Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series or any associated characters, nor do I have any rights to "Be the Match" or the "National Bone Marrow Registry." No copy right infringement intended.
For more information on how you can join the bone marrow registry go to: www(dot)marrow(dot)org
Here You Are
Only a few hours later Angela was wheeling me into the OR. She helped me up on the firm operation table, and I think my fear doubled in that sterile room.
"I'm just going to hook you up to a few monitors so we can keep an eye on your vitals," Angela explained as she stuck wires on my chest and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my arm snuggly. "All set, I'll be right back." She smiled reassuringly to me. Angela walked out and I sat back up and tried to reach down to the blanket to pull it up over my legs but couldn't reach with the wires.
"Hello darlin'," a male voice called from the door. "I'm here to be yer best friend." A tall man around the same age as me with dirty blonde hair walked over to my bed and reached the blanket to pull it up over my legs. "Now then, that better darlin'?" he asked me, tucking me in. "I'm Dr. Whitlock, but yer welcome to call me Jasper."
"Hi Jasper." I smiled as I reached out and shook his hand.
"Well alright then, it looks like here we're goin' to do an epidural for a bone marrow harvesting. That's awful sweet of you, giving your bone marrow."
I smiled back at Jasper; he was so laid back and relaxed it rubbed off a little on me. "It's nothing."
"All right sweet thing, you ready for your epidural?" Jasper asked.
I just nodded in response to him. Jasper looked over to the monitors for a moment then looked back to me with a crooked smile. "Here is how this is goin' to go: once I get you into position, I need you to stay very, very still. Now you can still talk to me and just take slow deep breaths. I'm gonna have you roll onto your side away from me." Around this time Angela walked back in and was on the side I was now facing helping with the sheets. "Now curl up into a little ball, pull your knees towards your chest- just like that darlin'. Head down, that's it, now slow breaths and hold still," he directed.
Angela helped hold me even more still as I felt the back of my robe opened. I felt a drape and a cold liquid being applied to sterilize then Jasper warned me a small pinch would be coming to numb the area. I felt some pressure and a little discomfort after that, but all in all, I was surprised by how easy it was.
"All set," Jasper said as he pulled the covers back over me. "We're goin' to give it a few minutes to kick in. In the mean time let's have you roll onto your stomach, hands up by your head, and we'll get you set for the good Dr. Cullen. Angela can you start up Bella on a slow saline drip?"
"Yes doctor," Angela replied.
"Is that really necessary?" I asked, knowing that a drip meant another needle.
"I'm 'fraid it is," Jasper said sympathetically back to me. "I'm going to go hunt down Dr. Cullen, we'll be right back." Dr. Whitlock finished setting up drapes over me before leaving.
Angela quietly set up the IV on my left hand as I focused on breathing. A few minutes later Edward and Dr. Whitlock walked back in.
"All ready to go Bella?" Dr. Cullen asked in his confident voice.
"I think so," I replied tentatively.
"You're going to be just fine," he assured. "So tell me Bella," Edward started talking to me while I felt him clean the area on my lower back. "What inspired you to join the registry?"
I felt a little nervous in my current position, and I knew he was trying to distract me. But it wasn't going to work. Two gorgeous doctors, needles, sharp objects and my ass over exposed- there was no comfort for me in this room.
"My mom was diagnosed with cancer a while back," I began, "and I just felt so helpless. I wanted to do something. I cut off my hair and donated it, and I happened to stumble across the registry and decided to do that too. I never thought I would actually match anyone."
"Well it's very lucky for your match that you did. Are you feeling any pain when I do this Bella?" Edward asked.
"No, but I can feel you pressing. Should it hurt?"
"Nope, not at all," he assured. "Okay I'm going to start now, tell me if you feel any pain. Dr. Whitlock is standing by with a mild sedative if we need it, but I think you'll do just fine. I like talking with you," Edward admitted.
I blushed a little at his admission. I liked talking to him too. Nurse Angela was standing opposite of Dr. Cullen while Dr. Whitlock was up by my shoulders keeping an eye on the monitor and me.
"So when you're not workin' or giving so much of yourself, what kind of things do you do in your spare time darlin?" Dr. Whitlock made small talk with me.
"I like to read," I replied. "I also like to cook and go out to the movies."
"Seen any good ones recently?" Angela chimed in.
"Some vampire movie, it was good, not as good as the books," I replied.
"They never are," Angela joked back.
"I'm not even going to go there," Edward cut us off. "I meant to ask you, do you have someone picking you up tomorrow morning? A boyfriend?" I felt his fingers pressing on my hip bone.
I instantly got the perception he was trying to find out if I had a boyfriend. "No," I responded. "I was thinking of calling my roommate. No boyfriend."
"Are you kidding me? A girl like you that is not only beautiful but such a pure soul? Men!" Edward said exasperated.
There were a few moments of awkward silence before I decided to speak up. "So you work with your dad? That has to be strange."
"Carlisle is my adopted father actually. He took me in when I was thirteen, best thing that ever happened in my life," Edward replied confidently.
"I thought he seemed a bit young to have a full grown son already," I observed. "So did you always want to be a doctor like him?"
