AUSTIN:
I went down to emergency. Trish was looking like she was about to cry, and Ally laying on an emergency room bed, an oxygen mask on her face. Her hands and feet were incredibly swollen. I stood over the woman I married, asking her,
"Ally, Ally, can you hear me?"
Her eyes seemed to open.
"Austin?"
I laid my hand on her forehead. Her forehead felt a bit warm. I took the thermometer from the pocket of my lab coat and ran it on her forehead.
"Ninety eight point six. No fever."
I took the sphygmomanometer and wrapped the cuff on her arm and turned it on. Her blood pressure was one hundred and fifty-six over eighty four.
"I feel queasy,"
she said to me in a faint voice. I said,
"You might have preeclampsia."
I went to the PA to call Dr. Jones.
"Dr. Colleen Jones, please report to Emergency. Dr. Colleen Jones to Emergency."
Dr. Jones came in.
"Hello, Dr. Moon. Can I help?"
I said,
"Yeah. Do you think you can test Ally for preeclampsia?"
"By all means."
Two days later, Ally and I were in Ally's hospital room. Ally looked at me with fear.
"Austin, I'm scared."
I said,
"I know how you feel, honey. I'm scared for you, too. Dr. Jones will be back any minute with your test results."
Speak of the devil. In walked my colleague and my wife's gynecologist, Dr. Jones. She walked in saying,
"I appreciate your patience."
Ally was saying,
"Give it to me straight, Dr. Jones. I can take it."
She told me,
"Unfortunately, Allison, you did test positive for preeclampsia. We tested protein in your urine, the swelling in your hands and feet hasn't gone down, and your blood pressure is at a dangerously high level and it possibly could rise. All we can do is deliver the baby and the placenta as soon we can."
Ally said,
"But my baby's only twenty-two weeks. How many weeks should she be?"
Dr. Jones said,
"The earliest a premature fetus can survive is twenty four weeks. And even in that state of affairs, there's a less than fifty percent chance of survival."
Ally said,
"I don't feel like delivering until my fetus is a little more mature."
"It's not just about your baby's health. You could have a stroke, severe liver or kidney damage, a pulmonary embolism, it can affect your blood flow to your placenta, you could even die."
I asked,
"Excuse me, Doctor, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"
All the things that could happen to my wife were pretty scary to me. And I was a doctor! I went outside with my wife's gynecologist and I told her,
"I'm a doctor, just like you. I've seen preeclampsia before. Do you think she can take Hydralazine?"
Dr. Jones told me,
"Well, Dr. Moon, she clearly doesn't want to deliver right now, and we need to respect her wishes. Hydralazine may be the best alternative for this, also watch her diet, make sure she drinks at least five glasses of water and have her exercise every day for a week."
"Sounds like a good idea. I've treated preeclampsia a few times before, and I've reccomended to them what you're about to reccomend to my wife, and that's worked for them."
"I'd like to see her again next week, to make sure her hydralazine is doing what it's supposed to do."
I said,
"OK."
We walked back in, Dr. Jones telling her,
"Allison, I was just talking with your husband, and since you don't wish to deliver, what we reccomend is hydralazine orally, one pill, every four hours, twice a day for a week, with food or water."
Ally asked,
"Will it harm my baby?"
Dr. Jones said,
"If you take more than one pill. The side effects though may include diarrhea, constipation, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, dizziness, and mild itching or skin rash. Remember, take one pill, every four hours, twice a day for a week, with food or water."
Ally said,
"OK, Dr. Jones. Thank you."
She said,
"The pleasure is mine, Allison. I'd like to see you back in a week, to make sure your medicine is doing what it should do, and to see how your baby is."
I said,
"OK."
She exited the room. She looked at me.
"Pray for our miracle,"
Ally said.
I said,
"Dr. Jones prescribed you oral hydralazine, where you have to take one pill, every four hours, twice a day for a week, with food or water. Also keep your diet healthy, stay hydrated and rest a lot."
I kissed the top of my wife's forehead and held her close. I loved her so much.