Sitting in the Hospital
I am sitting in the hospital with my wife, who is 33 weeks pregnant as of today. Since last night, she had a long-running headache, occasional floaters in her vision, persistent bloating in her feet, and general lack of feeling “right”. She scheduled a same-day appointment with her OB/GYN this morning and the analysis from that visit found that she had elevated blood pressure and some protein in her urine. These are warning signs of preecampcia, which is the most common of the dangerous pregnancy complications.
The OB/GYN sent my wife to the labor and delivery rooms at Prentice Women’s Hospital for a suite of tests and monitoring. I left work and met her at the hospital. The initial tests look good and an ultrasound confirms that the baby is doing fine. We are waiting on blood test results for additional insights. If the test results are good, she will get to go home tonight. If not, she will have to stay the night for additional observation.
The emotional roller coaster of today’s events has finally caught up with my wife and she is now sleeping in the hospital bed. She looks like an angel. The only noise in the room is the rhythmic beat of the baby’s heart playing on speakers through the monitoring equipment. It reminds me of being on Amtrack as a child or returning home from college when I would rest my head against the side of the car and listen to the regular “chugga-chugga-chugga” sound of the train as it moved over the tracks.
