A/N - I've been doing time jumps to move the story along, I've listed them at the top of each page for any of you keeping track so don't be surprised that the kids are aging and pregnancies advancing rapidly. We have five years to get through to get back to that cemetery scene. I can make the time seem longer if I post less frequently so it seems like more time went by. Let me know your opinions. Thanks
Two months after the last chapter.
CHAPTER 10
Nicky accompanies Andie to St. Ambrose to have a prenatal ultrasound. Andie lies on her back on the table while the tech performs the procedure. Nicky looks on.
"We don't want to know the sex." Andie tells the tech. "So, please don't tell us."
"I won't." The tech watches the monitor screen. This tech is not too talkative, she's taking a long time to do the ultrasound and she seems to be concentrating on a certain spot on the baby. This is Andie's fourth pregnancy so she's used to having ultrasounds and knows that they measure the size of the baby, checking the head and organs to make sure they measure within the normal limits.
"Is everything okay?" Andie asks, watching the monitor.
"Uhm…just a minute." The tech doesn't take her eyes off the monitor, she keeps measuring something. The monitor makes a beeping sound every time the tech takes a new measurement.
Nicky senses a problem now too. "What part of the baby do you keep taking measurments of?" He asks.
"It's the heart." The tech keeps her eye on the screen.
"How come I don't see it beating?" Andie asks, concerned.
"It's beating…here." The tech turns on the sound so that Andie and Nicky can hear the heart beat. They hear the repetitive lub dup lub dup sound, only a trained medical professional would pick up on the difference between this heart beat and that of a normally developed fetal heart.
"I like the sound of that." Andie sighs.
"Why can't we see it beat?" Nicky asks.
"I'm zooming in on different sections of the heart, I need to take different views and measurements from different angles, it's hard to see the beat from this zoom level." The tech tells them, still concentrating on the monitor.
"Why are you measuring the heart so much?" Andie asks. "I don't remember them doing that with my other kids."
"I'm a tech so I'm not allowed to tell you but I'll have the doctor come in and talk to you as soon as I'm done measuring." The tech explains.
Andie looks at Nicky. She doesn't need to say anything, he heard the tech too. There's something wrong with the baby's heart. Her eyes start to well up with tears. Nicky squeezes her shoulder.
The tech finishes. "Let me go get the doctor to talk to you." The tech leaves the room.
Andie puts her hands over her eyes. "Something's wrong, Nicky. They don't normally do that. It's the heart, there's something wrong with the heart."
"Okay." Nicky swallows while he nods. "Let's wait and see what the doctor says. Maybe it's not so bad."
"I hope not." Andie squeezes Nicky's hand.
The doctor comes in now. "Hello, Mr and Mrs. Poulos. I'm doctor Connors, I'm on call for Ob-Gyn today. The tech asked me to have a look at your ultrasound. How are you feeling?" He asks.
"I'm feeling fine." Andie responds. "I'm just worried about the baby's heart."
"Let's see." The Ob-Gyn doctor on call looks at the images on the screen. He checks out the meaurements the tech did. Andie and Nicky stay quiet while the doctor looks over the ultrasound himself now. He takes more measurements of his own and it seems like it is taking forever. "What are you, about twenty weeks pregnant?" He asks, looking at the ultrasound monitor.
"Twenty three weeks." Andie confirms.
"When was your last ultrasound?" He asks.
"Not since I was six weeks because everything has been normal." Andie talks fast before gulping.
The doctor can sense the panic in Andie's voice. "It's okay, I was just wondering why nobody picked it up sooner but you were too early at six weeks for it to show up."
"For what to show up?" Nicky asks.
The doctor moves the sonogram wand around to look at the different angles of the heart himself. "There is an abnormality of the heart." He tells them.
"We already know that." Nicky responds. "What's wrong with it?"
"The baby has a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot. I need to do a fetal echocardiogram of the baby's heart to see the extent of the problem." The doctor says.
"Can you do the echo on the baby before it's born?"
"Yes, we can. We need to get a better look at the Tetrology before the baby's born so we know how serious the condition is."
"What does that mean?" Andie asks. "Tetrology of...-?"
The doctor explains. "With Tetralogy of Fallot there are normally four different defects within the heart, sometimes only three are present."
