Just like that, September 1st arrived and with plenty of fanfare to boot. There was very good reason for this, as it marked the Goshima triplets' fourteenth birthday. Every year, the Goshima family would go out to eat at the Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver, visit the El Mercado Gift Shop and Amusement Arcade inside, and check out the thirty-foot-high waterfall that was so popular among cliff divers. It was such a magical occasion for the Goshimas that even Nyoko had been looking forward to it despite everything that had happened.
Alas, the hype surrounding her fourteenth birthday had lulled Nyoko into a false sense of hope and security. She should've known that something was bound to go horribly wrong that day.
The Goshima triplets' fourteenth birthday fell on a Sunday, so they decided to partake in eating brunch before they could embark on the forty-one-minute drive from Conifer to Denver for Casa Bonita. For brunch, they had zopf (a very special breakfast bread served on Sundays), schnitzel, taiyaki (Japanese fish waffles) filled with Nutella, tamagoyaki (rolled omelette), and bacon all spread out amongst the family of five. To say that the whole brunch was appetizing would be an understatement. Besides, the Goshima sisters always loved what their parents served for brunch, regardless of how special the Sunday in question was.
After they'd eaten everything on the table, they decided to all crowd together into the navy blue 1987 Chevrolet Suburban and start on the road for Denver. All throughout the forty-one-minute drive to Denver, Nyoko couldn't help but get distracted by a dull, throbbing pain on the right side of her abdomen. She had a bad feeling about where this was coming from, but she tried to stay calm anyway. After all, today was her birthday. She didn't think anything could go wrong on the most special day of the year for her.
Well, as the birthday celebration progressed, the throbbing pain Nyoko was experiencing became more and more intense, and she couldn't focus on anything that was happening. What was happening with her? Why was she experiencing pain like this? Did it have to do with her pregnancy? Was she manifesting it herself for some reason? Even while visiting the El Mercado Gift Shop and Amusement Arcade, Nyoko couldn't focus on anything but the pain. Not even the thirty-foot-high waterfall could distract her. Eventually, the Goshima family decided to sit at a random booth and order some food. Once again, Nyoko couldn't help but fixate on the pain she was experiencing. This time, her right shoulder started aching as well, almost as if she was starting to experience a stroke. It didn't take long before her father noticed her pained expression.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Mr. Goshima asked his daughter.
"I-I don't know," Nyoko weakly replied. "It hurts, Dad."
Mr. Goshima reached out to touch Nyoko's hand. "You need to go somewhere?"
Nyoko quickly shook her head. "Don't worry about me."
Just as Nyoko said that, she felt something warm gush out between her legs. What was happening?
"Actually, on second thought," Nyoko began to say. "I think I need to go to the bathroom."
Nyoko got up from the booth, and that's when she saw that her light blue denim jeans were soaking with blood.
Mr. Goshima's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "Oh my God, Nyoko! You're bleeding!"
Momoko and Miyako looked to where Nyoko was and started screaming. Not long after that, Nyoko's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the floor on her side, having lost consciousness.
When Nyoko came to, she found herself in the emergency room of the Craig Hospital. Everything around her seemed to be spinning and blurring, and the pain was only getting worse. Time went by, seemingly growing slower and slower until it came to a screeching halt, only to abruptly start up again. When she snapped back to reality, doctors were rushing her in for a salpingectomy, and there was little she could do about that. All she wanted now was for the pain to go away, for everything to go back to normal... she wanted to go back to just being a teenager and never have to think about this stuff again.
"Alright, Ms. Goshima," the lead surgeon said. "We're going to put you under now. We think we might have an idea on why you're bleeding."
"Y-You... you do?" Nyoko asked somewhat weakly.
"Yes," another surgeon replied. "We've seen this before, especially at your age. We think you've experienced what's called an ectopic pregnancy. What we're going to do here is cut into your abdominal wall and then remove the embryo before it can kill you. Now just relax while we put you under and remove one of your fallopian tubes."
Instantly, Nyoko was confused. An ectopic pregnancy? What was an ectopic pregnancy, and how was that any different from a regular pregnancy? She didn't get a chance to think any further about it before the lead surgeon put her under anesthesia and she lost consciousness again.
When Nyoko came to, she found herself in a hospital room, surrounded by her family. Once she was a little more aware of her surroundings, she noticed one of the surgeons from earlier standing over her. Her name was Dr. Sutherland.
"You said I had an ectopic pregnancy," Nyoko began to speak to Dr. Sutherland. "What is that exactly?"
"Well," Dr. Sutherland replied. "How do I put this? An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus. Most ectopic pregnancies occur in a fallopian tube, but they can also occur on."
Nyoko let what Dr. Sutherland was saying sink in for a moment. "Is that what happened to me? An egg started growing in my fallopian tube?"
"Yes." Dr. Sutherland's answer came out as bluntly as possible.
"So that's why Dr. Byer couldn't find anything..." Mrs. Goshima couldn't help but murmur. "The baby had been growing in a fallopian tube..."
Dr. Sutherland nodded. "That's right. As Nyoko's pregnancy progressed, it stretched the fallopian tube to the point where it burst and we needed to immediately intervene to perform a salpingectomy. She would've died otherwise."
Mr. Goshima gasped. "Oh dear..."
"How long will it take for her to recover?" Mrs. Goshima asked Dr. Sutherland.
"Physically, it'll take several weeks before she heals completely," Dr. Sutherland replied. "Emotionally, though? This kind of pain will never really go away. Trust me, I know plenty of women who've gone through the same thing. Some of them hadn't even wanted to have a child in the first place, let alone be pregnant, but that didn't make the whole ordeal any less painful for them. She might want to see a therapist about this at some point."
Mrs. Goshima heavily sighed. "Thank you, Dr. Sutherland. It's just... upsetting that this happened."
"I know." Dr. Sutherland started heading out for the door. "I need to go tend to other patients now. Just make sure you can be there for her at this point in time, okay?"
Dr. Sutherland closed the door behind her and left the Goshimas alone with their thoughts. What were they to do now?
