And Baby Makes Three
This chapter is from Jimmy's perspective.
Yes, Quinci was the miracle child that Nance and I would never have. I knew that when I married her that a child might not be in our future but I was head over heels in love and I couldn't live without her. When Nancy started complaining she had the flu - smells were bothering her, running to the bathroom at all hours getting sick and then after a full night sleep still have no energy to even get out of bed. I should have realized something besides the flu was going on. After a week of flu symptoms she made a doctor appointment for Wednesday, July 17, 2013.
Although I had my doubts, Nancy assured me that I didn't need to go with her to the doctor's. "Seriously, Jimmy what are they going to tell me - It's the flu, I'm working to hard and I need to take a vacation," she commented to me the previous day.
The day of the doctor appointment I was worried about her, she looked paler then usual. As I kissed her goodbye I asked her one more time if she wanted me to go with her and she assured me no but I had a gut feeling plans were going to change. My first meeting had just started when my phone rang.
I looked down at the caller i.d. and said, "shit" to myself - it was Nancy. I stepped out into the hall to take the call. She was very apologetic about this but she begged me to come home and take her to the doctor. Through tears she told me she was nauseous, dizzy, and couldn't get the energy to even get into the shower. I assured her I would be home quickly to come and take her to her appointment and that I loved her.
The staff was shocked when I returned to the room, grabbed my stuff, and walked out without saying a word. I was a man on a mission and the only person I had to explain myself to was Lorne - who understood fully and said don't come back until she's okay - Lorne said either he would get Seth to host or run a re-run. He understood how important she was to me and knew it would be hard to function, let alone be funny, if she was that sick she couldn't muster enough strength to get into the shower.
I appreciated that the guy who drives me to and from 30 Rock didn't ask why I was going home in the middle of the day. He just did his job and got me home in record time.
Nancy always keeps me on time to go somewhere. I was shocked to see my wife not even close to being ready, heaving into a toilet with nothing coming out, and trying to catch her breath. I decided to take her to the emergency room since she was so dehydrated. When I arrived home she looked at me trying to cry. The tears that should have been falling from her eyes when she looked at me weren't coming out. I helped Nancy get dressed, grabbed my phone, wallet and keys - shoving them into whatever pockets, and helped Nancy to our car. Throughout the drive to the hospital I whispered to her I loved her and it would be okay even though I was scared shitless - I had never seen her so sick, tired, and/or weak before.I called the doctor's office to let them know the situation and they agreed with me taking her the emergency room was the right thing to do.
Dropping her off at the emergency room doors, I explained that why we we're here and he wheeled her into the ER triage center while I parked the car. I called Lorne, explained that why we were at the emergency room and told him I would call him back when I knew something. He said not to worry; that Seth had everything under control.
When I get into the emergency room waiting area I find my beautiful wife with her eyes closed and the hood of the hoodie tightly on, trying to block out the noise. The constant vomiting has not only dehydrated her but has given her a killer headache. I take her to registration where they enter her in the computer and put a wristband on her. As we wait for her to be called into triage, I rub my thumb over her hand, squeezing her had ever so often, trying to comfort her.
She finally dozes off when she's called to triage. I wheeled her over to a cherry nurse who seemed to be more than thrilled to help us. The nurse took her vitals, surprising me that she wasn't running a fever, but that her blood pressure was running on the high side of normal, which, for her wasn't normal. Afterwards, we were led to another part of the emergency room to wait for someone to take us to a room.
Nancy had manage to fall asleep again while we waited for a room so when someone came I just gently guided her chair to the room. He told me to get her undressed and put the gown on her. As much as I hated to, I had to wake her up enough to get her dressed and into the bed. I closed the curtain around the glass; dimmed the lights, and gently woke her up.
"Sweetheart," I whispered in her ear, "we need to get you undressed and into the bed," She wakes up enough to get her dressed and into the bed but immediately falls back into an exhausted slumber.
Moments later there's a knock - a nurse comes in, turns the lights on a bit brighter and puts an IV line in Nance's arm. Even in her sleep she winces when the needle is inserted in her skin. I whispered comforting words trying to distracted her. The nurse turns the lights down, shows me the remote for the tv and lets us be. I take a look at her from the glow of the tv - she was as pale as the white sheets on the bed. Asleep, she can't see my silent tears drip from my eyes - I don't know what's wrong with her and I damn well know I can' t live my life without her.
Another knock - this time a lab tech comes in to draw blood from her. "Don't wake her up, let me see if I can draw this without her having to make a fist," he says. As the technician does his work there's no response from her - finally her brain is allowing her to rest. Unfortunately, peaceful tranquil is soon ruined by the doctor that is assigned to her as he violently flips the lights on. Nance is grimacing in pain, covering her eyes, trying to make the darkness return.
"Make them turn off the lights, Jimmy," she cries to me, which in turns gets my emotions going. All I want to do is punch this guy, turn the lights off, and hold and rock her back to that peaceful slumber that she was in. The lab tech, who was finishing up his paperwork, sees the look on my face, and hears the pain in Nance's voice, quickly turned the lights out. The doctor must have gotten the message because he did not attempt to turn them back on.
"So what brings you here?" the doctor asks, sounding like we were at a furniture store looking for a bedroom set.
