Chapter
67
“You did the right thing, Mr. McLean,” said Dr. Sanford,
resting a comforting hand on AJ’s shoulder.
“Is she gonna be okay?” AJ asked worriedly.
It had been over an hour since Elyssa had been brought to
Orlando General by ambulance. An ER
physician had examined her and checked her into the hospital. When Dr. Sanford had heard the news, he had
come all the way from Tampa to see Elyssa.
Dr. Sanford sighed at AJ’s question. “Mr. McLean, she’s running out of time,” he
said gravely. “The chemo isn’t helping
her. If she doesn’t get a bone marrow
transplant soon, the cancer will spread too much, and she will die.”
“But, what about the baby?” AJ asked, trying to keep his
emotions in check.
“I’ve talked to her obstetrician, Dr. Hart, and we both
think that the baby is far enough along that it would be okay to induce labor,”
Dr. Sanford said.
“Induce labor? But,
it’s not time for-“
“Elyssa is only about three weeks away from her due
date. I assure you, the baby is mature
enough to be born now. And the sooner
it is, the sooner Elyssa can become a candidate for a transplant,” the doctor
reasoned.
“Okay. Do it then,”
AJ said, nodding. “Does Elyssa know
about this yet?”
“Well, Elyssa was conscious when I told her, but she was
very groggy and disoriented, and I’m not sure she really understood. But I think it is definitely for the best,
and you agree, don’t you?”
“Yes, I agree,” AJ said.
“When will you induce labor?”
“Dr. Hart says she would like to do it this afternoon, if
possible. She wants to give Elyssa the
rest of the morning to rest and get some strength, but we’d like to do it as
soon as possible,” Dr. Sanford explained.
“Okay,” AJ said, feeling a rush of nervous excitement run
through him. He was going to be a
father very soon, maybe even that day.
“I’ll let you go see Elyssa now, maybe call some of your
friends, whatever you need to do,” Dr. Sanford said.
“Thank you, doctor,” AJ said. “For everything.”
“My pleasure. I need
to head back to Tampa, so I won’t be here for the birth, but Dr. Hart promised
to keep in touch with me and let me know how everything’s going. We decided that once Elyssa has recovered
from childbirth, in a couple of days, we’ll transfer her back to Tampa. But for now, let’s just concentrate on
getting this baby born. Good luck,” Dr.
Sanford said, smiling at AJ.
“Thank you,” AJ said again, returning the doctor’s
smile. Then he headed down the hall to
Elyssa’s room.
***
Five hours
later
“Oh… my… God,” Elyssa panted, scrunching her face up in
pain.
“Hang on honey, this one’s almost over,” AJ soothed,
gripping tightly to her hand. “Keep
breathing.”
Elyssa’s face was white and sweaty, and her breaths came in
short gasps. It had been a few hours
since she had been given the drugs to induce labor, and her baby was now well
on its way. Her contractions were
getting more painful and closer together, and she prayed that it would be time
to give birth soon.
The contraction ended, and Elyssa collapsed back against
her bed, worn out. Her breathing
slowed, and her grip on AJ’s hand loosened.
“Good job, Lyss,” AJ said, smiling at his girlfriend. Elyssa nodded breathlessly.
“How’s it going, Lyss?”
AJ and Elyssa both looked up to see Serena standing in the
doorway. AJ had been on the phone
between Elyssa’s contractions for most of the day, trying to get a hold of all
their friends. Brian and Ashalyn had
hopped a flight to Orlando earlier that day and had arrived there not to long
ago. Jenna and Nick had gotten there
before them. Howie and Serena had not
been home most of the day, but AJ had finally gotten a hold of them, and now
finally, Serena was there.
“Where’s Howie?” he asked her.
“We saw the rest of the gang in the waiting room, and he
went in there to talk to them. He
wasn’t sure if you’d want him in here,” Serena replied, glancing at Elyssa.
Elyssa smiled tiredly.
“Oh, that’s okay,” she said. “He
can come in.”
Serena nodded. “I’ll
go get him then,” she said. She started
out of the room, but Elyssa stopped her.
“Hey, Rena.”
Serena turned around.
“Yeah?”
“You never told me what a bitch this whole labor thing
was,” Elyssa said, grinning.
Serena laughed. “Don’t
worry, Lyss. It’ll be over soon, and
believe me, it’s all worth it.” At her
last words, the smile left her face and sadness came over her.
Elyssa offered a sympathetic smile. “I know,” she said softly. “I know it is.”
***
Two hours
later
In the waiting room, Ashalyn and Jenna exchanged wide-eyed
glances as they heard hoarse screaming from down the hall.
“Ash, that’s not Elyssa screaming like that… is it?”
Jenna asked incredulously.
Ashalyn grimaced.
That was definitely Elyssa’s voice.
“Yeah, I think it is,” she said slowly, not sure whether to laugh or to
worry.
Jenna giggled nervously, but she looked a shade paler. Growing serious, she asked, “How much longer
do you think it will be? I mean, gosh,
she’s been in labor for hours!”
“It can take a long time,” Serena put in knowingly.
“I hope everything’s alright,” Ashalyn said worriedly.
“Aw, I’m sure it is.
You know Elyssa; she’s a big baby when it comes to stuff like this,”
Serena replied lightly, but the others could tell she was worried too. It wasn’t just the childbirth, it was the
fact that Elyssa already wasn’t in good health.
What if going through labor was too much for her already weak body?
As if in answer to all their questions, the door to the
waiting room flew open, and there stood AJ.
“They’re taking her to the delivery room,” he said breathlessly, his
eyes wide.
“Oh my God. Oh my
God,” Serena yelped, wringing her hands.
“Calm down, Rena, you’re gonna freak him out even more,”
Howie hissed good naturedly, gripping Serena’s shoulder.
“Good luck, Aje.
Tell her to hang in there,” Ashalyn said, grinning at AJ.
He offered a wavery smile back. “I gotta go now,” he said, ducking out of the
room. The rest of them shouted their
best wishes as he hurried down the hall to the delivery room.
***
