Chapter 34
It had been nearly a half an hour since he came in her room. He was waiting for her to wake up as he tried to force his eyes to stay open. It was 5am and he had been up all night delivering his son and patiently waiting for her to wake up. Sleep finally took over his body and he fell asleep her hand in his and his head on her bed as he sat in a chair next to her.
He had only been asleep a few minutes when Erica started coming out of the anesthesia. She began to stir a little and began coming to. She didn't have clear headed thoughts but she noticed David sitting next to her and partially remembered the events that had unfolded in the previous hours.
"David, David what going on?" she asked frantically trying to remember what had happened in the elevator as remembered bits and pieces.
"Erica, everything's okay. Do you remember anything that happened earlier?"
"I remember the elevator, we were here and oh my god, the baby?" She thought as she looked down at her fairly smaller abdomen. "Where is my baby? David where is our son?" she asked frantically trying remember her son and what happened as she grabbed David's arm.
"It's ok he is, upstairs in the NICU. You delivered him in the elevator and then you passed out."
"Is David alright? I want to see him! I need to see my baby!" She cried out as she tried to get out of the bed.
David grabbed both her arms and sat next to her on the bed and keeping her in the bed. "Erica you just had surgery you need to rest for a little while. Kendall and Bianca are with him." He tried reassuring her as he used one hand to tuck her hair behind her hair.
"Surgery?"
"Yes you passed out because you were bleeding. You suffered a placental abruption and Dr. Coburn had to cauterize the blood vessels to control the bleeding and the anemia made your blood loss even worse."
"Am I going to be alright?"
"I haven't spoken to Dr. Coburn yet but the nurse told me after the surgery that you would be just fine and I am sure Dr. Coburn will say so too."
"You said Kendall and Bianca are with him? Tell me David, how is our son?"
"Let's just say he has a few battles of his own. He is a preemie. He weighs 4lbs 1oz. and is in fairly good health for 32 weeks."
"What are these battles David? Tell me!"
"Do you remember saying to me that he was yellowish when you held him?"
"Yes, is that bad? What does that mean?"
"He has a condition that he developed over the course of the pregnancy called HDN or Hemolytic Disease of the newborn . You developed an Rh incompatibility and your body began killing his red blood cells because they were Rh+ and you are Rh-. So many of his cells were killed that his body had a build up of bilirubin and caused his jaundice and the cell death caused him to develop anemia."
"David how serious is this HDN thing and the anemia?"
"It can be very serious but it is fairly simple to treat and with quick treatment is completely curable." She started crying thinking that it was her fault her son lay in the NICU fighting a problem she gave him.
"Hey! I love you. You know that right?"He said moving in and giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I promise you everything is going to be ok."He said this time wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"And I love you too, but I did this to our son. It's my fault." She said tears falling again.
"No it's not your fault. This whole thing could have been prevented. You were tested for this but someone screwed it up and I am going to find out who."
"What? What do you mean screwed it up?" she asked halting her tears for a moment
"Dr. Coburn ran a test. She said we were both Rh+ and that means that it is impossible to develop an incompatibility. Which means someone got the test wrong, a simple test."
"So our son is fighting for life because someone screwed up a simple test?"
"Don't worry I will figure out what happened and it won't happen again!"
"When can I see him? I want to see him."
"I'll take you up as soon as Dr. Coburn gives the ok."
"Well in that case can you go find her. I need to see my son!"
As per Erica's demand he went to the nurse's desk and asked to have Dr. Coburn paged. She had actually been walking down the hall when she received the page and walked down the hall to meet with David.
"You had me paged?" She asked
"Yes, Erica woke up and she wants to see her son. I told her you need to give the ok."
"Ok I need to check her out anyway. Shall we?" she said as he opened the door for her
"Good morning Erica. How are you feeling? Any pain or discomfort?"
"No, I need to see my son."
"I just need to make sure that you aren't bleeding and then David may take you up in a wheelchair."
" Can I just go now and then you can check me all you want?" Erica pleaded trying to get to her son as quickly as possible.
"Erica just let her check you out and then we will go see him. Please we need to make sure you are ok."
"Ok but can you make it quick I can't wait much longer." She again pleading haste and allowing Dr. Coburn to check her this time.
It only took a few minutes to look over her work. "You don't seem to be actively bleeding. That is a good sign but you will need to be monitored for a couple days to watch for postpartum bleeding and on an IV for a day or two."
"Yes Dr. Coburn and thank you from both of us." David said shaking her hand before she left the room.
"David bring that thing over here. I need to see him now." She said referencing the wheelchair in the room. He went to get it before she threw something at him. He brought it over next to her and picked her up and placing her in the chair gently and transferring her IV to the pole on the wheelchair. He rolled her out into the hallway and towards the elevator.
"I would understand if you don't want to take it but there isn't much choice. There is no way you are walking up the stairs!"
"No it's fine let's just get to him."
The ride up two floors seemed to take an eternity for her. It seemed like hours from one floor to the next but they finally arrived to the floor of the NICU. The same floor that she spent most of the two weeks when Ian was here the PICU to the right and to the left down the hall is where she would find her son. David pushed her down the hallway and soon they were in sight of Kendall and Bianca. Kendall had turned her head catching a glimpse of her mother coming toward them and she tapped Bianca on the shoulder. They both walked toward their mother before she got to them.
"Mom are you ok?" Bianca asked first but both of them wanting to know.
"I am fine. How is your brother?" She asked figuring that they knew what had been going on with him since David was with her. Kendall and Bianca both looked at David asking with their eyes if she knew his condition or not.
"It's alright she knows." He said answering the question they didn't ask aloud.
"They have started the Exchange Transfusion I think they called it about a half hour ago." Kendall told them, more so David what she could remember of what Dr. Ross had told her.
"David what is this Exchange Transfusion thing?" Erica asked knowing it didn't sound that good.
"They take his blood out a little at a time and replace it with donor blood to get rid of the build up of the Bilirubin and it replaces his red blood cells that were being destroyed."
"They remove his blood? Isn't that dangerous?" Erica asked frightened by the thought of the removal of her infant sons blood.
"They do it slowly only a few milliliters at a time and they will monitor his vitals the whole time. I wouldn't have allowed it if he didn't need it."
"When can I see him David? It is so hard just waiting. I only saw him for a few minutes and now I have to wait again after I waited almost 8 months for him to get here."
"I am going to go talk to Dr. Ross. I'll be right back." David said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before he walked over to Dr. Ross's office.
"So we heard you have a fiancé now." Bianca said with a smile on her face trying to make small talk and get Erica's mind off of things.
"Oh you did?" Erica said only half listening as she tried to see her son through the windows and nurses.
"Mom, David told us but he didn't tell us how." Kendall said trying to keep her focused on them
"Well most of what happened is a blur but I do remember him pulling it out and showing it to me. I was speechless and he thought maybe I didn't want to marry him." She smiled a bit at that, in remembering his doubt filled face.
"I can't believe he thought you would say no." Bianca commented
"I was all about the ring at that moment because he totally surprised me. I mean I am pushing this baby out and he moves closer to me and starts rambling about the perfect time… blah, blah and opens the box with the ring and I was just taken aback.'
"That sounds actually kind of romantic in a weird sort of way. Who would have David would have proposed like that?" Kendall said wearing a shocked but happy face. She could actually see some light in her mother's eyes as she talked about David and about them. Which she was relieved of since it would be short lived until her brother was safe in her mothers' arms and at home where he belonged.