We'll Get Through This

CHAPTER 10

CARINA'S POV

-Hey, Carina! What brings you here today? – Teddy asked when I entered the CT room she was sitting in while waiting for a patient's images.

-I need you to draw my blood. – I replied, a little embarrassed.

-Okay, why? – She asked back looking at me very suspiciously.

-Maya and I... We did the first IVF attempt 12 days ago, and since yesterday I'm really nauseous and I think my breasts are bigger, but I don't want to be the anxious patient and ask Addison to do it. I know it's at least 14 days before I can take the test... But...

-Carina, I'll do it! I will draw your blood! – She smiled at me showing a lot of excitement with the news. – Congratulations! I am so happy for you both!

I know my body, I knew it was different, but I kept thinking about the possibility that my psyche was playing tricks. After very traumatic months of realizing that maybe having kids wasn't a possibility for me, I was now living my dream together with the person I love the most. This baby was my little miracle and I wanted so badly for it to come true.

I waited until the patient images were ready and accompanied Teddy to a more secluded examining room after gathering all the necessary supplies. She took a blood sample, and I gave it to the lab myself, asking them to page me as soon as the result was ready.

It was not that much of a long shot, I knew there was a possibility of detecting high levels of b-HCG earlier than expected, yet it was not a possibility that I had discussed with Maya and made sure not to complain about the nausea with her because I didn't want to make her any more anxious than she already was.

Maya was already quite worried. I could see she was trying to stay calm around our home, mostly so I wouldn't get anxious too, but she was doing a terrible job. She was already starting to carry groceries for me, elevator rides were now a constant reality after she found stairs too dangerous after I tripped on a step last week. These little things sometimes made me want to reinforce that I could be pregnant and not sick, but it was Maya's way of showing that she cared, it was her way of occupying her mind and making herself useful, so I just settled for Maya's way.

I knew that if this pregnancy became a reality I would be dealing with a very worried first-time mother and I would have to adapt to it. I would have to adapt to all the drawing boards with all the tasks to be done by the end of pregnancy and frankly I was fine with that. I would never admit it but seeing her in clipboard mode made me realize how much she cared about things.

-Dr. Deluca, we need you in room 12. I think the baby has the umbilical cord around his neck. – Jo met me in the middle of the hallway, and I ran after her to the delivery room.

The umbilical cord was indeed around the baby's neck, but with a few maneuvers and, unfortunately, a lot of pain for the mom I managed to unwind without causing any further problems. After that Jo continued to lead the delivery and I stayed by her side to make sure everything went well.

During the day I had a c-section and it distracted me from looking at my cell phone every five minutes waiting for the test results. But at the end of the surgery, there was the notification I had been waiting for, the exams were ready.

-Dr. Deluca, I need your help with trauma 1. – Addison pulled me by the arm, already running through the corridors and I had no choice but to accompany her.

A pregnant woman had just arrived at the hospital after a serious car accident, the baby was at great risk and her placenta was about to come unstuck. Addison and I were administering every type of drug possible to stabilize her condition, but her blood pressure still wouldn't go down and after a few minutes what we feared happened, she started to convulse.