The monitoring went well. It was like getting back on a bike. I got used to waking up early, getting to work a little late. No one really thought twice about it. I told my colleague and she told me to do what I needed to do in order to make it work and she would take care of things on her side. Having a co-worker I could trust and rely on in situations like this was incredibly helpful.
Things looked good throughout the cycle. The two week wait was pretty uneventful. I started feeling pretty queasy early this was strange because with Adeline I had no symptoms until a few weeks after I got my positive pregnancy test. I took a test a day early. It was Sunday morning. We had just come home from a quick trip and Akiva was parking the car. The test was positive. I was shocked. I heard Akiva coming in the door, I gave Adeline the test and said, go show Daddy!! We all were smiling and laughing, so excited that this time we had been spared all the theatrics of our previous cycles.
The next day I went in for my blood test. I was anxiously awaiting the phone call from my nurse telling me the good news. Finally I got the call. She told me my numbers were not as high as they would like them. It could either be a Chemical pregnancy or a slow starting pregnancy, come back in two days.
For the next two weeks I went in every other day to get my blood drawn. Every other day the numbers would go up, but not in the same quick manner they rose with Adeline. I tried to stay positive, but something inside me was telling me that I was going to lose the pregnancy. One day my nurse called and said, “Hi! Good news, your numbers are looking really good finally! I think we got through the tough part!” I was so relieved.
I went in two days later for the ultrasound. My doctor told me, it’s a little early, but I just want to see what is going on. He looked back and forth between my Fallopian Tubes and Uterus and we did not see a single thing. There was one little blip in my Uterus, but nothing substantial. He told me to come back in two days to see a Neo-natal Imaging specialist who may be able to get a better look with his higher quality equipment.
That Friday I left work early. I told them I would probably be back in about two hours, if anything changed I would let them know. I laid down on the table, the tech started doing her thing. I watched the entire ultrasound on the screen in front of me. All of a sudden I saw it. The pulsating little embryo. But it was not in my Uterus. It was in my Fallopian Tube. I started sweating. I had seen enough ultrasounds that I did not need to be told what was happening. The tech said she would be back in a minute and walked out of the room.
I started crying. The doctor walked in. He said in the most uncaring manner I have ever been spoken to by a physician and said, “Hi, I spoke with your doctor. Looks like the pregnancy is tubal. Go across the street, they will take care of it. Have a good weekend.” I so badly wanted to curse him out. I stormed out of the room and straight to the elevators. I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone.
As we were leaving, Akiva kept trying to give me a hug, hold my hand, show me that he was there. I was so angry I just couldn’t accept anything. We were walking to the entrance, and I saw the one person in the hospital who I didn’t hate. Who I have always completely appreciated, Dr. Schlegel’s nurse Kathleen.
This woman is the nicest and most caring health care professional I have ever come across. She sent us a baby gift when Adeline was born, and always gives me and Akiva hugs when we see her. She saw us and said hello, and asked me what was wrong. I spilled out everything to her, right there at the entrance of the hospital. She gave me a hug, told me she would pray and said, “you have my cell number, I’m here for whatever you might need. Please don’t hesitate to reach out.”
Getting that support was the most amazing thing someone could have done. Don’t tell me I am lucky for the child I already have. Don’t tell me at least they caught it early and it could have been worse. Just let me know that you care and that you will support us.
The rest of that Friday was the slowest moving day. Everything went wrong. The prescription for the medication was not put in correctly, the nurse at the office was on a 45 minute phone call and left me in the waiting room for almost an hour. We got home 10 minutes before Shabbos. It was a total blur, yet I also remember every single moment of it.