Andie takes a deep breath. "How bad is it? Can the baby die from it?"
"There are different degrees of the defect, we need to do an echocardiogram to see if it is mild, moderate or severe but in most cases the baby will require surgery to correct the problem."
"When?" Andie asks.
"Depending on how severe the defect is. The most severe defects we like to fix immediately because it interferes with the baby's oxygen supply. In moderate or mild disorders we like to wait until the baby is a few months old so they're bigger at the time of surgery, it all depends, each baby presents different."
"What happens after the surgery?" Nicky asks. "Can the baby have a normal life?"
"That's what we strive for. Most individuals are able to lead a normal life after surgery."
"When can I have the echo?" Andie asks.
"I'll call the echo department to schedule it now." The doctor tells them.
"My mother is Dr. Charlotte King. She just retired as Chief of Staff, tell them that so I can get in as soon as possible."
"Got it." The doctor walks out.
Nicky smirks. "Trying to pull some strings?"
"I'm worried, Nick. I need to know how severe it is, so we know what to do."
"There's nothing we can do about it, Andie. It is what it is."
"If it's severe maybe we should think about not having this baby." Andie tells him.
"Are you kidding me?" Nicky screws up his face in disbelief. "You're almost six months pregnant."
"There's places that will do that kind of abortion if the baby has a serious medical condition."
"Those places are illegal." Nicky scoffs. "We're not doing that. We're having this baby."
"And what if it dies?" Andie asks.
"I don't want to think about that." Nicky tells her.
"You have to think about that." Andie tells him. "It's not just us. Think about Harper and Charley. Michael's too young to understand but Harper's eight and Charley's three. They're excited about this baby. What will happen to them if their younger sibling dies?"
Nicky shakes his head. "Harper's already excited about the baby. What are you going to tell her if you abort it?"
Andie answers. "I don't know but it's better to lose it now when I'm six months pregnant than for me to carry it nine months and have it die after it's born."
The doctor comes in. "They're ready for you in radiology to do the echo. I told them you were on the way."
"Thank you." Andie tells the doctor.
Charlotte and Cooper sit at the large round table at the 'Red Robin' family style restaurant with Michelle, Harper, Charley and baby Michael Nikolas in his high chair.
"Eat your chicken tenders." Cooper tells Charley as the toddler squirms to get out of the seat.
"I don't think he likes the booster seat." Michelle tells Cooper. "He's trying to get out of it."
"Let him out, Cooper." Charlotte looks at Charley and tells Cooper. "Charley's a big boy now. He's three, he doesn't need a booster seat like baby Michael."
"Alright." Cooper lifts Charley out of his seat and puts him down on a regular chair. "But if he starts running around the restaurant, you're chasing him, not me."
"What's the matter, Gramps?" Charlotte teases. "Arthritis setting in?"
"Ha, ha." Cooper squints his eyes at her. "You're not far behind me, Granny." He teases.
"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Michelle asks Cooper.
Cooper sighs. "I'm an old man. I'm sixty-five."
Michelle slurps on her soup. "That's not that old."
"How old are you?" Cooper asks Michelle.
"I'm twenty-three."
"You're one year younger than our son Noah." Charlotte tells her. "He's in medical school."
"I met Noah at Michael Nikolas's Christening." Michelle answers. "Nice kid."
"Nice kid?" Cooper chuckles. "He's one year older than you."
"You're young." Charlotte tells her. "Why are you and Chase in such a rush to get married?"
"Chase is twenty-six." Michelle eats her soup. "He wants to start a family soon."
Cooper shakes his head. "I was almost forty when Andie was born."
"Chase doesn't want to be an old father." Michelle realizes how that sounded after it came out. "Sorry, I didn't mean to call you an old father."
Cooper smiles. "No offense taken. I'm a doctor. I finished my residency and had years to establish my practice before I settled down with Dr. King and started a family."
"That's what Tess wanted to do." Michelle tells them. "She wanted to wait and establish herself as a doctor before settling down but Chase didn't want to wait. That was their main problem."
"We're aware of that." Charlotte stabs her lettuce with her fork.
"What do you think is better?" Michelle asks.
Cooper replies."I don't think there's any right way. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. It depends on what's right for the individual."
