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Chapter twenty-three
Five months flew by and each day brought something new in the pregnancy to make Mark marvel at the tiny life inside Piper. Her stomach slowly started to become rounder and he couldn't stop touching it.
Piper's morning sickness eased off after the third month and she began putting on weight again with her renewed appetite. Even her relationship with Mark seemed to be improving, but she couldn't quite shake off the thought that it was only because she was pregnant. Still, for the meantime she would soak up all the attention and enjoy being with him. The way he behaved with her made her wish that they'd met and married under totally different circumstances.
Everything appeared to be going well until she went to the bathroom one afternoon and found a small spot of blood in her underwear. Not wanting to bother Mark with it, she kept quiet about it, and when it didn't happen again for a week, she started to relax. But then, while her sister was visiting with Glenn, she went to the bathroom and found the spotting had returned, only heavier. Trying not to panic she told Paige about it and her sister immediately told her to tell Mark and then ring the doctor.
"What if something's wrong with the baby?" she asked her sister and Paige sat down next to her.
"That's why you have to call a doctor and get yourself checked out now. Listen, you stay here and I'll go and find Mark, okay?"
Piper nodded and watched her sister leave the room through a blur. She had a horrible feeling about this. A few minutes later Mark walked in, looking confused.
"Paige said you needed to talk to me," he said, standing in front of her. He frowned when he saw how pale she looked. "What's wrong?"
"I've had some...some bleeding," she said, her voice barely audible.
"Bleeding? Are you okay? Is it the baby?" he asked, crouching down in front of her and taking her cold hands in his.
"I don't know.....I need...we need to call the doctor."
"I'll do it, you just sit right there and relax. Everything will be fine, honey, okay?" he said, brushing his hand over her cheek and smiling. But no matter how calm he looked, nothing could disguise the worry apparent in his eyes. He got the doctors number and phoned him right away, listening intently to the advice he was given and then obviously arranging to bring her in for a check-up. When he put the phone down, he turned to her. "He said this isn't the first time, that this happened before. Didn't you think it was important enough to tell me?"
Piper bit her lip. "I didn't want to worry you," she said, shrugging. "I honestly didn't think it was anything to worry about, but I phoned the doctor just in case. I thought it had stopped."
Mark was about to say something else, but he could see how upset she was and he couldn't bring himself to be angry at her. She was obviously scared. He sighed and walked back over to her, sitting next to her and pulling her into his arms. "It'll be okay, Piper. I'll make sure of it."
"You swear?" she mumbled into his shirt.
"I promise," he swore solemnly, holding her head against him and closing his eyes briefly. If anything happened to her, or the baby.....he swallowed down the small knot of fear that was beginning to grow in his chest. He didn't like thinking of anything bad happening to her. He cared about her far too much now, even if she didn't realise that. "The doctor said to come down right away, so I'll get your coat. You stay here until I come back, I don't want you walking about unnecessarily."
"Okay," she said, dropping her eyes as he let her go and stood up.
"Hey," he said softly. "It'll be fine."
"Okay," she said again. She watched him leave the room and took a deep breath, trying to hold down the sudden nausea that assailed her. After successfully breathing her way through it, Mark returned and helped her put her coat on. His touch was so gentle that she felt like crying.
He looked down at her and pulled her into a hug. "Let's go make sure you're okay," he murmured. When she only nodded he took her hand and led her out of the house, past a worried Paige and Glenn, who promised to wait for them to return. Putting her carefully into the car, he strapped her in before he drove them to the doctors office.
After an initial examination, the doctor sat them down and sighed. "I'll need to send you for some more tests, Mrs Calloway, to be absolutely certain of what's going on. But I believe you're exhibiting the symptoms of Placenta Previa."
"Placenta....what's that?" she asked, her voice husky where she was worried.
"It's a condition where the Placenta moves down and blocks or partially blocks the cervix. It can cause bleeding, such as you have."
Mark stared at the doctor and then frowned. "What else does it mean?"
"It's a fairly serious condition. Your wife will have to have complete bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy, preferably in hospital where we can monitor her."
Piper felt her heart trying to beat it's way out of her chest. "I don't want to stay in hospital...I want to be at home with Mark."
Mark took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "Is that possible?" he asked the doctor.
"It would depend on what we're looking at here. That's why I need to order a scan before we decide how to proceed. If the condition is only partial, and you're otherwise in good health, then I don't see a problem with you remaining in your own home, with regular visits from me or one of the nurses," he told her, clasping his hands together on the desk. "But when I say complete bed rest, I mean complete. The only time you're to set foot out of bed is for the bathroom, do you understand?"