"No, I had a rebellious period when I wanted to be concert pianist. But I eventually came around and decided to attend medical school."
"Concert pianist? Wow that must have been a hard stage for your parents to manage! I'm sure Carlisle's glad you turned away from that dark path," I joked.
"Dad was relieved to say the least, but we all have our rebellious periods I suppose. What was yours?" Edward asked as he continued to work away. I could hear the adoration for his father in his voice.
I could feel pressure around the area he was working in and the occasional harder push, but I was fairly relaxed I was through it all. "During high school one of the neighbor boys convinced me to help rebuild a couple motorcycles; then he taught me to ride."
"You ride?" Dr. Whitlock interjected excitedly.
"Only once; I crashed and broke my leg. I gave up my dream of the open road. I decided to become an English Literature Teacher and here I am." Laying out on an operating table with a beautiful doctor cutting into my rump I continued the train of thought in my head.
"And here you are," Edward acknowledged. "Okay, this may be a little scary. I know you don't want a lot of information but I don't want to startle you either. I'm going to go into the bone now, you're going to feel a lot of pressure and maybe even hear a little grinding noise. Just keep talking to us, try to relax," he instructed.
Grinding noise? I thought to myself. I moaned a little when I felt the extra pressure he was talking about. It didn't hurt, but it was scary as hell.
"You're doin' well, Bella," Dr. Whitlock tried to assure me.
But I didn't feel like I was doing well. Dr. Cullen was hand screwing a sharp instrument into my bone, I couldn't see it, but I knew it none the less. No, I wasn't okay with this. "Where do you teach at darlin'?" Dr. Whitlock tried to distract me again.
I knew my heart was racing and I was starting to tremble a little. "Come on sweet thing, focus back here, come back to me," he encouraged.
"Santiago High Scho-ol," I finally managed to stutter out.
"Good girl, how long have you worked there?"
There was even more pressure applied to my hip and I gasped a little in how disturbing it all felt. "It's ok darlin', I'm goin' to help you out. Nothin' to be afraid of," he trailed off as I saw him grab a syringe with a pale white liquid. He quickly attached the syringe to my IV and pushed some of the milky substance in. I watched in disgust as it flowed into my hand.
The affect was fairly quick. Everything seemed to slow down and I wasn't so scared anymore. I was aware of what was going on still, but I really didn't care.
"He's got good stuff there, huh Bella?" Dr. Cullen asked me.
"Good stuff," I mumbled back to him.
The three of them all chucked at my response. They continued working and Edward continued talking to me though I wasn't really coherent enough to carry any quality conversation.
What seemed like only a little while later Dr. Cullen was pulling up the sheets over me. I was starting to come back around to full reality and out of the drug induced twilight.
"We're all done, Bella," Dr. Whitlock assured me as I was being moved out of the OR. "Edward has gone to deliever the bone marrow. You did great."
Jasper walked away after we got to the recovery area, but Angela stayed with me a while longer. "All right Bella, you're going to stay here for a little while with Nurse Lauren then you'll be moved to your room and Dr. Cullen will be by to check on you."
"Thank you Angela," I managed to mumble.
"My pleasure, I'll see you again later."
I laid there on my tummy for a while as the drugs continued to wear off and the world around me became more pronounced. I was tired and felt a little sickly. A nurse eventually came by and disturbed the little rest I was managing to get. "Ohh, you need to be lying on your back!" she exclaimed.
I tried to roll over at her direction, but the movement sent sharp pains through my hips. The second I reached a lying position on my back the throbbing began. "It really hurts like this," I admitted, hating to complain. "Can I lay on my side please?" I pleaded.
Nurse Lauren let out an exasperated breath, "No, I'll get you something for the pain I guess."
She rolled her eyes as she turned away and walked out of my partially curtained area. I squirmed a little trying to find a comfortable position, but I was unsuccessful.
I lay there like that for at least ten more minutes before I happened to see another nurse walk by. Normally I wasn't one to complain, but with feeling crappy and in pain I decided to speak up, "Umm excuse me, Nurse?"
This blonde nurse let out a sigh like Lauren's as she came over to my bed. "What?"
"Umm, the other nurse, Nurse Lauren, was going to get me something for the pain, but I think if I just could roll on my side I'd be okay."
She looked at me like I was an idiot. "If you want to lie on your side then lie on your side, I don't care. You need me to get an orderly in here to roll you over?"
"No." I furrowed my eyebrows at her abrasiveness. Once she left, I managed to get back on my side and hoped nurse Lauren didn't catch me.
Nurse Lauren never came back and I can't say I was all that disappointed. I don't know how long I laid there, but it was Nurse Angela who finally came to my rescue.
"Bella, are you alright?" She glanced at the monitors as she entered my room.
"Yeah, I think so," I answered her tentatively.
"Your blood pressure and pulse are up a little high. Are you feeling sick?"
"Yeah, it feels like I have the flu. I'm tired and achy, but it's better when I'm not on my back though." I hoped she wouldn't make me roll over or anything.
"The flu like symptoms are normal and I'm afraid you might feel a little under the weather for the next few days. Let's get you to a more private room where you can be more comfortable," Angela suggested.
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