The Shock of a Lifetime
Needless to say the last year hadn’t been an easy one for me and my husband, but we had finally received the news that we had been waiting for. We had finally conceived once again.
I didn’t feel any different, not even a little. I didn’t feel sick or tired and I was able to cook and eat just about everything. I was really enjoying this pregnancy.
At the six week mark I started to feel nauseous. I remember driving in my car going to pick up some things for my best friend’s 30th Birthday party. I was talking to my dad on the phone and said “I think I feel nauseous for the first time today Dad.”
I went into the store to use the bathroom and almost screamed when I looked down and saw the amount of blood.
I ran out of the store and called my husband crying. I was in a state of shock. I didn’t know what to do.
I called my parents and within minutes my mom met me at the house and rushed me off to the hospital, almost exactly one year after I had been there for my first miscarriage.
It was a Friday night and none of the staff wanted to be working and they didn’t try to hide it.
I had blood taken and was told to wait for the doctor to come and tell me the results. A sign on the wall stated the process should take about 90 minutes. My husband arrived at the ER and we sat in almost the exact same seats as we did the year prior.
After two hours I asked the nurse who took my blood for an update, she said she’d find out, but she never did.
I’m a pretty patient person, but after four hours in that waiting room I had had just about enough. It wasn’t until one of the nurses came up and gave me instructions for my ultrasound appointment the next day that I lost it. “What do I need an ultrasound for?! I haven’t even heard what my blood test results are!” She looked shocked and quickly ran off to the nurse who had taken my blood.
I once again took the bull by the horns and approached the nurse. The conversation went as follows:
“I’ve been told that I need an ultrasound…
She quickly cut me off.
“Yes, well the technicians are all gone for the day so you’ll have to have it tomorrow.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. I’m just wondering why I need it as the doctor has yet to tell me my blood test results.”
“Oh so you’d like me to have the doctor speak with you?”
“Well according to your policy posted on the wall, he was supposed to do that more than two hours ago!”
“Alright well you’re going to need a shot anyway, so I’ll let him know that you want to talk with him.”
This is when I lost it.
You see, a year before, I needed to get that ‘shot.’ I have A-negative blood type which is pretty rare. If the baby has a positive blood type you need the shot to ensure that if any of the baby’s blood leaks into your body you won’t die or get very sick. To me, I associated ‘the shot’ with a miscarriage.
I then yelled at the nurse “Well it’s just a bit disconcerting to be told that you need an ultrasound when the doctor hasn’t even taken the time to tell you why!!”
I walked into the hallway and started hyperventilating, something I’ve never done before. My husband was so upset with the nurse and the staff that he was doing all he could not to tear a strip off of them.
In a matter of moments the doctor was going over the blood test results with us, telling us that everything still seemed normal, but that I’d needed to have an ultrasound first thing in the morning to be sure.
After a sleepless night we headed back to the hospital, this time for a very pleasant experience.
The morning staff were wonderful, very compassionate and made us feel like we were people rather than numbers.
I had an extremely thorough external and internal ultrasound. This ultrasound was different. When I had miscarried last year, the technician had the best poker face I had ever seen and didn’t say a word.
This time she was smiling and showing me the monitor (although I had no idea what I was looking for).
She asked if I was okay with her calling in her colleague for a second opinion. I was confused but happy to comply. She just kept saying things like “Do you see this?” “What about over here?”
I asked her if everything was okay, she assured me that I was still pregnant but that I’d have to talk to the doctor.
Relieved, yet confused my husband and I walked downstairs to the ER to await the results.
The doctor was pleasant and seemed to have all the time in the world for us, what a difference from the night before!
The first words out of his mouth were something we weren’t prepared to hear: “Well, you’re definitely still pregnant, and although we’re not certain, it looks as though you might be having twins!”
