Rough draft paper 2

  Its 3am, Kari and I nestle comfortably side-by-side in our queen size bed, which is perfectly centered, along the tallest wall in our master bedroom. Above us, a ceiling fan gently whorls. Next to it, a skylight pours moonlight onto the foot of the bed where our two cats lay intertwined, basking in the moonlight, like a pair of kindred lovers. In the corner, pillows and blankets smother an empty white basinet waiting patiently for our new son.       

Suddenly, I felt a nudge on my right shoulder, then Kari’s voice, “he keeps kicking me…jeesh”. Kari reaches across the bed, grabs my left hand, and gently lays my palm atop her pregnant belly. Moments later, I feel her entire stomach clamp down as if to hug our unborn son. For the next fifteen seconds, I could feel the definition of my son’s body through her abdomen. Kari asked, “Did you feel that? He is really moving.” Curiously I thought to myself “It seemed like your belly moved, not our son.” I found it odd Kari couldn’t tell the difference but I held my tongue because she’s a nurse and probably knows better than me. I immediately checked the time on my wrist watch, then replaced my hand atop her belly. I asked, “how long has he been moving?” Kari replied, “About two hours now, I didn’t want to wake you”. After sometime passed, I felt it again. But this time I became certain, her belly moved, not our son. Subtly, I drew my hand away from her stomach and peered into my wrist watch, carefully counting the minutes passing between these, “movements”. I counted to myself “One, Two Three, Four, and Five… Five minutes!”

Instantly, our obstetrician’s words reverberated throughout my thoughts “There is plenty of time to get to the hospital, so don’t freak out. Take your time, support her and drive carefully. Remember, most deliveries take 12 hours and the most dangerous part of any delivery is the commute.” 

Calmly I look over at Kari and said, “I don’t know love, I think it’s your belly moving, not our son…” Kari replied, “No, it’s him moving, I’m sure of it.” Respectfully I accepted the response, and laid my palm on her belly again.  Patiently I waited, until again, I could feel the silhouette of my son through her abdomen. I inquired, “Is he moving now?” Kari replied, “Ya.” I glance at my wrist watch and thought, “Five minutes again”. I stated, “Love, this is happening every five minutes. You’re having labor contractions.” Kari replied, “Are you sure?” I emphasized, “Well every time you thought he was moving, he wasn’t. It was your stomach contracting.” 

I hopped out of bed and flicked on the bedroom light. Kari said, “I’m not sure these are contractions. Let’s call the clinic’s emergency line and see what they say”. Kari grabbed the phone, dials the number to our obstetrician’s after hour’s service, and gets an answering machine. Calmly, she spoke our information into the phone, requested a quick response and hung up. After the phone call Kari stated, “I’m going to soak in the bath till they call back. Maybe he will stop moving”. I thought to myself, “It isn’t him moving, but… okay”.  Meanwhile, I dressed and gathered the suitcase already prepared. Slugishly I hauled the suitcase down stairs, placing it by the front door.

The phone began to rang! Hastily, I darted to the stairs and jogged up them skipping every other. I entered the bathroom and sat quietly on the toilet next to the bath. Kari answered the phone, “Hello.” Quietly I sat next to the bathtub, wilfully containing my anxsiety, trying to subtally easdrop on the murmuring woman’s voice coming from the phone’s earpiece. Kari informed her of what transpired, then paused for a response. During the pause my ears transformed into K-9 ears because I heard every word said to Kari. “Those are contractions; you need to check into the hospital. I will notify your doctor and she will meet you there.” Kari relied “Okay, we are on our way.” Immediately she drained the tub and I helped her step out. She dressed as quick as a bursting woman could and asked for help down the stairs. Like an over sized penguin Kari waddled down the stairs, leaning slowly from right to left to right… At the bottom, we both threw on our jackets and out the door we went.  

After getting her situated inside the car, Kari’s labor pain’s begun. Suddenly, all the pregnancy TV programs we prepairidly studdied, flashed through my mind. One in particular stood out and became my mind’s focus. I recalled watching a woman give birth in the back seat of a car while her husband drove to the hospital. That mental image sent a shock through my system causing my stomach to wrench sideways. I thought, ” I CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN!” Quickly I ran around the car, got in and cranked the ignotion. Instinctually I wanted to drive like a bat out of hell. Luckily our doctor’s message, “drive safely” still echoed within the recesses of my mind, arresting my impulses. As we drove, each pot hole sent whimpers bellowing from Kari’s mouth. Suddenly a nemesis came into focus, a nemisis in which I could focus all my attention, pot holes. With hawk eyes, I scanned the road, targeting pot holes and swerved around them as elegently as an ice skating champion. Eventually, I simply imagined a top heavy steaming coffee cup sitting ominously atop the dashboard durring the final mile or two of our commute. 

