Paging Peg Bushey

We had a bit of a scare today that turned into an educational experience. Last night my wife Julie was feeling a bit faint, seeing the tunnel that many people describe when they are light headed. I got her into bed and, while we were concerned, it just seemed like one of those things women have to deal with in pregnancy that I unfortunately have no power to control. The doctors had upped her daily insulin dose as well as the number of shots from 1 to 4 per day, so we figured that must be the cause. She'd also had a similar incident at work a few weeks ago where she blacked out completely, but still we weren't overly concerned.

However, around 10 this morning Julie called me as I was preparing for a doctor appointment of my own and told me she had phoned the OB about her symptoms from the previous evening. Apparently the doctors WERE very concerned and Julie was waiting to hear back from them as to whether she should be admitted to the hospital! I quickly found the number for my appointment, left a message canceling, and almost immediately got a call from Julie with the verdict: we were headed to the triage unit!

Now, while "triage" sounds pretty serious, we arrived on the birthing floor to find a very nice and relaxed nurse at a reception desk. It became apparent that this was the staging area for pregnancy related issues. After taking some blood for tests, we soon learned that a VERY young expectant mom was just next door to our cubicle with a woman we could only guess was her mother. There was no evidence of a father and her young voice was clearly filled with fear. After a few minutes, the nurse went in to say that her baby was coming and that she would be moved to a room shortly. It was kind of exciting to hear about another expectant mom, but a conversation that was to soon follow nearly brought tears to my eyes.

By now everyone has seen or heard stories of young unwed mothers, whether it be on the news, in the paper, or a Lifetime movie of the week usually starring the mother from Family Ties. In this case it was hard to determine the age of our new "neighbor," but her unwed status became very clear. After being told she was about to deliver she called her father to tell him the news, but by the time the conversation ended her excitement had turned quickly to sadness. "What did he say?", asked the mother. Fighting back tears, the soon to be mom replied, "I told him he was going to be a grandpa soon and he said, 'Well, not really. You'd have to be married for that to be official.' He made me feel awful." There was a bit of a pause, after which her mother said quietly, "That's just the way he is."

Soon after that exchange, the nurses came for the two women and we didn't hear any more about them. We both felt a bit guilty having listened to their private conversation, but I think we both wonder how she made out and, perhaps more importantly, how she makes out when she goes home. I have often wondered how much parents' behavior affects their children. And while I have come to no great conclusions, I know that every child, regardless of what sins they allegedly commit, deserves nothing less than unconditional love from those they love unconditionally.

As for us, all the tests they ran came back normal and any concern about preeclampsia, the condition they thought most likely to cause her symptoms, seems to have abated for now. We ended up waiting nearly 4 hours for the results and I tried to keep Julie entertained. I'd make up jokes, tell stories, and use the bed straps as a makeshift slingshot to gently "thwack" Julie (she'd probably take exception to my use of the word 'gently') in her side. At one point, over the loudspeaker came the following announcement: "Paging Peg Bushey, paging Peg Bushey". Right on cue, both of us starting laughing uncontrollably, causing the fetal heart monitor Julie was hooked to screech just as loudly. Whether that name ranks up there with "Amanda Huginkiss" and "I.P. Freely" or if it was just the fact that we'd been staring at the patients bill of rights in English and Spanish translations for hours, I can't really say. But I'll never forget this day, or the young woman next to us, and I wonder how her day (as well as Ms. Bushey's) turned out.