Chapter 7- The Exam
Charlotte King just came back from spending three weeks in Alabama. She was only going to stay for two weeks but she learned her grandmother,Sarah King, was ill and wanted to spend time with her. She was down because she knew she would not be seeing her grandmother when she went back again. Charlotte was also down because she started to have cramping. She was worried so she went straight to see Addison when she arrived back in LA that afternoon.
"Montgomery, do you have a minute?" Charlotte asked anxiously.
"Charlotte! I didn't know you were back. How was your trip?" Addison asked
"It was good, but I need to talk to you about something." Charlotte said nervously.
"What's going on Charlotte?' Addison was concerned.
"I know you're not my OB but your good and I need the best." Charlotte told her
"Why are you worried Charlotte?" Addison asked.
"Something is not right with this pregnancy. I've been pregnant before and this one feels different." Charlotte told her
"Charlotte every pregnancy is different." Addison tried to reassure her.
"I feel real crampy and bloated this time. I never felt like that with the others." Charlotte explained.
"Are you having any bleeding?" Addison asked
"No, but I'm having morning sickness, well all day sickness I should say. I'm nauseous all the time and I vomit if I eat anything besides dry toast or crackers." Charlotte said.
"You know morning sickness is a sign of a healthy pregnancy. It means the hormones are doing what they're meant to." Addison told her.
"I know that. It's just this cramping bothers me." Charlotte was anxious.
"Do you want me to do an exam?" Addison asked.
"I 'd feel better if you did. "Charlotte told her
"Okay come in my office. I'll have to get a history before I can examine you." Addison replied.
Cooper saw Charlotte go in Addison's office and decided to check out what was going on.
"Charlotte, when did you get back? ' Cooper asked
"Just now, I came straight from the airport. ' Charlotte explained
"Why would you do that? Is something wrong with my, uh, our baby?" Cooper wanted to know.
"I don't know. I'm having cramps. So Addison is going to examine me." Charlotte said worried.
"Okay." Cooper was worried now too. He really wanted this baby. It was his only connection to Charlotte since they broke up. "Do you mind if I stay?" Cooper asked her.
"You're the daddy! Of course you can stay." Charlotte told him
Addison began asking questions for the history form. "How far pregnant did Dr. Roberts say you were when he examined you?"
"He went by my dates, I'm about ten weeks along" Charlotte told her.
"You said you have been pregnant before? " Addison enquired
"Yes" Charlotte answered.
"How many times have you been pregnant?" Addison asked.
"This is my fourth pregnancy." Charlotte told her, nervous about Cooper listening.
"Were they all full term?" Addison asked
"The first two were full term. The third one I delivered early at 33 weeks." Charlotte told her.
"Why was that?' Addison needed to know for the medical history.
"I was under a lot of stress and went into labor 7 weeks early." Charlotte told her. Charlotte was nervous that Cooper was listening, What must he be thinking? she wondered .She glanced over at him and was surprised he looked so calm. She thought he would be shocked to hear this.
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"What happened with the baby? Did it survive? ' Addison asked
"Oh yes!" Charlotte answered. "She spent about a month in the NICU but she was discharged healthy".
"So no major problems from the early birth.?" Addison wanted to make sure she was getting this all down in the chart correctly.
"No, she was just small and needed to gain weight. We had to give her tube feedings for a while until she was strong enough to gain weight on her own. But that's it no other medical problems." Charlotte told her.
"That's good." Addison replied.
"What about the other two pregnancies? Were there any complications?" Addison asked/
"No." Charlotte said
Were they natural or c-section?" Addison enquired
"They were all natural. I was in labor about 12 hours with the first and 6 hours with the second and the third one came out quick. The labor was normal. Now can we be done with all these questions and just do the exam?" Charlotte was getting annoyed because Cooper could hear everything.
"I need to know how much the babies weighed at birth for my records . We are almost done." addison assured her.
"The first one was 6 pounds 2 ounces, the second one was 7 pounds even and the last one was only 3 pounds cuz she was early and I already explained that. Now are we done with these questions?" Charlotte snapped.
"How long ago was the last time you gave birth?" Addison asked.
"September 2004!" Charlotte told her. " Now are we done!?"
"Yes, go into exam room one and put on a gown. "I'll be right in." Addison told her.
Cooper followed Charlotte into the exam room but he didn't say anything. Charlotte couldn't imagine what he must be thinking. She changed into the gown and Addison came in to examine her.
Addison performed the exam . They listened to the heart beat with the doppler and Charlotte and Cooper were both relieved to hear that sound.
"So is everything good then?" Cooper asked Addison.
"Well yeah, but one thing is off. Charlotte are you sure you're only ten weeks pregnant because by my measurements I have you as being a little further along. Are you sure about those dates?' addison asked.
"Absolutely! Charlotte told her. I know exactly when I got pregnant. It was the day of Maya's wedding." .
"You're a hundred percent sure? " Addison asked
"I'm 200% sure." Charlotte told her.
"I'm going to need to do an ultrasound to see what's going on. Wait here and I'll go get my machine." Addison said as she left the room.
After Addison left Cooper questioned Charlotte. "Are you sure you weren't with any other guys after we broke up Charlotte?"
"Yes, Cooper you're the only one I slept with. I didn't sleep with Scott until I already knew I was pregnant." Charlotte told him.
"So why is Addison questioning the dates?" Cooper wanted to know.
"I guess my uterus is measuring bigger than it should be for these dates.' charlotte told him.
Addison rolled in the portable sonogram machine.
"I'm going to use an internal transducer because it is more accurate in the first trimester okay Charlotte." Addison explained.
"Fine." Charlotte snapped.
"I need you to scoot down to the end of the table and put your feet in the stirrups." Addison instructed.
Addison inserted the transducer and Cooper grabbed Charlotte's hand and held it.
They all looked toward the screen. "Oh my!" Addison said. "I see the problem, well not that it is really a problem." and she smiled at them.
"I can't see the screen good from here. What's going on? " Charlotte asked
Cooper stared at the screen. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing Addison?"
Review Please! What did Cooper and Addison see on the screen? Find out in chapter 8!
