Chapter 6 - Midnight Emergency
Despite the magnesium drip, the contractions refused to subside. The fetal heart monitor began to emit an erratic, stuttering rhythm that made the nurses exchange anxious glances.
"His heart rate is decelerating," the head nurse warned, tapping the monitor screen. "Drop to 90 beats per minute during contractions. Khloe’s uterine wall is hyper-stimulated. We have a suspected placental abruption."
Dr. Campbell’s face hardened. She pulled off her stethoscope and looked directly at Marcus. "We can't wait for the medication to work. If the placenta detaches, the baby will suffer severe oxygen deprivation. We have to perform an emergency Cesarean section right now."
Panic exploded in my chest. "No, please! He's not ready!"
"Khloe, look at me," Marcus commanded, cupping my face with both hands, forcing me to look away from the flashing red lights. His eyes were wide, filled with unshed tears, but his voice was an anchor of pure conviction. "Our son is a fighter. He took a direct blow from that monster and he's still fighting right now. We are doing this to save him. Trust the doctors. Trust me."
I nodded through a flood of tears. "Stay with me, Marcus. Don't leave me."
"I won't leave your side. Not for a single second."
Within seconds, the brakes on my hospital bed were unlocked. The team rushed me through the double doors and down the brightly lit corridor toward the surgical wing. Marcus ran alongside the gurney, his hand never leaving mine, matching the frantic pace of the medical staff.
As we rounded the final corner toward the operating room, my vision blurred from pain and medication. But through the haze, I noticed a figure standing near the emergency exit stairs at the end of the hall. It was an orderly dressed in gray scrubs, wearing a surgical mask pulled up high.
The orderly wasn't moving toward us to help. Instead, he was staring directly at Marcus, holding a small radio transceiver to his ear.
Before I could alert Marcus, the heavy swinging doors of the operating suite burst open, and I was wheeled inside under the blinding glare of surgical lamps. Marcus was quickly suited in sterile scrubs, taking his place right beside my head behind the blue privacy curtain.
May you like
"Anesthesia is in," the anesthesiologist announced. A cold numbness rapidly climbed from my toes to my chest, stealing away the agonizing pain of the contractions.
Dr. Campbell raised her scalpel. "Beginning incision. Time: 11:42 PM."
