Chapter 11
Struggling to remain calm, Bailey stared up at the doctor in horror. “Please, there must be something you can do. I don’t want to have my baby this early!”
“I understand your concern.” Dr. Schaffer’s voice was soothing. “But keep in mind your baby is far enough along that she’ll be okay. She’ll likely need to be in the neonatal intensive care unit for a while, but she’ll be fine.”
Neonatal intensive care? Bailey glanced at Trevor, his grim expression sharing her fear.
“Is this my fault?” She pushed the question past her tight throat.
“Did I cause this by being upset or stressed? I was in a car crash two days ago, is that why I’m having difficulty now?
” She thought about how the gunman had been following them for the past two days.
“If I promise to stay calm, will my blood pressure return to normal?”
“This is not your fault.” Dr. Shaffer’s tone was firm.
“Preeclampsia is just one of those conditions that sometimes occur in a pregnancy. It’s rare in the big scheme of things.
Only seven percent of pregnant women experience this complication, and it’s almost always with first-time pregnancies.
You didn’t cause this, Bailey. Please trust me on that.
” The doctor’s kind smile was only slightly reassuring.
“And we don’t know for sure how bad your condition is until we get that urine sample. ”
“Speaking of that, do you think you can use the bathroom?” Harper asked.
“Yes.” She’d almost forgotten her need to empty her bladder.
Trevor slid his arm behind her shoulders to help her sit up.
She flashed him a grateful look. His unwavering support made tears prick her eyes.
She realized God had been watching out for her when He sent Trevor to her side.
Without him, she’d be lost in a world of hurt.
And now this. Possibly delivering a premature baby! She couldn’t bear to think about it. Despite Dr. Schaffer’s comments, she knew that premature babies could develop complications with their heart or lungs.
“Easy,” Harper cautioned, taking a few minutes to disconnect her from the heart and baby monitor. “Slow and easy.”
Bailey focused on taking slow, deep breaths as she allowed the nurse to help her into the bathroom. A few minutes later, the urine sample was on its way to the lab. Harper helped her back to bed, and Bailey was glad to see Trevor was still there too.
“How long will it take to get the results?” he asked.
“Not long.” Harper covered her with a blanket. “I’ll let you know when we have them. For now, just rest.”
As she settled back against the pillow, she realized the diagnosis of preeclampsia made sense. The increase in her headache and the sudden onset of nausea must have been when her blood pressure was high.
Deep down, she was convinced the stress she’d been under over the past two days hadn’t helped matters. Maybe stress alone doesn’t cause preeclampsia, but it hadn’t helped either.
“I’m sorry.” Trevor’s low, anguished voice broke into her thoughts. “If I had done a better job of keeping you safe . . .”
“You have kept me safe.” She reached for his hand. “I’m here now. And maybe my condition isn’t as serious as it sounds.” She wanted to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault.
All blame rested with the gunman. What sick person targets a pregnant woman? A flash of anger hit hard, and she had to remind herself to let it go.
Getting upset wasn’t helpful. She was in good hands at the hospital.
Trevor pulled up a chair and sat beside her. Archie shifted positions on the floor at his feet. Remembering how she’d considered Archie to be a therapy dog, she kept her gaze on him, relishing his sweet face.
“Trevor? Will you put Archie up here by me for a while?” She scootched over to make room. “Just for a few minutes.”
“Sure.” He lowered the side rail and patted the gurney. “Up, Arch. Get up.”
The red lab gathered himself and leaped gracefully up onto her gurney. The K9 leaned in to lick her, then stretched out beside her. She rested her hand on his silky fur, then closed her eyes.
She must have dozed, because she awoke when her door opened. Dr. Schaffer was back. Trevor shot to his feet and took her hand.
“I have your urine protein results,” Dr. Schaffer announced. “You definitely have preeclampsia, but in my opinion, your condition isn’t severe. You do have some protein in your urine, but not as much as I feared.”
Bailey glanced at Trevor, then back to the doc. “What does that mean?”
“I’ve put a call in to the OB doc on call to come in and see you,” Dr. Schaffer said. “I think you can be managed conservatively with bed rest along with some medication to keep your blood pressure down, but we’ll see what the OB says. He or she may have another thought.”
Bed rest? She winced, wondering how on earth they’d manage that. “I don’t want to take medication.”
