I had no desire to see my wife’s insides, especially with my mind trying not to think the worst. There was an air of uneasiness in the OR but I thought maybe it was just me. Anyway, the time came when they were about to pull little Hubert out and the anesthesiologist told me to stand up and watch. I respectfully declined in order to sit with my wife who was being bounced around on the table by the unseen force on the other side of the magic curtain. I did not want to cut the cord. I didn’t want to before this all started. I especially didn’t want to now. I looked down at my feet and saw some pretty good sized blood splatters by my shoe. My wife was not happy in the least. Then we heard the fragile little cry of Hugh Ellis. It quickly became stronger. My wife was crying and I was getting rather misty eyed. That was when they pulled me away to go be with Hugh as they cleaned him up and weighed him. I looked back at my wife and she told me to go be with my son.
Here is how it played out in my nightmares from this point. I joyfully looked upon him in pride and a new sort of love I never imagined. A faint beeping in the back ground grew erratic and finally stopped. I look back to see my wife’s empty eyes as the doctors try to revive her. It is no good.
That is the thing I had in the back of my mind the whole time. My wife has a history of heart problems. It very well could have turned out like that. Thank God it didn’t. But here is what actually happened.
My wife told me to go be with my son. The whole moment was so surreal that I felt like I was watching through someone else’s eyes. Was it really my son? Was it all some sort of bazaar dream? Jeralie was working with another nurse. They were busy getting Hugh lined out. She told me I could talk to Hugh. I didn’t have a clue what to say. I said something and he stopped crying. He knew my voice. Wow! That was so cool. The other nurse was the one who we thought was disagreeable on the first day. I didn’t recognize her with the hat and mask covering her face. She and Jeralie took care of me. They basically held my hand and told me step by step what to do in terms I could easily understand in the moment. “Stand right there and take pictures” stuff like that. I was so grateful. They put Hugh in my arms and told me to take him to my wife.
When I got to her, I held him closer to show our beautiful creation to her. She had a very distant look in her eyes that was surpassed only by the emptiness in her voice as she told me she could see him, dismissing us both. Clearly she was not into it. I was so confused. The anesthesiologist told me she was feeling nauseous. She was so pale and distant. I pulled Hugh back from her in case she got sick. I didn’t know what to do. After a few moments of looking at my son and wondering what was happening, Jeralie told me to put the baby closer to my wife as she took pictures of us. I was so concerned with my wife that I didn’t notice the love in her eyes for him until looking at the pictures later.When I got to her, I held him closer to show our beautiful creation to her. She had a very distant look in her eyes that was surpassed only by the emptiness in her voice as she told me she could see him, dismissing us both. Clearly she was not into it. I was so confused. The anesthesiologist told me she was feeling nauseous. She was so pale and distant. I pulled Hugh back from her in case she got sick. I didn’t know what to do. After a few moments of looking at my son and wondering what was happening, Jeralie told me to put the baby closer to my wife as she took pictures of us. I was so concerned with my wife that I didn’t notice the love in her eyes for him until looking at the pictures later.
The next task was to get little Hugh ready for the world. Yes, we got the Vitamin K and the goop for the eyes. We also plan on doing the full set of vaccinations. But that is another story. Jeralie ran all the tests on him. They all came out perfect. She did all of this while also keeping up on all the things my wife needed. She did the little foot prints for us, even did an extra set. That was a lot to do for one person and she pulled it off like a champ. She made sure we had food, showed us several tips on how to do things for a baby, and walked us through everything she was doing while she was doing it. Hugh now had to learn how to eat. Actually, he already knew because he latched on and went to town for two hours.
Now, my wife was doped up and not feeling good at all. Her stomach was giving her excess pain. The put a binder on her. When we tried to reposition it, she just about jumped out of the bed and killed me. When they put my wife back together, they put the uterus toward the left side to give the fibroid plenty of space. Jeralie was concerned because it was too much pain and decided to call Doc B to come in. When the doc got there, they sent my wife off for a CT scan. The fear was internal bleeding or ovarian torsion. They would have done an ultrasound but that would have been far too painful. The results of the CT came back clear. The verdict was that the pain meds they were giving my wife were long lasting therefore slower to take effect. They had basically fallen behind. So they super doped her to catch up. She was so out of it and did not look well at all. But, she was looking better at least. That was the point I decided to stop people from visiting.
When Jeralie was ready to go home, she told me something that actually made my jaw drop. She said that she was a really good nurse but, had been the worst nurse that day and she was very sorry. What!? We were absolutely amazed by her performance. She went well beyond what was required. We think she is pretty darn awesome too. Jeralie, should you be reading this, we just want to say thank you. You helped us through a very tough situation. You were a rock for us. Thank you so very much. You are an amazing nurse and a wonderful person. You are also my hero and the MVP of this whole experience. In 18 years, Hugh will be old enough. You have our blessing.
At this point, I had to run home and take care of some things. My wife was still pretty doped. So, some very kind people came to stay with her until I got back. The nice thing was that when I got back, my wife was clear of mind again and looking good. The bad thing was that while I was gone, they moved my wife to a new room. This room is in the older part of the hospital. This is like moving from The Ritz to the ghetto. Not to say the people working this section are any less efficient than the others. They are great too. It is the surroundings that really kill the mood. We went from a spacious suite with plenty of seating to a tiny room with a pull out bed in a chair. My butt has lost all feeling while writing this. I may never walk again.
On the bright side, I came back to see Hugh is now very much in love with his mother and she with him. What started out as a very horrible day, was ending on a wonderful note. The next couple of days showed marked improvement on my wife’s part. So much so that she was up and around today wearing normal clothes. The nurse came in and looked around. She said, “She must be in the bathroom. I will come back”. My wife looked at her and said, “I am right here”. The nurse was amazed at how good she looked and how mobile she is so soon after all that.
We have had lots of great visitors and lots of laughs. But mostly, we have had a lot of people falling in love with our little guy. And now that I have had some time to let things settle down and settle in, I am so amazingly in love with my wife and my little guy Hugh. You know that moment when you hold your child for the first time, that magic moment when you instantly fall head over heels in love? I didn’t get the chance to have that. I was so worried and scared that I could barely focus. It was all a daze. That feeling happened though, I just didn’t realize it for a while. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I can’t wait for all of the firsts he will have.
So, after all the fear and worry, all the joy and pain, I have to say a few things. The staff at RRMC have been amazing. I am very thankful to all of them. We never had a nurse or CNA that wasn’t awesome. I am very thankful for the surgical staff. I was able to place full trust in them and they didn’t let me down. Thank you. And thank you to all of you who follow along on our adventures. I know this post has strayed from my usual light hearted style. There just wasn’t that much to make light of nor did I feel much like it. I am also exhausted and could use a chance to recharge
Oh yeah, if you are wondering why I called this D-Day for a B-day, June 6, 2014 is the 70th anniversary of D-Day and Hugh’s birthday. Thus, the family tradition of having a kid on a notable date is continued.