she finished, she let out another heart-breaking cry of pain.
Calen moved closer to her.
“What about the baby?” he asked just as the nurse finished with the baby monitor. There was an outcry of happiness, which quickly turned into tears as a weak but steady thump filled the room.
“That’s the baby’s heartbeat. It’s weak, which indicates the baby is in some distress, but it’s steady. I’m going to give you something for your pain and go call your doctor.” He gave specific orders to the nurses before he and one of the nurses left the room, leaving the others to their duties.
“How are you doing right now?” one of the remaining nurses asked.
“Fine, but a little uncomfortable. I’m sticky. I may be still bleeding.”
“I’ll check you in a minute. Let me explain to you what’s going to happen. By the way, I’m your nurse. I’ll be here with you all the way. My name is Cathy.”
Calen and Shayla both introduced themselves and prepared to listen intently to the nurse.
“Regardless of whether Dr. Radford gets in touch with your doctor, he’s going to do a C-section. The baby is in too much distress to wait it out.” She turned to Calen. “Sir, I need to ask you to step out while I prepare her. When I’m finished, you can come back in.”
Unable to believe what was happening, Calen stepped out into the hall.
First, his best friend and, now, his future wife and his son. He really didn’t know how to handle it all. All he knew was to be strong for Shayla. He needed to call her parents, then try to reach Tela in Germany to let her know what happened.
Calen dialed the Blackwell’s. “Hello? Ms. Blackwell?”
A sophisticated voice floated over the phone line. “Yes, this is she.”
“This is Robert Calen.”
“Oh, hello, Mr. Calen. How are you?”
“I’m fine, ma’am. I wanted to let you know Shayla and I are at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. She fell down the stairs, and when I got to her, she was bleeding.” He didn’t give her a chance to say anything. “She’s in room 425. They’re going to deliver the baby via C-section. I have to get prepared. I’ll see you all when you get here.”
He hung up the phone. He knew he was short with her mother, but it was all he could do not to scream at the top o
f his lungs. He would apologize when he saw her.
He took a deep breath and started to dial Tela when the nurse stepped out into the hallway to collect him. “Mr. Calen, she’s ready. You can come back in now.”
Tela could wait.
As Cathy ushered Calen into the room, she handed him a gown of his own along with a cover for his head, a facial mask, and covers for his feet. As Calen got his operating room gear on, another nurse arrived to take Shayla to the operating room.
“Someone will come and get you as soon as they are ready for you Mr. Calen,” she said and left the room, giving them privacy.
“Shayla, I called your parents. They’ll be here in a little while,” he said as the nurse wheeled her out of the room.
SHAYLA
Cathy spoke to her as Shayla stared up at the ceiling, watching the tiles go by quickly as if spinning out of control.
She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing.
Cathy explained, “Okay, Shayla, your fall triggered contractions, but the contractions aren’t strong enough to trigger dilation. However, Dr. Radford doesn’t want to risk it, so he’s performing an emergency C-section.”
Shayla wished her mother were here. But Calen said her parents were on the way. This lifted some of the heavy burden she felt from her shoulders. She came out of her thoughts, struggling to focus on the nurse’s words.
“The anesthesiologist will be waiting for us when we get to the room. He’s going to give you a spinal that will numb everything, but you’ll be awake. You won’t miss the birth of your baby,” she said with a smile.
Shayla couldn’t force a smile back. She was too worried about the baby to find anything to smile about in this scary situation.
The nurse continued, “There will be extra personnel in the room, a lot more than in a normal delivery. There will be close to ten people in the room. There will be nurses for you and the baby and nurses to assist the doctor. But don’t worry, hun, we’ll take good care of you.”
All of those extra people making sure everything went well alleviated some of Shayla’s nervousness.
They finally reached the operating room. The anesthesiologist was there as Cathy promised. Shayla was prepped and ready to commence the surgery.
As soon as she laid back, the curtain to separate the point of incision from her view and keep the area sterile was raised. Calen came to her side, giving a reassuring nod.
Before the surgery began, the doctor asks her a few questions to make sure the anesthesia was working properly. “Tell me if you feel me poking you. Here? And what about here?”
“No. No, sir, I don’t feel anything. I don’t even feel the contractions.”
“Okay, then we’re ready to go,” Dr. Radford said.
Cathy moved alongside her. “All right, Ms. Blackwell, you’re about to see your baby.”
With a slight tug and pull, a wail unlike any other she had ever heard rang out inside the operating room, which caused the tears to fall more rapidly. She squeezed Calen’s hand and could see the tears threatening to cascade down his face as well as Dr. Radford lifted the baby up over the curtain separating her lower and upper halves so she could see their baby better. As quickly as their baby appeared, the neo-natal nurses just as quickly swept him away.
CALEN
“I’m gonna see about the baby. I’ll be right back,” Calen whispered to her as his lips brushed her temple slightly. She looked exhausted from the whole ordeal, but he could see she was elated as well. Her smile reached her eyes and was so genuine he could not help but return it.
Calen heard his baby’s cries as he approached the incubator and watched as the nurses worked feverishly to make sure all was well with Little Robert.
With all the commotion, Calen got the impression that something was wrong but didn’t dare ask. He was too afraid.
