“Cree, Cree, It’s happening.”
A sleepy Cree reached over and pressed go on his stop watch.
“It’s happening again!”
Cree pressed the lap button on his stopwatch and noted that it was 14 minutes.
“Okay, lemme know if if happens again.”
“It’s happening now!”
11 minutes… 12 minutes… 11 minutes… 13 minutes…
Bored Nurses “Advice”
“I’m gonna call the hospital,” Cree said, after about two hours at 11 minutes intervals. “Hello? This is Staff Sergeant Dalene, calling to let you know that my wife is having constant, frequent contractions.
“Okay, how far apart?”
“Eleven minutes for the last two hours.”
“When’s she due?”
“Next week, we’ve scheduled a cesarean…”
“Okay, it’s probably nothing, just call us back if it get’s more frequent.”
CLICK!
“Well that’s annoying,” Cree muttered as Crystal confirmed that another one was starting. 10 minutes…
7 minutes… 4 minutes… 4 minutes… 4 minutes…
“I’m taking you to the hospital now,” Cree said, grabbing their go bag.
“Shouldn’t you call first?”
“Nah, they’re placating twits.”
Waiting In Triage
Cree dialed their friend down the street and apologized profusely for the early hour. The time being just after four in the morning.
As they approached the front desk to the maternity ward, Cree calmly explained that contractions had been about four minutes apart for the last hour.
“Sure,” the nurse said, sounding bored. “We’ll put you in triage 3 and take a look.”
Crystal visibly limped as she clung to Cree. The two of them got into the room and Cree immediately laid her down.
A lackadaisical nurse wandered in and handed Crystal a hospital gown. She instructed her to change, and she’d be back to check on her in a minute. About thirty minutes later, she came back and fired up the ultrasound machine. After taking a quick look, she power walked out of the room and returned moments later with a senior nurse.
“Please prop your legs up,” the nurse instructed, now sounding all business.
She inserted a speculum, and in less than ten seconds, told the other nurse to call and prep the operating room.
“She’s at 6cm” the senior nurse muttered incredulously.
Lesson’s Learned
Within about twenty minutes the surgeon arrived. Finally, Cree and Crystal welcomed Melody Rose Dalene into the world.
Things Done Well
- Crystal listened to her body and I listened to her
- We remained professional in the face of bored healthcare professionals
Things To Fix
- I believe we handled this well
Count Your Blessings
- Melissa Juarez for being willing to watch Lizzie and Matthew even at the most ridiculous hour.
- Crystal for listening to her body and letting us get to the hospital in time.
- Melody Rose Dalene
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