Superstitions

Chapter 14 - 10 am

So, what can I say ... it's been two years since I published and I apologize. I hate when other authors do that but here I am ... I just didn't have time to write anymore, between my classes, internships, I only had a few days off and honestly all I wanted during those days was to sleep. Also, the desire to write wasn't there anymore and the end of Rhekker in Chicago Med didn't help. There's also the fact that my story has a lot of medical details (but that's what I like and that's kind of my style) but the more I study, the harder it is to do something realistic (hence the little change I made in the story). Finally I needed a little break during my blockade and it's when I received a notification from wattpad that I thought "I should start writing again" and so here's a new chapter. I hope there are still people interested in my story despite the almost 2 years of waiting. Again I can't tell you when the next chapter will be published but I promise to try to publish it before 2024...

Enjoy !

CHAPTER 14 - 10 am.

Back in the office Connor and Ava sat down on the two chairs in front of Dr. Clarke's desk. She asked them if they made their decision.

"Yes, we want to know" Ava answer kinda excited.

"So congratulations, you have a little girl"

A broad smile appeared on the faces of the two future parents. They could no longer hold their emotions and fell into each other's arms. Both were crying, but this time it was tears of joy. This announcement made everything more real, they were going to have a child. Connor kissed Ava and looked into her eyes.

"We're going to have a baby," Connor said in a dazed look that made Ava laugh out loud.

The day they'd spent seemed so unreal, they hadn't yet had time to fully realize what was happening. It was like waking up from a dream and realizing that the dream was actually a reality.

This moment of euphoria and joy was quickly overtaken by reality. Indeed, their struggle was still far from over. Ava and their baby both had heart problems that would require proper monitoring and management. Neither of them wanted to think about it now, but they had to. It was Ava who broke that idyllic moment by asking Dr. Clarke how the next steps would be.

"As you know in a normal heart, the pulmonary artery leave the right ventricle to bring deoxygenated blood to the lung and the lungs sent back oxygenated blood to the left heart. The aorta leave the left ventricle to deliver oxygenated blood to the entire body.

With the transposition of the great vessels the aorta is connected to the right ventricle and send deoxygenated blood to the body. The pulmonary artery is connected to the left ventricle so the blood circulates in a closed circuit between the left heart and the lungs. No oxygenate blood is sent to the body.

Fortunately in the fetal stage there is two physiological communications between the left and right heart. Problems happen at birth, normally these communications close soon after birth, but for your baby these two communications will keep her alive. Once she is born, our main mission will be to keep these connections open. To do this, we will use medication and a small surgery will probably be necessary depending on her condition. Our goal will be to stabilize her before the main operation."

Dr. Clarke continued to explain in more detail the various procedures and care their daughter would be receiving. It was a lot of information, but fortunately being CT surgeons helped them understand it better. The obstetrician was well aware of the amount of content they had to assimilate and reassured them that everything would be explained several times during the rest of the pregnancy.

"As you can imagine, your pregnancy is a high-risk one, due to your and your baby's heart problems. Fortunately, Chicago Med has a dedicated department, so we will work with my colleagues to offer you the best solutions to make this pregnancy as smooth as possible. Since no pregnancy monitoring has been done, I have already started the blood work for the common screening tests to save time but if you don't want to do these tests I can cancel them."

"No you did the right thing, we don't want any more uncertainties", Ava exclaimed as she looked at Connor for approval.

"Yes, no more surprises" he confirmed.

"Perfect, I will see you in 10 days to give you the results of the tests and what came out of the multidisciplinary meeting. Do you have any questions? "

Of course they still had hundreds of questions running through their heads, but that was enough information for today. They thanked Dr. Clarke and returned to Ava's room. Dr. Latham had asked Connor to let him know when the consultation was over so he could assess Ava's heart condition and consider a discharge.

"Good evening Dr. Bekker, how are you feeling?" Dr. Latham asked in his usual calm tone.

"Weird but better" she replied, looking at her belly.

"Good, I think your fainting was the result of a combination of your pregnancy, aortic stenosis and an exhausting day but I want to keep you in observation that night. Tomorrow I will also run some test to get more detailed information about your condition. We'll discuss eventual treatment and your discharge based on the results."

"Thank you Dr. Latham" Connor said, shaking Ava's hand.

"Good night Dr Bekker and Dr. Rhodes. Oh and congratulation" replied Latham as he left the room.

The next day was intense. As planned, Ava had a battery of tests for her heart and Dr. Clarke stopped by to check on her. She took the opportunity to have another ultrasound and take some measurements. Ava's belly had already started to round out and was easily visible under the hospital gown.

By the end of the day, Dr. Latham came in with the test results. They weren't that bad, but Ava will need to be closely monitored. She could be discharged the next morning.

Connor was worried about leaving Ava alone at the apartment, but he couldn't afford to let Dr. Latham run the department alone. Luckily Erin, who had to take a few days off due to a bad sprain, had offered to stay with Ava. The two friends could finally spend some time together.

Ava also took the opportunity to resume some psychotherapy sessions with Dr. Charles. Connor was pleased with this decision, not that he didn't trust Ava, but he was glad she was taking care of her mental health.

The days passed and the date of the meeting with the high-risk pregnancy team was coming up fast. So fast that the consultation was already scheduled for tomorrow. Ava and Connor were in their bed, it was past midnight but they couldn't sleep. Ava was already having trouble sleeping with her belly well rounded but with the stress tonight it was worse. She tossed and turned every two minutes and then got up to go to the bathroom. Connor, on the other side, was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Ava's coming and going. He tried to recall the list of questions he had in mind, but every time he got to the end of it, a new question would pop up. They knew they could trust the team completely but the stress was too high. They finally fell asleep around 2:00 a.m., Ava half lying on Connor and Connor somewhere between question 32 and 46.

The appointment was only at 10 am but Connor was already awake since 6 am as usual. He took the opportunity to prepare the breakfast and to get ready. Ava woke up around 7:30 am with a strong urge to pee. They had breakfast and Ava got ready, but it was still only 8:30 am. They decided to watch TV before leaving. In a quite spectacular way, the 2 parents-to-be fell asleep in front of a show they didn't even remember the subject of. Fortunately, Connor had scheduled a wake-up call for 9am.

They arrived at the hospital early and were waiting in the waiting room. They were not used to come to the hospital as patients but now they understood the stress of their patients in the waiting room. 10 am, it was time, Dr. Clarke came out of the meeting room and invite them in.