Just then, one of the nurses turned to him with the baby in her arms and handed him to Calen. His breath caught in his chest as he took hold of his son, amazed by the little miracle. He couldn’t help but get a little teary-eyed as he lowered his face to his son and kissed him lightly on the forehead before the nurse reached to take him back.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Calen, but we have to take him to the NICU. He’s having a little trouble breathing, and we want to make sure he can continue to breathe on his own before we take him to the nursery.”
Calen shook his head as he returned Robert Jr. and walked over to Shayla to let her know what was happening with their son.
The doctor was sewing her back up. She was drifting off to sleep, but her eyes opened as he approached. “How’s the baby?”
“He’s gotta go to the NICU. The nurse said he’s having trouble breathing on his own. They want to make sure his lungs are more mature before they take him to the nursery.” He tried to let go of any trepidation in his voice. He didn’t want to alarm her. She didn’t need that right now. “I’ll check on him once you’re settled. Don’t worry, get some rest, okay? I love you.”
But she was already asleep. This was Calen’s opportunity to find out a little more about Shayla’s condition. She wasn’t looking good to him. He was used to her milk-chocolate complexion looking vibrant, as if she glowed, but now her face was ashen. And she looked as if she was in pain. Frown lines were etched across her face, and every now and then, she released a moan. Nevertheless, she remained asleep. Although it seemed uncomfortable, hopefully, it would help her regain some of her strength. He caught the doctor as he was leaving the room.
“Dr. Radford, what’s happening with Shayla?” He tried to keep his voice from wavering, but even he could hear he was on the verge of tears. He took a deep breath and listened intently as the doctor filled him in on Shayla’s condition.
“So, with the transfusion, she’ll make a full recovery? Her blood pressure is down?” He was eager to make sure the love of his life would be there to watch their son grow up.
“She will be fine. As I said she lost a lot of blood, but as soon as we took the baby, her blood pressure was down.”
Calen was relieved.
“Now, she will be sore from the bruising from the fall, mostly. So, she will need to take it easy, no sudden moves with the C-section,” he said.
Calen shook his hand as the doctor took his leave. He needed some air and time to process. He slipped out the door and headed outside.
32
Shayla
When Shayla awakened to her mother’s voice, she was in a regular room. She spoke with someone, the doctor Shayla figured, but she was too groggy to be sure. She cleared her throat to let them know she was listening.
Her mother grabbed the water cup off the bedside table and gave her a sip of water.
Dr. Radford peered down at her and smiled with concern in his eyes. “Shayla, how are you doing?”
“I’m fine. I’m more concerned about the baby.”
“Of course, you are. That’s understandable. Let me tell you what’s going on.”
Good straight to the point, she thought.
“We have to give you a blood transfusion. You lost a lot of blood in between your fall and the surgery,” he said as Cathy came in with bags of blood and a warming machine.
Her mom moved out of her way.
Dr. Radford continued, “You also have a condition called HELLP Syndrome.”
Shayla was confused. She had no idea what he was talking about. Had never even heard of it before. “So, what is it exactly? Is it life-threatening?” She could pick up the apprehension in her own voice.
The doctor explained, “HELLP Syndrome is when your red blood cells are being broken down by your body. Your blood doesn’t clot. Now, usually, we see this condition in a patient with preeclampsia. The only indication we had of preeclampsia with you is your blood pressure was a little high. You were already bleeding.”
He paused briefly for any questions she or her mother might have while the nurse switched out the I.V. bag and turned on the machine that would pump the blood
into her body.
When it was apparent she had no questions, he continued, “I’ll be honest with you HELLP Syndrome has about a twenty-five percent mortality rate. We’ve had to send people to other hospitals because of this, but I’ve also seen, in my many years of practice, loss of life as well. A lot of times there are no symptoms. I’m pleased to say, however, we caught it early, and you’ll be fine. The fall did cause a bit of bruising to your hip and shoulder, but no damage to the baby. I’m sure your, um… husband?”
“Oh, no, he’s not my husband,” she said. “But he is the baby’s father.”
“Yes, well. I’m sure he explained to you why the baby is in the NICU. His lungs aren’t ready for air just yet. He will spend a few days there, then come off the respirator. When you’re feeling better, you can go visit him, but not before we get at least three pints of blood in you. I’ll check in with you in about an hour to see how you’re doing, okay? Get some rest.”
He and the nurse left the room and her to the vices of her mother.
ROSE BLACKWELL
As the doctor spoke to Shayla, Ms. Rose Blackwell stood patiently by, absorbing everything the doctor said, missing nothing.
The more he explained, the more agitated and teary-eyed she became, listening to the ordeal her daughter went through with her first child. What upset her even more was the fact she wasn’t there to help her daughter through it.
As the room cleared out, Rose moved forward to be with her daughter. She sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes roaming from the blood transfer machine to her daughter. She was in a daze. Hard for her to wrap her head around she almost lost her daughter.
“Mom… Mom. Where’s Dad and Calen?”
Rose jumped slightly as she came out of her reverie. “I’m sorry. I was somewhere else. They went to see the baby. Shayla, he’s so beautiful. You should see him…” Tears began to fall.
