Hug it out

Alex’s eyelids were becoming heavier by the second and it was slowly trying to close. That’s when an ear-splitting sound which sounded like a car honk woke him up. His eyes were wide opened and he realised the car he was driving was going off the lane. He quickly got hold of the steering and guide the car back on track. Luckily there were no cars coming from the opposite lane.

Alex checked the time in his watch. It showed 3.30am. He didn’t know how much time he has left but all he knew was that he had to see his wife as soon as possible. Exactly half an hour ago, Alex received a call from Rhonda saying that her contraction has been more frequent and more painful. This could just mean one thing, that she is in labour. While this would have been a happy news for most of the other couples, for Alex and Rhonda it was a mixed feeling.

Their marriage has not been a smooth sail for a long time now; partly due to their previous two miscarriages and largely due to their incompetency in handling those situations delicately. During the first miscarriage, Alex was right beside Rhonda the whole time and after returning from the hospital, Alex hugged Rhonda and said ‘I love you’. The never spoke a word about the miscarriage after that and tried to act as if everything was normal and carried on with their life as usual. Maybe that was a mistake; they should have opened up to each other about how they feel regarding the whole situation but they chose to sweep their feelings under the carpet and ignored that it ever existed.

During the second miscarriage two years later, Rhonda went to the hospital and handled the whole situation alone while Alex was at home taking a nap. Rhonda broke the news to Alex only after reaching home and Alex was stunned. He did not expect his wife to hide such a big news while he was right there by her side. Alex was upset and angry but he knew his wife needed love and care at that moment. He hugged her and tears started flowing his cheek. They shared a minute of hug in silence and that was the end of it. They never spoke about it again. Since then, there has been a cold tension between the two. They could not point out what was it exactly and it was already too late to sit down and have a chat about it. Hence, both chose the easier option; to ignore it.

It was almost eight or nine months ago when Rhonda told Alex that she has missed her menses for two months in a row. Alex felt a jolt of joy encroaching in him for the third time in his life. The next minute he was out to buy the pregnancy test kit. Alex and Rhonda were over the moon when the kit showed two lines which meant Rhonda was pregnant for the third time. They exchanged hugs and swore to take care of this child with their life and love the child with all their hearts. However, they could not ignore the sense of impending disappointment with the pregnancy. But they were hopeful as they say, third time’s the charm.

*

Alex checked his watch again. It was 4.20am. He still had another three hours of journey to reach his wife. He was worried and excited at the same time. He has been waiting not for ten months, but for almost five years for the arrival of his first-born. It has been such a long wait. Nevertheless, at that point of time, he was more worried about his wife than his child.

It was the beginning of the third trimester when Alex and Rhonda finally made up their mind to know the gender of the baby. They were excitedly waiting for the news from the obstetrician.

“It’s a girl!” declared the doctor.

Alex and Rhonda hugged each other hearing the news. They could not wait to see their daughter. That’s when the doctor broke the news.

“I am sure it’s good news but I am afraid I have another news which might not be as good as the first one” said the doctor.

Alex and Rhonda felt butterflies in their stomach; the same butterflies that happened during the previous two miscarriages. They held each other’s hand and braced themselves for the bad news.

“Rhonda, the placenta is very low down and its blocking the birth canal. Looks like the baby cannot come out naturally as the pathway is obstructed. This condition is called placenta previa. You can search about it on the web to get a better understanding” explained the doctor.

“Doctor, what happens if the baby cannot come out? Will it affect my baby?” Rhonda was scared and nervous.

“Don’t worry about your child. Since your baby cannot come out on its own, we will prepare you for a surgery. We will perform a caesarean section on you electively on your due date. If the baby decides to come out sooner than that, or if you have bleeding from your birth canal, then we may have to perform the surgery urgently. I know this is a lot to take in at the moment. Here is a brochure on the condition. You can contact me anytime if you have any questions” the obstetrician handed each of them a brochure on placenta previa.

They went back that day with a heavy baggage on their chests. Just earlier that morning, they were excited to know the gender of their child, and now they had a much bigger problem to think about. They searched the web and found out that it was a high-risk pregnancy where Rhonda could lose blood like a tap water if the placenta decided to bleed. Alex hugged Rhonda and told her that they would get through this together. Alex could not take any more losses in his life and to top it all, this time around Rhonda life was at risk as well.

Rhonda was supposed to get admitted to the hospital one week before her due date for close monitoring and observation. It was important because Rhonda could go into labour at any time and the doctors could prepare for surgery immediately at short notice.

Yesterday was the day of admission for Rhonda.

“Can you please stay with me in the hospital for this one week? I am scared” said Rhonda.

“Honey, this is the most important game of the season. I will just play this one game tomorrow and I promise after that I will stay by your side until you are discharged from the hospital and will never leave your sight” Alex tried to explain.

Being a professional footballer, Alex had sacrificed a lot of things in his life to achieve his dream to play for his childhood dream club. Yet, this was the biggest sacrifice he has ever had to make. It was an away game at a stadium four hours from the hospital. The club custom was that all the players and coach travel to the away stadium in the club bus. However, due to his unforeseen circumstance, Alex requested to drive on his own so that he could get back to the hospital as soon as the game was over. The coach suggested Alex to skip this game and to focus on his family. However, being the club’s captain, Alex felt responsible to lead his club to victory and wanted to set a good example to the other players.

Alex received a call from Rhonda at 3am in the morning while Alex was fast asleep. A good night’s sleep before a game was vital for the mental and physical freshness. Alex immediately packed his bag and told his coach that he was leaving as his wife was in labour. He got on his white ‘Range Rover’ and rushed back to see his wife who was being prepared to undergo emergency caesarean section.

*

It was 7.45am when Alex parked his car at the hospital parking. He quickly rushed to the entrance. There was a security guard at the entrance but Alex did not want to waste time by explaining to him his situation. He ran past the security guard. The security guard did not attempt to stop him as well. Maybe he has worked there for too long now to have realised that every second counts for people who are fighting life or death in the hospital.

Alex managed to follow the signs and reach the maternity ward. He saw his wife’s name on the big white board at the entrance to the ward and it was listed at bed 17. He quickly navigated himself to bed 17.

There she was, his daughter. He has been waiting for her arrival for years and there she was; right in front of his eyes; wrapped in a pink towel. Rhonda was lying by her side and was trying to breastfeed their new daughter. Rhonda looked exhausted. She must have been such a brave woman and now a mother. Alex was so proud of her and went to Rhonda and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Rhonda didn’t even flinch. Maybe Rhonda was mad at Alex for missing out on the birth of their daughter.

Alex hugged Rhonda hoping that she will forgive him but he felt that she was unusually warm. Alex was worried if it was normal to have high degree fever post-surgical delivery. He wanted to get the nurse and inform her regarding Rhonda’ condition. That’s when the news flash on the television outside caught his eyes.

“Star footballer Alex Hunter believed to be dead after his car swerved into the river early morning today at 3.30am” the news read.

A shrieking chill ran down Alex’s spine. He looked at his own hands in disbelief. He hugged his wife and lie on her bed by her side. He tried to hug it out and hoped everything will be back to normal and he finally could live his life when everything was falling in place while Rhonda was still patiently waiting for the arrival of her husband who may never arrive ever.