July 15, 2020
Bella was waiting for her turn at the doctor’s office at the Chong Hua Medical Arts in Mandaue city.
She had handed over to Ate Rian, the OB’s assistant, the results for a bunch of tests that her OB had asked her to take.
The last time she was in for a visit, her OB saw the results of the ultrasound and told her that they needed to verify what the third shape was. She seemed concerned but she tried to keep things light.
Bella’s OB, Dr Angela Faraday, had instructed Bella not to walk around too much. Bella gave that reminder a lot of thought.
First off, her house had two floors. If she were to make food, she had to go up and down. If she had to go to the bathroom, she had to go up and down. Secondly, she was bound to run out of food at some point. Maybe not in the next three months, but at some point.
That one was easily solved with all the food and grocery home deliveries that were proliferating these days, though.
Also, these doctor’s appointments actually dictated that she had to leave the house.
“Bel, ikaw na. Sulod na didto, day. (Bel, it’s your turn. Go on in.)” Ate Rian called Bella. The receptionist was sitting behind a huge wooden desk with a bunch of files and baby things on her desk.
Bella thanked her and stood up to enter the doctor’s office. Her OB was a short-haired, fair-skinned, stylish and striking woman. Bella guessed she could have had European ancestry.
“Kumusta man ka, day? (How are you?)” Dr Faraday greeted Bella as soon as she had entered. The term that both older women used to call Bella, ‘day’ was short for ‘inday’, which in their local language was a way to call younger females.
Due to the virus, Bella was sitting on a chair against the wall and Dr Faraday’s table was a few feet away.
“Okay ra, doc. (I’m okay, doc.)” Bella smiled. “Magsige lang sakit ako tiyan, doc, oie. Normal ra na? (I just keep feeling pain in my belly, doc. Is that normal?)
The OB’s bright smile almost faded but Dr Faraday tried her best to keep smiling. Bella saw that her test results were in front of her. “Nakakita nako sa imo mga resulta, day. Unfortunately, naa kay gitawag nato nga APAS. Mao to ako nakita sa imo ultrasound mao nang gipatest tka. Blood clot man to, day, oie. (I’ve seen your test results. Unfortunately, you have what we call APAS. It’s what I noticed in your ultrasound and had to verify it with the tests. It turns out it’s a blood clot.)”
Bella stared at her OB. “Unsay pasabot ana, doc? (What does that mean, doc?)”
“Day, high risk naman ni daan ato pagbuntis kay twins naman. Samot pa nga naa d ay ka ani na condition. Ang nahitabo ani, giatake sa imo immune system imo mga baby thinking nga foreign objects ni sila. (Your pregnancy is already classified as a high risk considering you are carrying twins. It’s aggravated a little bit more because of this condition that you have. What’s happening is that your immune system is attacking the babies thinking that it’s a foreign body.)” Dr Faraday explained.
“Ha? Unsay angay nato buhaton ani, doc? (What? What should we do about this, doc?)” Bella grew increasingly worried by the second.
“Sagdi lang, day. Atong paningkamoton nga macomplete nato ang gestation period para sa mga bata. Pag complete bedrest lang ha for three months. Ayaw sige lakaw lakaw. Higda ra gyd ka. (Don’t worry. We will do our best to ensure that these babies make it through the entire gestation period. You have to undergo complete bedrest for three months. Don’t walk around, just lie down.)” Dr Faraday instructed.