Finally, we arrived at the famous Rose Medical Center. We chose Rose Medical Center because of it’s reputation held by medical industry employees and Doctors.  That reputation boosted “America’s best labor and delivery hospital” and was nationally advertised. As we aproached, four different emergency enterences came into view. I drove into the closest emergency room parking lot. Carfully, I aligning the car into a parking space, making sure Kari received ample room to exit the vehical. We glanced upwords to see a sign “Emergency Vehicles only”. Peering around at the other parking spots, all the parking spaces presented an identical sign. I glanced at the emergency enterence noticing a sign, “NO PUBLIC ACCESS… please use street enterence”. Quickly, I pulled out of the parking lot and parked in front of the emergency street entrance. An orderly strolled up to the car, tapped on the window and informed us curbside parking was not allowed. I exclaimed, “My Wife is in labor! I’ll come back and move it in a few minutes!” He retorted, “You will get towed if you do so.” I turned to Kari and instructed her to go into the hospital while I park the car. After watching her enter the hospital, I parked the car one block away and ran non-stop till I entered the hospital.

After I entered the hospital, we re-registered because our pre-registration information disapeared. Afterwords, we slowly made our way to the elevator and traveled to the third floor. We stepped off the elevator turning left and made our way down a long baje sterile hallway untill we arived at a nurses’ station. Two nurses exclaimed, “Hello” and assigned us a labor room.    

Our labor room offered a spaciouse fivehundered square foot octagonal layout, containing every amenity an expecting mother could want. Entering the room, the longest wall ran along the right side. A labor bed sat center, head board butted to the longest right wall. On either side of the bed, cherry cabinets ran the walls legnth. Immediately to the right, embeded in the cabinets and almost behind the door, a piculiar contraption with heating lamps reminded all who entered, this is not a hotel room. To the left, two angled walls held three doors. Each door offered more and more luxturious plesentries for the pregnant type. The first door, closest upon entering, opened into a large bathroom with an enormous single shower, sink, oversized toilet and a specialized hand rail system for standing births. The second door, right next to the first door, provided inhabitants any desired supplies. The third door, some feet from the second door, opened into another bathroom containing a jetted jaquizie bathtub for water births or relaxation. In the rooma wall adjacent to the right and left walls, parrallel to the enterence, contained large windows and waist high cabinets spanning it’s entire legnth. Centered and attached to the waist high cabinetry sat a transforming bench/bed for would be participants.

Upon entering the glorious labor room Kari undressed, slipped into a hospital gown and gently slid onto the labor bed. Meanwhile, I unloaded my over burdoned arms, called family members, and pulled a chair next to the bed. Glancing up from my perch the clock read 6AM and I began to wonder, “What’s next?” Moments later a nurse entered greeting us, “Hello”, and began to stretch three long Velcro strips around Kari’s mountainous abdomen. As the nurse proceeded, she explained, “The straps identify contractions, measure heartbeats and monitored respiratory activity. The information is feed into the monitoring device to my right.” Finished, the nurse felt Kari’s cervix remarking, “Your at one centimeter. I will check you again in two hours.”  The nurse offered Kari water and exited room explaining, “I’ll be back, if you need assistance just press the call button”. As the door closed Kari remarked, “It’s almost their 7 AM shift change, I bet she just wants to go home so the next nurse can deal with us”.

For the next hour and a half I watched Kari manage her contractions, held her hand, corressed her, soothed her worries and reafirmed all’s well. Her moans reminded me of a chimming grandfatherclock demanding my undevided attention. The only difference, Kari’s chimming moans didn’t arrive on the hour but rather every five minutes. Kari’s every moan became followed by a sqirm of discomfort. With each of Kari’s squirms which peirced my very essence caused a roller coaster of uneasiness within me. Any witness to the scene would surely of discribed us as engaged in an agonizing dance. A dance in which Kari led and I helplessly followed. At one point we called the nurse in to check Kari’s progress. After the nurse viewed the monitor she stated,” I’m not sure your in labor because everyone manages pain differently. Try walking around or laying in the jaqcuzie. I’ll check your cervix at two hours, at which point we’ll likley send you home.” The nurse left the room again repeating, “If you need anything just push the call button.” After the door closed Kari remarked, “I can’t belive she doesn’t think I’m in labor! I can’t belive she doubts my pain threshold! I’m a goddamn nurse!” I replied, “Hopefully our doctor will arrive soon, lets walk around and see if that helps.” 