Piper nodded. "Could I.....could this mean I'll lose the baby?"
"It's not unheard of, but it is unlikely if you take good care of yourself. There is a chance of severe difficulties for both you and the child. Equally this condition could correct itself before the birth. At this stage of your pregnancy, however, it's hard to tell. I'll ring the hospital immediately and I want you to go straight there and get this scan done. Once we have the results then we'll decide what to do."
Mark looked at Piper as the doctor made the necessary arrangements, and his heart constricted at how upset she looked. She was trying not to let it show, but he could tell. He squeezed her hand again, looking back at the doctor as he put the phone down.
"Okay, they'll be waiting for you," he said, standing up. "Dr. Morgan, the obstetrician at the hospital, will give you the results and tell you what you need to do next. Good luck."
"Thank you doctor," Mark said as he helped Piper stand up and led her out of the room on shaky legs.
An hour later they were sitting in front of Dr. Morgan, a kind looking man with grey hair and a sympathetic face.
"So? Is it this Placenta thing we were told about?" Mark asked, hating the time they'd had to wait.
"Placenta Previa, yes, I'm afraid so. The placenta is partially blocking the entrance of the womb. I'm sure Dr. Ellis told you that this will require hospitalisation?"
"He said bed rest, but he said this could be done at home if my wife's condition wasn't too serious," Mark said, glancing at Piper who just sat there in numb silence.
"That's true, but someone would have to be there to watch her at all times. There is the risk of the placenta rupturing and this could lead to your wife haemorrhaging, which I don't need to tell you is incredibly dangerous."
"I'll hire a nurse and I'll be there at all times as well," Mark said immediately. "Money's no object. Whatever Piper needs, she'll get."
Dr Morgan smiled and nodded. "Very well. We'll arrange for Dr Ellis to visit you on a weekly basis as well, just to keep an eye on the bleeding. The nurse you hire will be able to check the baby's heartbeat regularly and you should have her send a daily report to us so we can keep track of things."
Mark breathed a sigh of relief that he could take Piper home. "The baby's due in another 8 weeks......what will this mean for the birth?"
"It's highly unlikely that Mrs Calloway will be able to give birth naturally. The most usual course of action in these circumstances is for a caesarean section to be carried out. Mostly these have to be performed early to reduce the danger for both mother and child."
"Early? How early?" Piper managed to say.
"We normally try and stretch the pregnancy out beyond 36 weeks, but we have been known to deliver before that time. Obviously the longer the child is inside you, the better off it will be."
Piper rubbed her hand protectively over the mound of her stomach. "It won't die?"
"It's rare nowadays, but I won't lie to you. It could happen, which is why you have to keep to your bed."
"I will," she said, grasping Mark's hand like a lifeline.
"Good. Now, I'll give you a prescription for some vitamins and, most importantly, some iron. Make sure you take these as ordered and I'm sure everything will be fine. If there's any problems - anything at all - you call me and we'll bring you in to the hospital."
Mark stood up and took the slip of paper from the doctor. "Thank you, Dr Morgan."
"Thank you," Piper echoed and then drifted into a daze as Mark took her home.
She surfaced from the stupor when his hand touched her shoulder and she realised they were outside the house. Somehow she'd missed the entire journey.
"Come on, sweetheart, let's get you upstairs," Mark said, leaning in to pick her up and carry her inside the house, where Glenn and Paige were waiting. He shook his head slightly at them and took her straight up the stairs to the bedroom.
"I could have walked," she said absently, starting to feel the numbness wear off.
"No you couldn't, not with this placenta thing you've got. I've got to take care of you now, make sure you don't jeopardise your health."
Piper blinked and then took a shaky breath. "Is this my fault? Did I do something that could have made this happen?" she whispered.
Mark felt his chest clench with compassion when she turned huge misty eyes up to his, all her fears plain to see in the whisky coloured depths. He lifted a hand and brushed her hair back from her face gently. "It's nothing you've done, you know that."
"Mark, what if I lose the baby?" she continued, starting to cry as reality washed over her. "I don't want to lose it, I don't....I....."
"Shh, baby, everything will be fine, the baby will be fine," he said, pulling her into his arms and rocking her as she cried. His eyes closed and he prayed that his words would prove to be true, but his main concern wasn't the baby now. He knew that if anything happened to Piper, he wouldn't want to go on living.
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*****Okay, now the information in this chapter is correct and factual...although slightly dramatised for the story!*****