Blood and Guts

it finally came down to the appointed hour. Laura of course didn’t sleep much more than a few 15 minute bursts during the night. she stayed up late and was up before 4:00am. i was rolling out of bed shortly after 4:30am. here is a picture of Laura on our way out the door to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.

our hospital check-in at 5:30am was quick and soon enough the nurse was taking Laura’s vitals and Laura was getting prepped for the birth. the wait wasn’t exactly short, but the hospital staff was busy enough that we didn’t have much time to get antsy. Laura said that 7:30am is the first hour that the hospital schedules an operating room, and Laura was rolling down the hallway shortly after 7:15am.

all of the doctors and nurses were ready to go. i was wearing my nice white paper suit, booties over my shoes, a super-sized elastic-bound cap that must have been made for someone with two heads, and a face mask. white must be the choice to indicate that i was the one useless person with no medical knowledge in the OR: don’t ask me for help.

i wasn’t sure how i’d be during Laura’s c-section. i don’t think i’m particularly squeamish, but i wasn’t sure if i could handle seeing that it was Laura who was getting cut open. i held her hand until the first incision started and then i moved to the foot of the table to watch the operation. i kept checking with myself to make sure i could get a head start back to the chair stationed at the head of the operating table before i passed out, but i watched right on up to Maggie’s complete exit.

the early cutting involved an electric scalpel that cauterized some of the veins on their way in. Laura only had an epidural so she was alert for the whole birth. i wondered if the smell of burning flesh bothered her at all, knowing that it was her that was burning.

there wasn’t much blood all the way down to the uterus. i couldn’t really distinguish much between the different layers they were cutting through until they got down to the uterus. the nurse standing next to me told me that it was the uterus, but it was easy to tell that there was a solid, rounded surface that had been uncovered.

most of the c-section was uneventful. i did wonder how much Laura could feel when each of the two doctors grabbed a corner of the incision with both hands and leaned back with their body weight. it turns out Laura had no idea what was going on. she didn’t even know when Dr. Savage had both hands with a straight-armed-press onto Laura’s stomach to help force Maggie’s head out in the end.

Laura really liked the anesthesiologist because he gave the play-by-play and kept Laura updated on each of the steps of the operation and Maggie’s progress out of the womb. Laura wasn’t completely secluded behind the blue curtain hung across her chest.

with the uterus laid bare, the real action started. once they cut into the uterus there was enough blood flowing that they finally had to use suction. THEN they broke Laura’s water. Laura gushed. with all of the recent ultrasounds, you could see plenty of space around Maggie. The doctors with the ultrasound were looking for that sign of sufficient amniotic fluid when they wanted to try and turn Maggie so she could be born naturally. there was plenty of amniotic fluid, the suction was working over time and Laura still spilt out onto the floor.

there was so much to see in the remainder of the c-section that it is hard to remember exactly how it all happened. Maggie’s right foot came out first, and all alone. Maggie’s skin was gray and messy with a hint of purple, but what can you expect for someone living in those conditions. her little leg didn’t seem substantial enough to hang on to. she seemed so soft and squishy. the doctors used her leg and hip to help maneuver her bum, and finally her other leg out into the air. this was followed by more tugging and pulling to get the torso and arms of this rubbery mass out of Laura. i could see all of our baby except for the head.

at this point the surgical doctor, Doctor Jones, said that the umbilical cord was around Maggie’s neck. i think that ever since Laura heard that my mom lost a baby to a tangle with the umbilical cord, Laura has been nervous that our baby would risk the same danger. i can’t really remember much, but i do know that i saw the umbilical cord pulled flat against Maggie’s tummy and tightly tucked into the womb. it was just a few quick steps and the cord was cut and i was exiting the OR with a nurse carrying Maggie in her arms. the ICU call button had been pressed on our way out and before Maggie was fully settled in to the bassinette an ICU doctor and nurse were standing on either side of our baby.

i was nervous for our baby, but added to that i was worried that Laura was freaking out back in the OR. fortunately Maggie started to cry as she was laid down and pink flowed quickly under her skin from her head and chest down to her feet. Laura’s other fear about the birth was that Maggie wouldn’t be breathing when she was born and that we wouldn’t hear her cry. Laura even had nightmares about this. Maggie was crying, but on the other side of the OR door, so i was sure that Laura was in a panic not hearing her baby announcing her self to the world.

i almost told one of the nurses to go back into the OR to tell Laura that Maggie was crying. Laura had been wondering if Maggie was okay because the OR was so quiet. Laura had no idea that we had left the room. the anesthesiologist told her to listen carefully and Laura tuned in to the faint sound of Maggie’s screams. i was enjoying the unobstructed performance at full volume.

Maggie’s birth was a little bit of a scare for a moment, but it was easy to tell that she was going to be alright. Doctor Savage said that with the umbilical cord the way it was, a natural birth would have been a disaster. Maggie knew what she was doing when she wouldn’t budge when they tried to turn her a week ago.

Thanks to Drs. Jones, Groesbeck (the anesthesiologist) and Savage (Laura and Maggie’s Family Doctor) and the nursing staff at UVRMC. To the right is a picture of Maggie with Dr. Savage after she cleared Laura and Maggie to check out of the hospital.