For thirty minutes we paced the room, then the halls and then the room again failing to assuaged her pain. Every few minutes Kari’s contractions seemed to intensify. With every contraction Kari became more and more anxtous untill she exclaimed, “Nothing is helping! Can you help me into the jaqcuize?” I drew warm water into the bath and helped her enter. Kari adjusted the jaqcuzie jets to no avail. Like a fish halfway out of water she flopped around moaning from the agoney of labor pains. The Bathroom door opened and our Doctor peered in side. The Doctor yelled over the bubbling noise, “You doing ok?” Kari exclaimed, “NO! Nothing is helping”. The doctor replied, “Put your gown on and lay in bed so I can check you out”.

Soon Kari lay in bed while our Doctor examined her and our nurse nonscilontly peered over the doc’s shoulder. Our Doctor commented, “WOW! Five centemeters. How long ago did you arrive?” I replied, “We arrived an hour and a half ago.” Kari exclaimed, “The nurse was going to send us home because she thought I wan’t in labor. She wouldn’t check me till hour two.” The Doctor turned at the torso and breifly glared at the nurse, then turned back, facing us again. The Doctor replied, “Hang in there sweetie. Do you want an epadural?” Kari exclaimed, “Yes!” and continued, “We had a cesarian scheduled for next week because I’m a highrisk pregnancy.” The Doctor replied, “Well lets get the anastesiologist in here to administer an epadural and we’ll take it from there.” Our Doctor continued, “Sadly, I have a scheduled proceedure to attend to but Doctor Sally, another Docotor you have seen can fill in for me. Is that okay? Otherwise I can cancel my proceedure.” Kari replied, “Dr Sally is fine, we like her.” Both the Doctor and Nurse turned to leave the room. As the nurse followed I couldn’t help but notice a regretfull glance back at Kari and I.

It’s now 7:40 AM and Kari and I wait alone in the room expecting an anastesiologist to enter at anytime. Kari’s moans progressivly increase until only three to four minutes pass between them. Her moans, gesters and sqirms became more and more dramatic. During a break between contractions I exclaimed, “Damit when are they going to get here!” Kari replied, “It’s a hospital, it could take hours.” Twenty minutes later a massive contraction caused Kari to shreek, sending shivers down my spine. My eyes grew wide with horror. She turned, looked into my eyes with a ghoastly expression exclaiming, “Somethings wrong.” I felt as if my heart stopped. Immediately I snatched the nurse assistance button, pressing it firmly. I listened, hoping to hear a voice, while next to me Kari melted in agoney. Seconds later, I decide I can wait no longer.  I dash around the labor bed leaping for the door. I reached out, grasped the ocward lever and yanked the combersum wooden beast. Mid yank Kari shreeked again. I spun around. Buckling in pain Kari screams, “THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG!” Just as she finished the ourburst, I heard an odd pop sound from her body. In a woosh bloody water gushed from between her bent spread legs, soaking the bed. I flung the door open to find two nurses chatting plesently at the nurses’s station fifty yards away. I yell with as much authority as I could muster, “WE NEED HELP DOWN HERE… NOW!” A minute later the two nurses poked thier heads in asking, “What was going on.” I exclaim, “She thinks something’s wrong!”

The two nurses meander to her bed side. One presents herself as our new nurse and checks the status of Kari and our son. Consolingly she remarked, “Ohh it’s alright dear, your water just broke, lets get you cleaned up.” Coordinately the two nurses lift Kari and pull an absorbent pad from below her, replacing it with a couple more. Then walk over to the supply closet pilling items out and placing them at the foot of the bed. Meanwhile, Kari squirms and shudders for several more rounds of contractions. Suddenly, Kari makes an unmistakable sound. A nearly demonic sound which sent my mind racing. Instantly, I understood the sevarity of our present situation. This amazing, “Nation’s best hospital” has failed to keep pace with Kari’s labor. Enraged I turn rowards the nurses at the foot of Kari’s bed. There the two nurses stand relaxed, engaged in their own little world. I glare at the two nurses as they open supplies and banter comically about a personal matter. I inject forcfully, “Did you hear that?” Before they could reply, I injected again, “SHE IS PUSHING!”