Nance whispers, "I feel like shit. All I've been doing is throwing up - now I'm just dry heaving - nothing, not even bile coming up. I'm nauseous, sensitive to smells and my body is so tenders that it aches."
The doctor looked like he had a suspicion of what the issue was but until the tests were ran and confirmed his conclusion we weren't going to find out.
"Lets see what the blood work states and we'll see if additional tests will be necessary. Right now we will focus on getting you rehydrated."
Everyone makes their exit as quietly as possible. The door was latched quietly, I adjusted the curtains over the glass door, and sat down. Nancy reached for my hand and I willingly gave it to her.
"Everything hurts, Jimmy," she cried to me in a whisper. Anything louder made her head scream more.
"I know babe," I whispered back. I just wished I knew why you're feeling like this."
"I've never felt like this before. What if it's something dire? I don't want to die," I could see the tears trying to come out.
"You're not going to die," I whispered to her. Praying that I was telling her the truth, "I'm sure it's just a bad case of the flu - nothing more. Get some iv fluids in you and you'll be good to go."
"But what about your show? Lorne is going to throttle you for missing it."
"No, I've already talked to him. Seth is going to do it tonight."
Suddenly my phone went off - I could see Nance wither in pain and cursed myself for not shutting it off.
"I'm sorry honey," I kept repeating it until I answered it. It was Drew, Nancy's production partner. Quietly I spoke, "Hey, Drew."
"Hey, do you know where Nan is at? We have a 12 Noon meeting and I can't seem to locate her. It's not like her not to show."
Nance wanted the phone, "Drew, do what ever. I won't nor do I care to be there," she said causing a great deal of pain in her head. She handed me the phone to finish the conversation.
"Drew, it's Jimmy. Yeah, Nance has a bad case of the flu to the point that we're in the emergency room right now. She dehydrated and in pain. I'll call when I know more." I didn't give Drew a chance to respond because I hung up.
I turned my phone off - hated to in case news got out regarding Nance and scaring our family but right now Nance needed peace and quiet. I sat down and just focused my brown eyes to her blues eyes; caressing her hand. I put my forehead gently to her's and whispered, "Go to sleep, my angel; I love you."
Dozing, I was awoken my the nurse changing IV bag. They were pumping in the fluids rather quickly to get her vitals stable. Assured she was sleeping and no one would be coming in and bother her for the next 30 minutes, I kissed her on her cheek and stepped out to grab a bite to eat from the hospital cafeteria.
As I walked to the cafeteria, I called my sister Gloria.
"Jimmy, what's wrong?"
Obviously, she knew my scheduled. "Well, I had to take Nance to the hospital. Seems like a bad case of the flu. She couldn't even throw up bile, no tears when she was crying, and her body just aches."
"Do you need anything? You need me up there?"
"No, could you call family on both sides and just tell them what's going on. We'll call later to let them know what's going on - but I don't need them to hear it from another source. Listen I've got to go - my phone will be off so tell them that too and I call you as soon as I know something."
"Love you guys, call me as soon as you can with news."
I pay for my coffee and sandwich and go back up to the room. I enter and can hear Nance mumble something in her sleep. She suddenly wakes up and tells me she's going to be sick. I put the tubs in front of her and nothing comes up - just more dry heaves and trying to catch her breath in between them. It was breaking my heart to see her like this. I just couldn't wait for all this to stop. All I could do was rub her back and keep her hair out of her face until it stopped.
"I hate this. I feel like an alien took over my body," Nance said - something lighted up in her eyes like the lightbulb went off in her head. "What if something invaded my body? she giggled.
"Unh?" Not comprehending where this thought processes was going.
"Jimmy, you can be so funny when you're completely loss in the conversation."
"So what are you thinking because I'm totally not following you."
Nance put her hands in mine, "Look at me Jimmy. What if I had an alien inside of me. I mean it would make sense - all the symptoms I have - puking, fatigue, body aches, no sex,..." she waited before continuing because she thought I would catch on. Obviously my blank expression and confused look I had on my face showed that I was still in the dark. "Jimmy, what if I was pregnant?"
"What?!" I said, now really in shock.
At that moment the doctor came in. "Well I have the results of your blood work and everything looks good - your hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin levels are high.
"In english doc,"
It means she's pregnant. With that being said, would you like to see if it's viable now or schedule an appointment with your own doctor?
Nance was excited, I was scared shitless. What if this wouldn't go the way it was planned; what if this wasn't viable? I know that Nance was past that magical maternal age but since Drew had Olive - Nance really wanted a baby - a girl. I wanted one too but supported Nance in whatever she wanted - she had to carry the baby.
"Jimmy," Nance called to me, noticing the wheels of though spinning through my head. Taking my hands, "It's going to okay. Stop thinking and enjoy the moment."
The ultrasound machine was brought in and the tech put the stuff on Nance's belly. As much as I tried to enjoy the moment I couldn't. We had been really trying and every month when it came Nance would go and hide in the bedroom and cry; never once was I allowed to comfort her - I felt more of a failure then she did. I was so lost in thought that I hadn't even realized that they had begun the scan and they had found a very strong and viable heartbeat. Nance had to nudge me to say, "Do you hear that? - That's the heartbeat." Now I could breathe - until they realized that the due date would be February 14, 2014 - right before I begin the Tonight Show. Shit, I thought to myself.