"Ba, ba, ba, ba!" Ten month old Michael Nikolas sucks on a cracker while he throws his bottle on the floor. Cooper bends down to pick it up for him. He hands the baby the bottle back. "Ba! Ba!" The baby throws the bottle again. Cooper leans down to pick it up and hands it back to the baby. "Gah! The mini Nicky throws the bottle to the ground again.
Charlotte watches Cooper lean down again to pick up the bottle. "You two are going to be at this all day."
This time Cooper keeps the bottle. "Sorry, buddy, grandpa doesn't bend over more than five times in five minutes."
"That's why Chase and I want to have kids while we're still young." Michelle looks on.
Baby Michael starts screaming for his bottle which Cooper is holding onto. Cooper points out to Charlotte. "See that? He's all Nicky."
"I don't know." Charlotte laughs. "I see a lot of you in that kid." Michael cries for his bottle. Charlotte hands the ten month old some Teddy Graham Crackers from his snack pack. "Ga, ba, Ga, ba Doo!" He babbles now as he sucks on his crackers. "Doo doo doo da."
"Stop it, Michael." Harper scolds her baby brother. "We're in a restaurant. People wanna eat in peace."
Cooper laughs. "And I see a lot of you in Harper."
"It's okay, peanut." Charlotte tells Harper. "He's a baby, people understand."
"Gooba….Gooba." Michael babbles.
"He's trying to talk to us." Harper tells Charlotte.
Charlotte nods. "He's practicin' his sounds. He likes to hear himself."
Michelle looks on. "I can't wait until Nicky and I have one. We want at least four."
"Ah.. .Just like we had and now Andie and Nicky will have four." Cooper picks up his salad with his fork.
Charlotte pipes in. "Andie was fine with three." She continues. "Nicky pushed her for the fourth one."
Harper calls out happily. "So I could have a sister!"
"Don't count your chicken before it's hatched, peanut, we don't know if it's a girl or a boy yet." Charlotte warns.
Harper pouts.
"It'll be fine either way." Cooper tells her. "As long as it's healthy."
Charlotte forks her salad. "Your grandpa's right, peanut. That's the most important thing."
"Are they going to find out the sex when they go for the ultrasound today?" Michelle asks.
"No." Cooper picks up his water glass. "They want to be surprised."
"Spoils all the fun if you know what is is." Charlotte tells Michelle.
"I wanna know." Harper points out.
"I don't want to hear any grief from this baby girl if we do find out it's another boy today." Charlotte looks at Harper.
Cooper puts his water glass down. "What difference does it make?" Cooper asks. "Harper will pout if it's another boy whether she finds out today or after the baby's born."
"Once the new baby's born, Harper will love it no matter if it's a girl, a boy, or a toad." Charlotte looks directly at Harper while she speaks. "Isn't that right, baby girl?"
Harper looks up at her grandma Charlotte, knowing she better say yes. She nods her head in agreement.
Michelle places her hand on top of Harper's. "But just think, sweetie, if your momma has a girl then you won't be the baby girl in the family anymore."
"Yes she will." Cooper answers. "Harper will always be our first baby girl grandchild. Charlotte's momma still calls Charlotte her baby girl." Cooper looks at Charlotte. "Isn't that right, Chief?"
"It is." Charlotte refuses to be embarrassed. "It's just somethin' we're accustomed to sayin' in the south, no matter how old a girl child is, she'll always be her momma and daddy's baby girl."
"I love the southern lingo." Michelle smiles. "Every once in a while Chase will say something and I know exactly where he got it."
Cooper pipes in "From his southern momma bear."
Michelle boasts. "I tell Chase all the time how much I love his family and how lucky I am to have crossed paths with him at Surfside Wellness."
"Thank you." Charlotte wipes Michael Nikolas's mouth with a napkin. "Chase is a good fella. He deserves the best."
Cooper laughs, telling Michelle. "Chases's momma really is a protective momma bear."
"I love Chase." Michelle tells Charlotte. "I only want to make Chase happy. You don't have to worry, I would never want to hurt Chase."
"Good." Charlotte takes Michael Nikolas out of his high chair, holding him on her lap.
"Welcome to our crazy family." Cooper smiles and wipes Charley's mouth while Charley tries to run away from his grandpa, laughing.
