Never Be the Same

Part 9

Stella slowly opened her eyes. She was in a state of confusion. She looked around the room at a slow pace. She realized she was in a hospital room; there was no one in the room with her. She sees the IV tube in her arm. She's connected to so many monitors. She wonders why she's in the hospital; she has no memory of anything happening. She wonders if Kelly knows she's in here because it's strange for him not to be with her. She lays her head back against the pillow as she tries to remember what happened. She jerks up and touches her belly. Did something happen to the baby? Her emotions went into overdrive, and she started hyperventilating. Seconds later, Maggie and another nurse came running into the room.

"Stella, I need you to calm down," Maggie said as the other nurse checked her out.

"My. B..ba..my.." She struggled to get the words out. As it became difficult to breathe.

"Calm down; just breathe," Maggie said.

They put the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. "Just relax," Maggie tells her. A few minutes later, "Are you okay now?" she asked, and Stella nodded. "I need you to stay calm."

Maggie removed the oxygen mask. "Maggie, my baby?" Stella asked in a panic. "Is my baby, okay?"

"Don't work yourself up again. Your little girl is fine." Maggie reassured her.

Stella sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God, little girl? It's a girl?" she asked in a surprised, happy tone.

Maggie's eyes widen. "I am so sorry, Stella. I thought you knew."

"I'm having a girl." She said, in an awed tone. She can't wait to tell Kelly. 

"Yes, it's a girl," Maggie replied, giving her a little smile. 

Stella touched her stomach. "I can't wait to meet you, princess." Maggie watched Stella talk to her unborn child with happiness beaming off her. Stella looked at Maggie. "What happened? Why am I here?"

"You don't remember?"

"No, I remember having a headache earlier and calling Brett, but everything else is a blur." She tells her as she tries to remember anything that could have led her here.

"Your blood pressure was extremely high, and you had a seizure, two of them back-to-back. But Brett and Violet got you here just in time... "

Stella gave her a confused look. "A seizure?" She questioned. "I've never had a seizure in my life. Why would I have one now?"

"A seizure can happen for multiple reasons, and lots of people experience life without seizures, and then one day out of the blue they just have one. Some are because of serious conditions. Some are one-time things; it just depends on what caused them in the first place. Right now, I don't have the answers." Maggie tells her. "Dr. Asher will be able to answer all your questions, I promise. I've seen in my many years of medicine that lots of pregnant women have seizures; they've never had a seizure their entire lives or until they got pregnant. Pregnancy can cause seizures, especially if you have been experiencing high blood pressure issues for a while. How long have you been having blood pressure problems?"

Stella shrugs. "I never had blood pressure issues; they never said anything to me at any of my appointments. The only time anything was mentioned to me about my blood pressure was when I collapsed here a few months ago, and they said my blood pressure was extremely low. But during my follow-up appointment, my doctor said my blood pressure was normal. "

Maggie gave her a puzzled look. "Well, I'm sure Dr. Asher will have all the answers you're looking for."

"When will she be in?"

"Any moment, as soon as she goes over your results."

" Okay," Stella said as she rubbed her belly nervously. "This is my fault." She whispered.