How to Save A Life (Anthony Rizzo)

59- Now Or Never

Clara

Anthony had a day game today so I had to attend the 8 month checkup appointment by myself. He wanted to come but it would have been too hard to get him here then to the game. I honestly didn't mind him not coming because it was kind of awkward in there when we started to talk about the ugly sides of pregnancy. He loved listening to the babies heartbeat though, if he could he would make it his ringtone, but all the other gross stuff weirded him out. And I don't blame him, it freaks me out too. So going to these things by myself was a blessing in disguise.

I get checked in and I change into a gown. The nurse checks my temperature asks me a bunch of questions and I get checked out. She takes my blood pressure but her face quickly falls.

"How long have you been experiencing this type of swelling" she asks me.

"Not too long, a few weeks maybe. I can't take ibuprofen to help it subside so I usually rested when it got bad" I explain.

"Okay. Well your blood pressure is high, even for a pregnant person, and your legs are more swollen than I would like. I want to run some tests to see what's going on" she explains and my heart stops.

"Is everything okay" I ask softly.

"I'm hoping we can run a few tests and I can tell you the answer to that question is yes" she admits and I slowly nod.

She draws some blood and I give a urine sample before she takes me back to a waiting room. I sit there with my feet dangling over the side of the table. My mind running a mile a minute trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together. What if something is wrong? What if I lost the baby? What if the baby is still born or I did something wrong and hurt it?

I feel the tears swell up in my eyes before the door opens. It felt like seconds I was in there but as I look up at the clock I see it's been about half a hour since I first sat down.

The doctor sits across from me and looks up to me. I could just feel that something was wrong.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but it looks like you contracted something called H-E-L-L-P syndrome. Most people know it as preeclampsia, but it's a infection that can be fatal to you if we're not careful" she explains.

"How is the baby" I whisper.

"As far as we know she is fine. This doesn't affect the baby as much as it effects you. You're 36 weeks so she still need to finish developing before I can say that she will be perfectly fine. But in order to save your life she needs to be delivered now and be treated in the NICU" the doctor explains.

"What's wrong with me" I wonder.

"You're red blood cells are very high, which is what is causing your blood pressure to spike to dangerous levels. Then we found proteins in your urine which is a indicator that your body is fighting something that can cause you to be really sick if you keep carrying this baby. Now you're only a little over a month early, the baby should survive be there no crazy complications. She's going to be small but keeping her in there to finish growing almost promises it to be extremely difficult to give birth to her later on. I highly suggest we get your baby out now and get you treated so we can get you both home safely" she suggests.

"How long will she have to stay here" I wonder.

"Just until she's strong enough to go home. Premature babies often have trouble breathing but your girl is a decent size already and should be close to being fully developed. She'll be undersized and might be a little blue when she is born, but we have the best doctors here to assure you that if something doesn't turn out right, they will do everything to help her. And you" she assures me.

"Okay... so what happens next" I ask.

"I highly suggest we induce your labor. The longer you play host to your baby the more danger you and her are in. When a baby is born premature it's usually quicker and is done naturally. The best thing to do is get her out and get you both on the right track to being healthy" she suggest.

"Okay, but can I call my boyfriend first" I ask.

"Of course. I'm going to get you a room set up and the right personal and we're going to get you your baby" she insists and I nod.

She leaves the room and I slowly go to my purse and I grab my phone. I see that he had already texted me a few times to see how we were doing and was asking why I haven't come home or talked to him yet. I call him back and he answers freakishly fast.

"Are you okay" he questions and I stay silent. I hold the phone to my ear as I stare out the window. "Claire... please answer me" he begs.

"I need you to come to the hospital" I whisper into the phone.

"Okay. But can you tell me why. Are you okay" he asks.

"No" I sniffle as I wipe away a tear that was falling.

"Baby what's wrong. Please tell me" he pleads.

"I'm sick. I have to have the baby today or things get complicated. So she has to be born prematurely to make sure we're both okay" I explain. "I'm so sorry" I sob.

"No no no, Clara it's okay. Everything is going to be okay. It's not your fault, everything is going to be fine. I'll be over in fifteen minutes and we're going to have this baby and everything is going to be okay" he repeats.

"How do you know that" I question.

"I just do. Do you trust me" he asks and I remember to all the times he's asked me that before. All the times when times were rough and he asked me if I trusted him. I always did and he never let me down.

"I trust you" I whisper.

"Then you have to know that I'm not going to let anything happen to you or the baby. We've been through so much already and we're going to get through this. I promise you" he says as I wipe away the tears. "I just got in the car so I'll see you soon. Let me know where they move you to and I'll see you there" he says.

"Okay" I sniffle.

"And Clara" he adds on.

"Yeah Anthony" I reply.

"No matter what happens know that I love you" he says.

"I love you too Anthony."

As soon as Anthony arrives in the hospital I get induced. They break my water and wait for nature to take its course. Later on that day it comes time for me to start pushing and I do so. Not too long after that did I hear the sweet sound of a baby crying.