The Problem with Dreams

Chapter 68 - The Problem

Greg and Susan arrived at Dr. Daniels' office in plenty of time for her noon appointment. Susan handed over the report materials to the receptionist and they sat down to wait. It was no easier than it had been before, but they didn't talk. Susan's throat had grown dry as she tried not to worry, struggling against her fear. Beside her, Greg seemed no more inclined to talk than she did. There were just too many unknowns.

The hour for their appointment passed and still they waited. Dr. Daniels' nurse came out to tell them the doctor was looking at Susan's report now and it wouldn't be much longer. Still, it was another twenty minutes before someone came to summon them back.

Greg put his arm around Susan's waist when they were finally called, both to help her up out of the chair in the waiting room and as a means of moral support.

"Welcome back," Dr. Daniels said pleasantly.

"Thank you," Susan answered for them both. "I hope you have some answers for us."

"I think I do. This particular ultrasound was very revealing," he answered.

"About my pregnancy or about the baby?" Susan asked warily.

"You looked at the report?" Dr. Daniels guessed.

Susan nodded.

"Then you already know we're looking at several issues here," he said clearly.

"Yes," Susan said. "But I'd rather hear what you have to say about it before I say anything more."

"Fair enough," the doctor agreed. "First about your pregnancy: you'll be thirty-four weeks tomorrow. That's the good news. Under normal circumstances your baby would be considered mature enough from this point forward to be delivered early if need be. Of course we don't want to do that and it's possible we won't have to, but I wanted you to be clear on that point before we discuss things any further."

Susan nodded and so did Greg.

"Please, go on Doctor," Greg requested.

"All right, now for the not so good news; as you already know, the amount of amniotic fluid you are leaking has been increasing, as we suspected it would when your amniotic sac began to pull further away. I have this image here to show you," he told them and he activated his computer screen. "This area, from here to here, represents roughly a quarter of the surface of the amniotic sac and none of it is attached. As far as we can tell, it's still functioning. The danger lies in how close the region that's pulled away has gotten to the placenta. Should that also begin to pull away, we'll have to deliver the baby immediately. The danger factor for both Susan and the baby becomes significant at that point so we won't have a choice. Is that also clear?"

"Yes," Susan said in a small voice. "How will we know if that has happened?"

"The fluid you are leaking will become tinged with pink. It may be subtle at first, but I want you to call me immediately. If the least bit of pink or evidence of bleeding appears, we're putting you in the hospital immediately," he told them.

Greg and Susan exchanged a look.

"It sounds like it's only a matter of time before you expect that to happen," Greg remarked.

"That is the most likely way this will progress," Dr. Daniels confirmed. "I don't want to rush delivery. I wouldn't in any case, but especially not now, not after what we've learned with this latest ultrasound."

"You're talking about the cardiac problems in the baby," Susan guessed.

"Yes. I took the liberty of calling a pediatrician colleague of mine ... I hope you don't mind, but he's familiar with conditions such as these in newborns. He's informed me that in the face of these problems, increasing the baby's birth weight is critical to her survival. Right now she weighs approximately four pounds, probably slightly less. Even with the problems your pregnancy has, if we can put off delivery another one to two weeks, she'll be closer to four and a half or five which would be better. So for now, that is our goal," the doctor told them.