The nurses freeze and drop their work. One runs to the phone, the other assesses Kari. Kari pushes again. The nurse asssessing Kari, reaches down, feels her cervix and exclaims, “She’s at ten centemeters!” Then nurvously states, “Try not to push dear.” I thought to myself, “Ten inches means, FULL CROWN!!!”  A minute later our anastesiologist rolled in with a large cart followed by an army of nurses. At this point in her labor, Kari could not help but to push. Quickly the nurses pulled Kari upright into a sitting possition with her lower legs dangling off the left side of the bed. Meanwhile the anastesiologist prepaired. I thought to myself, “She can’t have an epadural past eight centemeters. Why are they giving her one?” Immediatly I visualize a prior birthing TV program depicting a patient bear hugging her knees while an epadural needle injects the spin. But before I could voice my concearn the anastesiologist said “Hold perfectly still I’m going to pierce your spinal cord. HOLD PERFECTLY STILL!”. As the needle neared her back, a contraction began and Kari grunted, bearing down more fearcfully than any prior contraction. Like two boa constrictors I wrapped my arms around Kari sinching them tight and then tighter, again. My legs stiffened into tree trunks and my feet grew roots holding us perfectly still. Like a super sense, I used my perifreal vision to access and predicted any notion of movment, countering with forcfull precision. Internally I felt terrified for her and intrepidly prevented Kari from becoming a parapalegic because of a slight nudge or twitch.

Just as Kari’s contraction ended, the anastesiologist finished inserting a needle into her spine and asked that she lay back on the bed. Moments later, one of the countless nurses requested I take a breather and step away from Kari’s bedside. Without question, I stepped back five feet to gather my wits. Withdrawn from the situation, I began to feel tingles run thoughout my body. Apparently the nurse noticed I began to hyperventalate and if she hadn’t acted, I’d now lay unconscience on the floor. Moments later, I felt recorvered. I proceeded to scan the room noticing 5 nurses, Kari laying on the bed, and several carts scattered about.Then Doctor Sally entered the room and I instantly walk back to Kari’s bed side.

Doctor Sally exclaims, “I got the page, your having a baby!” At this point Kari had begun to feel relief from the epidural. She replied, “Ya hopfully all goes well. We scheduled a cesarian operation for next Tuesday because I’m high risk. He came early.” Doctor Sally replied, “If you like we can perform the operation. But your recovery time will be much longer. What would you like to do?” Kari replied, “Lets try vaginally.”

Situated at my perch, I notice a nurse preventing someone from entering the room. Curuously I watched as she spoke to whomever opened our door. The nurse turned, looked at me mouthing, “Its your parents.” I replied, “Please ask them to wait outside, I’ll be with them shortly.” While this familial distraction took place Doctor Sally spoke privately to her staff. Finally had a chance to look in Kari’s eyes, without distraction. I expressed my love for her corressed her hand for a minute or two while the nursing staff transformed our room into a birthing center.

After the transformation, our hospitable room appeard adiquitly suited for our situation. Near the enterance, that piculiar contraption now glowed in a halo of heating lamps. Below the halo of light, a platform firmly sat adorned with soft blankets. Next to the contraption, semingly gaurding our door,  three nurses stood at attention attuned to every movement. Above the bed long extendable surgical lamp fixtures reached from a hidding spot far up in the ceiling, shinning on their intended targets. Nurses traversed the beds perimiter moving from cart to cart, like a swarm of bees, prepairing insterments and syrums necessary for labor. In the center of this commotion the labor bed sat, now projecting birthing sturips from it’s base.

Accustumed to the commotion Doctor Sally asks Kari, “Can you place your heals in these sturips? If not we can help you.” Complicently, Kari lifts her legs placing them in the sturips juting from the base of her bed. Doctor Sally warns, “Now I’m going to fold part of the bed out from under you, don’t be alarmed.” Kari shakes her head acknowledging her statement. Quickly almost half the bed folds perpendicular cutting it’s surface area nearly in half. Doctor Sally asks, “How are you feeling?” Kari replies, “Much better now that I had the epadural.” Sarcastically she continues and intending the nurses to over hear, “Man I wish I had this an hour ago when I was five centemeters.”