Andie and Nicky wait for the neonatologist in his office, following the echocardiogram. Andie shakes her foot while she waits.
"Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs. Poulos." The neonatologist shakes their hands.
"You can call us Andie and Nick." Andie tells the doctor.
"I understand you're Dr. King's daughter?" He asks.
"Yes." Andie nods.
"Best Chief of Staff this hospital ever had. We haven't been able to keep one for more than six months since she retired. The board is trying to get her to come back to work."
"Oh." Andie answers. "My momma didn't tell me that."
"I understand she's thinking about it." The neonatologist sits down at this desk. "Your baby has a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot."
"How bad is it?" Nicky asks.
"The baby has a moderate case. You see in Tetralogy there are normally four defects, your baby only has three of them." The doctor explains.
"Three is more than enough." Andie rolls her eyes. "Thankyouverymuch." She says quickly before listening to the doctor.
The doctor gets out a pen and a piece of paper and draws them a simple diagram of the heart. He talks as he draws. "The baby has a hole between two of the heart chambers and this artery here is misplaced." He points. "This area here is too narrow so it produces a narrow outflow of the blood. The bottom line is the baby won't be able to get enough oxygen in his/her blood supply to the body. They used to call these babies blue babies because of the low oxygen levels. You'll notice the baby turn blue when it cries and eats."
Nicky looks on. "That seems pretty bad."
"How long will it live?" Andie asks.
"Without surgery they can live to be about twenty-years old if they're lucky but with surgery to correct the problem there's a 90 per cent chance they'll live a normal active lifestyle."
"We'll take the surgery." Nicky nods. "When can we do it?"
"We'll do the first surgery when the baby is a few months old." The doctor tells them.
"You mean it needs more than one surgery?" Andie asks.
"Yes, we'll do another surgery when the baby is older to widen the artery and increase the blood flow."
"Why can't you do that when you do the first surgery?" Nicky asks.
"The first surgery is to correct the hole in the heart. We have to wait to widen the artery until the child grows." He draws another picture. "Do you follow me?"
"Yes." Nicky nods. "Because as the baby grows bigger it won't be wide enough if you fix it now."
"That's right."
"As long as you can fix the heart and the baby can have a normal life I'm okay." Nicky nods. "See, Belle. It's not as bad as we thought. The doctors can fix the heart."
"I recommend you also have an amniocentesis done." The doctor tells Andie.
"Why?" Andie asks.
The doctor explains. "Babies born with Tetralogy of Fallot are more likely to have other congenital defects than babies born with other heart disorders. Tetrology of Fallot is sometimes part of a bigger syndrome."
Andie shoots Nicky a look.
"I want to do another echo in a month to keep an eye on the baby. My secretary will call you with that appointment date." The doctor leaves the room.
Andie glares at Nicky.
"Why are you mad at me, Belle?"
Andie gets out of her seat abruptly. "This is our fault, for the cousin thing." Andie snaps.
"Oh, come on, Belle. We have three healthy kids."
"We should have stuck to three like I wanted!" Andie raises her voice, "But no, you had to have four kids and now look!"
"The doctor said there's a ninety percent chance the baby will lead a normal, active, healthy life after surgery." Nicky tells her.
"Were you sleeping when he told me to get an amnio because this heart problem goes along with a bigger syndrome?" Andie scoffs.
"I heard that." Nicky answers.
"And that doesn't worry you?"
"That sono tech was very thorough and the only problem she found was the heart." Nicky tells Andie. "I don't think you should have the amnio."
"Are you crazy?" Andie screws up her face. "The doctor told me too."
"Even if there was another problem, we couldn't do anything about it until after the baby's born so why bother to do an amnio and risk a miscarriage?"
Andie folds her arms. "There's something we can do."
"If you're talking about having an abortion, then you're crazy! The doctor said he can fix the heart problem with surgery!"
"What about the other problems?"
"We don't even know if there are any other problems!"
A nurse walks into the office. "Is everything okay in here?"
"Yes!" Andie shoots. "I was just leaving."
Nicky smiles at the nurse to make it look like they weren't just arguing. "We're fine. Thank you." Nicky walks out of the office in the opposite direction as Andie.
Review please.
Fan Girl44- I normally answer all my reviews but your pm's are turned off, just wanted to make sure you were aware of it. =)