Helpless | A Modern Hamliza Story

Chapter Twenty-Four

Within the next week, Eliza continued to have dizzy spells including nausea. By the end of the week, she was slowly losing her appetite.

She wondered if maybe she could be pregnant already, even though Philip was only nine months old. They weren't exactly being careful, even though they weren't planning on having more children until Philip was two or three. But then again, she was doubtful it was pregnancy, since they struggled to get pregnant with Philip for years.

Still she took a pregnancy test that morning just to be sure, and it of course came back negative. Eliza was actually relieved, as she was not sure she could handle two kids under two years old. She would have welcomed another baby of course, but she felt like she was just getting started with Philip. She wanted to enjoy his early years.

The sickness hit a hard wall two weeks after her first episode. She would lay in bed most of the day, only getting up if she needed to vomit, and even that proved to be a difficult task. Eliza had moved Philip's crib back into their own room so it would be easier to get him if she needed to throughout the night or during the day when she was stuck at home. Other days her mother would come over and watch Philip while she slept all day so he didn't have to be stuck in one spot all day.

The moments she stayed awake were spent crying about wondering if she was a good mother or not. She could barely care for her child at the moment, and she certainly didn't want to get him sick with whatever she had. The poor child always reached out for her, wanting to play, but she simply didn't have the energy. She would try and play with him on her lap, but Philip wanted to wiggle and move around more than she could handle.

It was that night two weeks after the first episode when Alexander decided that enough was enough. Eliza needed a medication solution that over the counter drugs just weren't providing for her. Even ibuprofen wasn't helping the insane amount of back and abdomen pain she was in.

He took her to the emergency room after she had vomited so long that she was extremely dehydrated no matter how much he tried helping her replenish the fluids and electrolytes that she needed.

"Alex, I don't want to be here," Eliza whined as they waited to see the doctor after being interviewed. "We could have just gone to urgent care if you were going to take me in."

She leaned her head onto his shoulder as he sat next to her, looking at her sleeping baby in the car seat next to them.

"Eliza, you're dehydrated. They need to get you on IV fluids," Alexander explained, sympathizing her. He knew how much she hated the smell of hospitals and the sound of people walking across the cold, hard floors.

That's when the doctor entered the room to check on her and review the vital signs that had been taken. He saw the blood pressure level and oxygen saturation levels listed and his eyes widened. They certainly couldn't be right.

"I'm going to retest your blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels," he said, wrapping the cuff around her arm and listening for the right level.

What was written down was correct. Her blood pressure was high. He then placed the oximeter on her index finger, waiting for the results. That was correct too. It was nearing 94% saturation. If it kept decreasing, she would need to be put on oxygen immediately.

"Is everything all right?" Alexander asked, catching on to the doctor's worried face.

"Well, Mrs. Hamilton, you're definitely going to need to stay here overnight. I'm going to closely monitor your oxygen saturation after we get you on some fluids. You're definitely very dehydrated, and I think getting that back to normal will also increase your oxygen saturation."