“I understand, but there’s a medication that’s safe to use in pregnancy.” Dr. Schaffer said. “We wouldn’t recommend anything that would hurt your baby. You need to understand that preeclampsia could lead to you having seizures. That would be very bad for your unborn child.”
She swallowed hard, doing her best not to panic. Seizures? She wasn’t prepared for this! She strove to sound calm. “Will bed rest and medication cure this condition?”
“No, unfortunately the only real cure for preeclampsia is to deliver the baby.” Dr. Schaffer gave her an encouraging smile.
“Obviously, the longer we can keep that bun of yours in the oven, the better. Our goal would be to wait as long as possible, providing time for your baby’s lungs to continue to develop.
We’d like to avoid your daughter needing to be placed on a ventilator after birth.
But we need to balance that with the risk of you suffering a seizure. ”
A ventilator! She swallowed hard at the image of her premature daughter connected to a breathing machine that flashed in her mind. She couldn’t imagine anything worse. Well, except for open heart surgery or something like that.
Obviously, this was all a bigger deal than she’d realized. Of course, she’d take the medication if that would help prevent her daughter from being born earlier than normal. “But you think my case is mild.”
“Well, mild for now,” Dr. Schaffer corrected.
“I’m cautiously optimistic. But you’ll need to be monitored closely from now on, at least once a week maybe twice.
Depends on how well your blood pressure remains in good control.
” Dr. Schaffer turned to leave. “The OB doctor on call will likely have additional ideas for what we can do for you. He’ll be here soon. ”
The door shut behind the doc. Bailey stared up at Trevor. “Bed rest.”
“I know. We’ll find a way to make that happen.” He gently squeezed her hand. “Try not to worry.”
“Yeah.” She grimaced. “Easier said than done. I never expected this, Trevor. High blood pressure, protein in the urine, and possible seizures? That all sounds so scary to me.”
“It is scary, but you’re in good hands, Bailey.” He reached for her hand. “Let’s pray.”
She was touched by his offer. With a nod, she bowed her head and opened her heart. “Dear Lord Jesus, please keep my baby safe in Your care. Amen.”
“Amen,” Trevor murmured.
She continued to cling to his hand, the other buried in Archie’s fur. “I never prayed out loud before.”
A smile lit up his green eyes. “You’ll get used to it.”
Would she? She closed her eyes and focused on the beat of her baby’s heart. She would put her fears and worries into God’s hands.
A moment later, there was a knock at the door. She opened her eyes. “Come in.”
A different OB doctor from the day before came into the room. He was older, balding, but he had kind eyes. “I’m Dr. Clayton. I understand you’re experiencing some complications with your pregnancy.”
“Yes.” She was glad he didn’t ask for Archie to be put back on the floor. “I guess I have some protein in my urine.”
“I saw the lab results.” Dr. Clayton gently palpated her abdomen. “You’re two days over thirty weeks pregnant, which is good, but I’d like to see if we can get you to thirty-four or thirty-five weeks gestation before we deliver.”
“How about waiting until I’m full term?” She gave him a hopeful look. “If my condition is mild . . .”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Bailey, but that’s not likely.
We may be able to buy some time, but in my experience, preeclampsia gets worse as the pregnancy progresses.
Take heart, though. Even a few more weeks will help tremendously.
I’m sure you’ve been told about the risk of seizures.
That’s something we cannot allow.” He patted her arm.
“Having preeclampsia is an added stress on your body. The good news is that babies who are under some stress like preeclampsia tend to have better lung development as they grow. That’s important.
We’d like to avoid putting your baby on a ventilator if possible. ”
She tried to nod, her head swimming at his explanation.
“We’ll start you on a low-dose blood pressure medication that is safe for pregnant mothers. I’m also going to perform an ultrasound to estimate the size of your baby. That will help us know what we’re dealing with.” He turned to leave. “Be back in a minute.”
“Okay.” She blinked back tears. If Dr. Clayton was right about being able to hold off four to five weeks, she’d have her baby between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
That hadn’t been a part of her plan. She wasn’t due until January!
The holiday didn’t matter as much as making sure her baby was healthy enough to survive being born premature.
“I’m going to call my siblings to make arrangements for you to stay at the ranch.” Trevor’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “That’s the safest place for you to be on bed rest.”