Unaware of prior events Doctor Sally asks a nearby nurse to roll a mirror into place, inorder for Kari to witness our son’s birth. With the mirror adjusted and in place Doctor Sally stated, “Kari I want you to push with each contraction. Make sure you beardown.” For the next ten minutes Kari pushed but seemingly became more  and more distracted mid effort. Knowing Kari’s twisted nurse thought process. I remark, “Stop watching yourself push and focus on pushing.” Kari turns her head towards me and giggles in a sick perverted way only another nurse could truly appreciate, replying, “But it’s so interesting.” I exclaimed, “Push!” Meanwhile, apparently Doctor Sally understood all to well Kari’s enticment toward biological functions because she quickly exclaimed, after my “Push” remark, “If you don’t start pushing I will remove the mirror.” Immediately Kari began to push but again she tappered off mid effort to examine the effects. Doctor Sally projected loudly, “Please remove the mirror.” Suddenly a nurse removed the mirrior stowing it in a nearby corner. Doctor Sally exlaimed, “I need you to focus and push!” Over the next ten minutes Kari pushed well with every contraction. Perched next to her bedside I began to see an odd shape emerge from her vagina.

      Inside Kari’s vagina emerged a white bananna shaped pail protusion. Immediately I thought, “OHH MY GOD SOMETHING IS WRONG! How could that be my son’s head. It looks flatteneed like a pancake!” Patiently I waited while Kari pushed. With every grunt another centemeter protruded from Kari. Soon I realized what I saw as a pail bannana shaped object was mearly my son’s scalp folding under the preasure. Soon I saw a pale cranium emerging from Kari’s vagina. Moments later I noted his cranial protrution slowed and I glanced up, unaware of what had transpired  since my son began to enter this world. I recall Doctor Sally dramatically exclaiming, “Kari you have to push NOW! THE BABY IS IN DISTRESS!  PUSH LIKE YOU MEAN IT!!!”  I truned to Kari screaming, “PUSH…PUSH…PUSH… DON’T YOU STOP!!!”

Suddenly, his head slipped out of Kari. As he arrived, facing upwords towards both Doctor Sally and me, he cried. Doctor Sally held his head level exclaiming, “VACUME!” Suddenly a nearby nurse on standby, prepaired for theis very directive, injected tubes into his mouth and nasil passages sucking mucus from his lungs. Doctor Sally peared up at Kari and exclaimed, “One last final push!” Kari push with all her might forcing my son’s body to slip out of her.

As Doctor Sally handed our son off to nearby nurses I couldn’t help but notice his purple color. I thought, “He looks is the color of a grape!” Immmediatly I worried but was drawn back to Kari as Doctor Sally assessed her vaginal tears. I couldn’t help but notice that Kari was vaginally shreaded. Doctor Sally fingered Kari’s tares while asking, “Would you like a husband’s stitch?” Kari replied, “Sure.”

Confident Kari was in the best hands I circled the bed while dodging nurses and made my way to our grape of a son. Immediately I noticed his color had returned to a pale flesh color. Calmly I stepped outside to thank my parents for an immediate response. Just as I exited the room and entered the hallway, greating my parents, a nurse slipped around from my behind exclaiming, “ARE YOU THE FATHER?” I quickly replied, “Yes.” She pushed my son into my arms yelling, “FOLLOW ME, QUICKLY!” My mind raced as we jogged down the hall to the neonatal unit. I thought, “What could be wrong?” I acted dilligently and kept the hospital staff on pace with our birth… WHAT COULD BE WRONG!” As we entered the neonatal unit the nurse I shadowed so diligently, snatched my son from my arms placing him under another heat lamp then placing an oxygen mask on his face. I exclaimed, “WHATS WRONG! WHAT’S GOING ON!” The nurse replied, “Nothing we just administer oxygen when I child pauses half way through the caginal cannal because fluid can stay in their lungs. Eventually she hands my son to me. We weighed him at 7.01oz and travel back to the labor room. As I enter, I notice my parents joined Kari whome now lays peacfully in her labor bed. Gently I pass our son “Dresden Micheal Adams” to Kari exclaiming over my shoulder,”Thank you mom and dad for the basinet. It has been waiting patiently for Dresden’s arrival.”