Forty-Nine | Lyric
Forty-Nine
Lyric
I sat in the hospital bed, listening while the doctor explained things.
I remembered the truck coming straight at me and hitting the brakes as I tried to get out of the way.
According to the doctor, the man driving the truck had a medical emergency and passed out before he hit me.
I tried not to be angry with him because it wasn’t his fault, but knowing that I had several broken ribs and they were monitoring the babies because there was a slight decrease in fetal movement left me with so much rage that I didn’t know where to direct it.
The doctor continued explaining what they had done when I first arrived at the hospital, including blood transfusions after they did an emergency laparotomy to stop the bleeding.
They were able to confirm that the placenta for each baby was intact and hadn’t been ruptured due to the impact of the accident.
I would need to stay in the hospital for a few days while they continued to monitor the babies and watch for any signs of distress.
“The good news is that you’re already thirty-four weeks, so if the babies come early, the survival rate is high,” the doctor said, standing beside my bed.
“Of course, we would likely need to keep the twins in the NICU for a few weeks, but we won’t know any of that until we’re able to examine them.
For now, we’ll continue to monitor the babies while you rest.”
“Thank you,” I replied, rubbing a hand over my belly but wincing when it hurt. I lowered my hand and let my head fall against the pillow behind me.
“Press the call button if you need anything,” he said, nodding to the remote attached to my bed that Cole had used when I woke up.
He smiled and walked to the door, stopping before he opened it.
“I don’t want to overstep,” he said cautiously, looking at me over his shoulder.
“But in all my years of practicing medicine, I’ve never seen anything like I did today.
You defied all odds and not only survived the accident, but so did your fetuses.
I thought for sure we would be doing emergency surgery to deliver babies that wouldn’t have a mother to welcome them into the world. Thank you for proving me wrong.”
“You’re giving me far more credit than I deserve,” I said, my tone more teasing than serious. “I wasn’t even awake for most of it.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t fight.
We lost you several times on the table, Lyric, and each time we thought it was over, you came back.
You fought to be here. Things will likely get harder before they get easier, but it’s important to remember that you can do this.
You’ve survived things most people don’t.
That’s not something to balk at. Celebrate these wins because you’re going to need your strength to keep those babies safe. ”
He walked out of the room, leaving me to consider what he said.
I hadn’t done anything that I knew of and felt lucky to be alive.
But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that none of this was just luck.
This was me fighting for what I wanted in life.
This was me fighting for the babies I had finally been given, and nothing was going to take them from me.