Episode 2: Attack of the Hypodermic
Enter the doctor. He is a pleasant man with a friendly demeanor. Tracy chats with him as I eye him suspiciously. Does this man have what it takes to properly care for my wife? I conclude that he does and allow him to continue.
To refresh; during an amnio, the doctor puts a needle through the patient’s abdomen and retrieves copious amounts of fluid, while carefully avoiding poking the baby. The patient is conscious during this, as is hopefully the husband, and there is no local anesthesia because the pain from the anesthesia is apparently worse than the amnio itself.
As the doctor readied himself, Tracy closed her eyes and drifted away to her happy place. I was fully prepared to look away and resume reading my book, in hopes that I would not break in to a cold sweat and hit the floor like Apollo Creed after Drago leveled him in the charity boxing match. But something came over me. My desire to make sure Tracy and Charlotte were in good hands was stronger than my aversion to all medical procedures and the embarrassment of passing out.
The 32 inch television screen for the sonogram was still functioning. It is mounted directly in front of us so, if we choose, we can see the baby as the doctor sucks the broth. He pushed on Tracy’s belly and you could see on screen, Charlotte moving in response to this pushing. He created a safe pocket to shoot for and quickly readied the needle. I felt a little better once I saw its size. I expected some bazooka looking utensil that required three nurses to hold it steady. In reality, it was more like what you would see when giving blood.
As soon as the needle pierced the naval, you could see it on the monitor. The doctor took great care to make sure there was always ample distance between the baby and the syringe. I watched, giving telepathic coaching tips like “move it a little to left”. I am confident I helped in some respect. Yellow fluid flowed in to a tube at a rapid clip. Before you could say, “get that friggin needle out of my stomach!”, it was, and the worst was over.
Following the amnio, you are condemned to 48 hours of bed rest in hopes of minimizing any of the possible side-effects like cramping, bleeding, and other things I don’t care to mention. Tracy was a good patient and obeyed the doctor’s orders. Results take two weeks so now we wait patiently with confidence that everything is progressing perfectly.
The end.
To refresh; during an amnio, the doctor puts a needle through the patient’s abdomen and retrieves copious amounts of fluid, while carefully avoiding poking the baby. The patient is conscious during this, as is hopefully the husband, and there is no local anesthesia because the pain from the anesthesia is apparently worse than the amnio itself.
As the doctor readied himself, Tracy closed her eyes and drifted away to her happy place. I was fully prepared to look away and resume reading my book, in hopes that I would not break in to a cold sweat and hit the floor like Apollo Creed after Drago leveled him in the charity boxing match. But something came over me. My desire to make sure Tracy and Charlotte were in good hands was stronger than my aversion to all medical procedures and the embarrassment of passing out.
The 32 inch television screen for the sonogram was still functioning. It is mounted directly in front of us so, if we choose, we can see the baby as the doctor sucks the broth. He pushed on Tracy’s belly and you could see on screen, Charlotte moving in response to this pushing. He created a safe pocket to shoot for and quickly readied the needle. I felt a little better once I saw its size. I expected some bazooka looking utensil that required three nurses to hold it steady. In reality, it was more like what you would see when giving blood.
As soon as the needle pierced the naval, you could see it on the monitor. The doctor took great care to make sure there was always ample distance between the baby and the syringe. I watched, giving telepathic coaching tips like “move it a little to left”. I am confident I helped in some respect. Yellow fluid flowed in to a tube at a rapid clip. Before you could say, “get that friggin needle out of my stomach!”, it was, and the worst was over.
Following the amnio, you are condemned to 48 hours of bed rest in hopes of minimizing any of the possible side-effects like cramping, bleeding, and other things I don’t care to mention. Tracy was a good patient and obeyed the doctor’s orders. Results take two weeks so now we wait patiently with confidence that everything is progressing perfectly.
The end.
posted by Derek, Tracy & Calvin | 8:01 PM
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