Ice, Ice, Babies!

Down We Go

I'd never understand how people could say pregnancy is beautiful. I looked at my massive amount of stretch marks in my bedroom mirror and put the hockey jersey back down over my baby bump. It was the first Friday of October, which meant two things: I was twenty-seven weeks along as of today, and it was Trevor's first hockey game of the season.

My babies were active as ever, moving and kicking and pressing on my bladder. By now, they were shoving themselves against my ribcage, so sometimes I'd get a little short of breath.

Oh, and did I mention the occasional Braxton Hicks contractions? Yeah, those were real great. I thought I was actually in labor the first time it happened, but Dr. Andrews assured me that I was fine. They happened every so often. My uterus was just preparing itself for delivery. And good news for me, both babies were perfectly positioned, so I'd be delivering naturally. My mom had an awful time after her C-section with Annie and Elsie, so I was really relieved.

"Hey, you ready?" Bethy asked, popping into my room without knocking, as always.

"One day, I swear, you're gonna just scare these babies right out of me," I said.

I put my glasses back on and we headed out the door. It was only a fifteen minute drive to the arena, and because of Trevor, we got to park in the exclusive lot right outside the main entrance. Hannah wasn't coming with us, since tonight was our Big-Little reveal. It broke my heart to not be able to be there, getting my own little, but a lot of things broke my heart these days.

We went inside, scanned our tickets, went up the elevator, and walked to our seats. There were special VIP seats available, but Treavor insisted our season tickets be right in the middle of the arena, since it had the best view. Unfortunately, the legroom was minimal and they were super uncomfortable. I realized that I'd probably have to get up and stretch out every fifteen minutes or so.

The lights dimmed and the game was starting. The Anacondas came out one by one. Trevor was still not quite good enough to be in the starting lineup and came out onto the ice with the rest of the newer players. I got to watch him sit on the bench, since we were about ten rows behind it. He'd look over at us and wave every once in a while.

The game was going relatively well. The Anacondas were up 2-1 in the first period, with Trevor scoring another goal in the second period to bring the score up to 3-1. I was pretty proud of him.

"I can't believe they're still not putting Martin in the starting lineup. I know he's young, but the kid is pretty damn good!" said the guy sitting behind us.

Bethy gave me a playful nudge. "That's your guy right there!"

"Shh!" I said, not wanting to draw any attention to anyone that I was Trevor's pregnant girlfriend.

There was a break after the second period for about twenty minutes. I went to the bathroom, and thankfully a bunch of people saw how pregnant I was and let me cut in line. Bethy grabbed us a couple hotdogs to snack on. They did a few games for the kids who were in the audience, a t-shirt toss, and then, Bethy's favorite: the dance cam.

It was always meant for kids, but Bethy was so determined. She stood up and she just flossed her heart out in her bright green frog hat. I covered myself with the sweatshirt that I'd been using as a blanket.

"Ahh! Lynn I'm on! I'm on!" Bethy shouted. I took my sweatshirt off my face and and camera had already panned over to some other kids. "It was like, for two seconds, but I was on!"

"Glad you can cross that off your bucket list," I said, giggling with her.

The third period started, and things were really getting exciting. The opposing team was getting rowdy and fights were breaking out here and there, which according to Bethy, was the best part of a hockey game.

Slowly, the Anacondas were starting to lose their grip, going from 3-1, to 3-2, to a tie of 3-3 with only five minutes remaining. Trevor was off the bench. The Anacondas were shooting and missing, shooting and having it blocked by the goalie, and the crowd was getting frustrated.

With two minutes remaining, I saw Trevor looking not quite right. He was slowing down. I figured it was the end of the game, and he spent all morning sterilizing and organizing my pump parts while I was in class, then putting together an entire bunk bed for when my sisters came to visit in a few weeks, so it seemed like he was just tired.

Then the puck got passed to him when he was right by the goal, and instead of grabbing it, it went right past him. The crowd was hollering and booing.

"Come on! What are you doing? It was right in front of you!" yelled the guy behind us.

The rest of the game was happening all around him, but Trevor was still standing in place. Then, boom. He was face-down on the ice. I'd never seen him have a seizure before, because I knew that on all his meds, they weren't supposed to happen.

A time-out was called. The crowd was gasping as they watched Trevor convulse on the ice. The medic rushed out there and was trying to attend to him. People in the crowd had their phones out and were filming the whole thing.

I ran down to the wall behind the bench because it was as close as I could get. Bethy was right there with me. I felt completely helpless. Two more people came out carrying a stretcher. They were about to carry him off.

"Hey, excuse me!" Bethy yelled, trying to get the attention of someone in the Anacondas' section. A guy wearing a suit turned to us. "This is Trevor's girlfriend! Can she go with him?"

"Oh, you're Lynn?" he asked me. I nodded. "You can come with me."

He took us down to a set of closed off stairs, where we went to an exit on the side of the building that had a waiting ambulance. They transferred Trevor off the stretcher from the arena and onto the one the ambulance had. He was conscious, trying to tell them he didn't need to go to the hospital.

"It's for your hand, Trev," the Anacondas' medic said to him.

I looked at Trevor's right hand, which was really swollen. He fell right on top of it.

"Lynn?" he said. I went to his side and he took my hand with his good one that wasn't swollen. "I had to stop one of my seizure meds last week. It got recalled. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. My doctor said I'd be fine."

"It's alright. It's not your fault," I said.

"Don't go in the ambulance with me. I don't want the motion of it to make you sick. You don't even have to go to the hospital with me. I'll be fine. Just go home and get some rest, okay?" he said.

"I don't want to leave you by yourself," I said, trying to be a good, supportive girlfriend.

"I want you to go home. Don't worry about me."

"Fine. If you say so."

I gave him a kiss on the lips and they loaded him into the ambulance. Bethy and I stood there as the sirens turned on and it sped off. I sighed. What a day. Why couldn't my life just be normal?