Cloee's Story Chapter 2

I've learned that in the medical field no news is good news. I didn't hear back from my doctor after that ultrasound. I finally called and they said everything looked good but that Dr. McNeal was out of the office- I think she was on vacation.

After we moved to Gilbert I drove Carlee to the old school in Queen Creek every single day and picked her up again. I did this from January until the end of her 1st grade year. Her 1st grade teacher was excellent and was going to be moving up to 2nd grade the following school year and all of her students would continue with her. I did not want to drive her all the way to Queen Creek for 2nd grade. I decided to get her on the waiting list at the charter school near our house and tried to get her on the wait list for one of the public schools right across the street, but isn't the one she would go to, but their list was full. The other option which was always open was to attend the public school, Weinberg Elementary, which is the school that she should go to according to our home boundaries. It just happened that we were going to go to the dunes in Utah for about 2 weeks and Carlee was going to have to miss the first week of school regardless of which school she attended. All summer long, in fact since we moved to Gilbert, I prayed and prayed about which school she should attend for 2nd grade. I prayed like crazy and never received an answer, the only thing I had strong feelings about was to keep her at Skyline Ranch in Queen Creek with this fabulous teacher until the end of the 1st grade school year. A few weeks before we were to leave for Utah I received an answer and decided Carlee and I would stay home and she would go to Weinberg. At this point I was feeling too sick to travel that much and it just worked out perfectly. I went to sign her up on the Thursday before school started and we ran into the librarian from Skyline Ranch. She told me that her children attend Weinberg (the new school) and she was just waiting for a job to open up and this year she was hired! I told her Carlee was very nervous (and I was too!) about starting at a new school. She explained that she was really nervous too and she was so happy Carlee was going there because now she would know someone (besides her kids). I think this made Carlee feel better. School started and the first week went well. I drove Carlee every day and then picked her up after school also. Since it was just the two of us we did something fun every day- shopping, movies, pedicures, etc. We had fun while Cade and Daddy were off doing their thing.
The boys got home that next weekend. Another week went by and then it was time for Carlee and Cade's combined birthday party on Saturday. The Thursday before the party Cade and I ventured off to Costco to buy all the food for the upcoming festivities. My sister Tiffany (who was also pregnant at this time- 3 months ahead of me) was going to pick Carlee and Cade up and take them to her house because there was some sort of parent meeting at Carlee's school I wanted to attend that evening. She and I pulled up to my house at the same time. After I got the door unlocked she ran for the bathroom and I began bringing the Costco stuff inside. All of the sudden I felt something running down my leg. I looked down and saw that it looked like red water. I went toward the bathroom and walked in on my sister. She looked like she had seen a ghost- actually she looked worse than that. I can't find the words to describe the look on her face. I took my shorts off (they happened to be white, of course!) and grabbed a beach towel and put it between my legs. I remember being worried that I still had food out in the car that would spoil in the Arizona heat and needed to be brought in. I was telling my sister to get me some clean clothes so I could bring the rest of the stuff in. She looked at me like I was crazy (yes another look) and told me that I was to go sit down on the couch and she would bring everything in. Well, I didn't want to get anything on the couch so I just sat on the tile floor near the kitchen. The blood (yes it was blood if you didn't already figure that out) just kept coming and coming and coming. It was really weird because it was totally different than a miscarriage or a period so I didn't really know what to think. I eventually called my doctor's office (remember she was 'out of the office') and spoke to another doctor's nurse. She told me something stupid but I can't remember what it was. Something like "drink some water and lay down". Anyways, this didn't cut it for Tiffany. She called my mom (who was closer to my house than Will) and told her what was going on. So my mom said she would be there to get me right away. I guess I got dressed, must have put a pad on, and sat on another beach towel on the way to the emergency room. We went to Banner Desert Hospital. Why did we go there? Was it the closest? No, Gilbert Mercy would have been. Banner Gateway wasn't open yet and we didn't want to drive all the way to Banner Mesa, I don't really know. It worked out well though because the longer drive allowed me to really think things through and accept the fact that I was probably miscarrying. So we get to the hospital and I am bleeding less. After a few hours I got some iv's put in and they asked me some questions and sent me back to the waiting room. It was awful. There were nasty old people everywhere it seemed. Why are people in emergency rooms always dirty with uncombed hair? I'm pretty sure I looked presentable even though I needed medical help, why did they look so dang filthy? Drives me nuts! So eventually they called me back for an ultrasound. I was nervous. I couldn't see the screen, which they do on purpose, but my mom was sitting at my feet and could see it quite well. All of the sudden I see her eyes open wide and she had a huge grin on her face. She said something like, "OOOOH Cari, there is bouncy little baby in there." Then she said, "Oh there's it's little heartbeat." I was really amazed after all that blood that had come out of me. I said as much to my mom. The ultrasound technician was so nice and turned the screen a little toward me. It was still hard for me to see but she was really open and pointed things out to us and answered any questions we had. My mom was asking her all kinds of things but I just remember laying there wondering if this baby was for sure going to make it. What would cause bleeding like that? I felt guilty thinking I may have triggered it by lifting the heavy case of Monster drinks into the cart at Costco (the doctor later told me that had nothing to do with it). So we got sent back out into the waiting room. I still needed a diagnosis from a doctor but at least I knew the baby was still in there. By this time I was so hungry, we both were. The two bags of Doritos from the vending machine weren't cutting it for me. I think I had a Snickers too. I wanted to send my mom to get something but didn't want to get called in again and have her not be there. Finally she asked for something for the poor pregnant girl from one of the nurses and they brought me a turkey sandwich. It tasted pretty good but would have been better had the lettuce not been frozen and if there was a little mustard so it wasn't so dry. Then, I needed a drink! Badly! I decided my mom had to go get me something. I think she went to Filiberto's for me and Macayo's for herself. She came back and we ate. They called me back to a room that looked like a regular doctor's office room and had me change into a gown. We waited in there for quite a while and at some point my sister, Tricia, came. So the three of us were in there chatting and the doctor finally came in and told us what the problem was. I had something called a subchorionic hemorrhage. Wonderful! What the heck is that? I would later study up and ask various doctors and any medical people I know about this thing I had, but still to this day I don't fully understand what it is. So this doctor told me that one of two things would occur:I would either miscarry or the hemorrhage would heal up and go away. In the meantime he wanted me on bed rest and to follow up with my OB/GYN .
Tiffany had taken my kids home and Will left work and went and picked them up. Did he ever come to my side? Nope. He may have asked if I wanted him to come to the hospital, but in his defense I probably told him not to worry about me and to make sure the kids got home and to bed at a decent time. But he should have read my mind and known that I needed his support and caring. That was the start of Will not being involved in this pregnancy.