Chapter 2

Dan stood there, Karen’s pleading words echoing in his head. “Mr. Hayward, I’m sorry for the timing, but there are some forms you need to fill out and sign concerning your wife’s operation,” a nurse said, gently touching his left arm.

“I’ll go and wait with the others,” Wendy said, kissing his cheek.

Dan followed the nurse in silence. At the nurse’s station, he filled in the required information, his hand shaking nervously for his love and the baby’s fate. “We have another form that is optional. It is supplied by the Quinte Fertility Resource Centre.”

“What is that?”

“The doctor would harvest your wife’s remaining eggs and freeze them for future use.”

“But if she has a hysterectomy, she wouldn’t be able to have another baby.”

“With your permission and your wife’s also, her eggs would be donated to a couple who can’t have children, or they could be donated to science, so her loss wouldn’t be a total loss,” she explained.

“Yes, I’ll agree to that.”

“Since it would be only you signing the form, for now, her eggs will be held in quarantine at the centre for up to six months. When she has also signed the form, then they’ll be released for family or scientific use.”

The nurse watched Dan sign the consent form for donating Karen’s eggs and then called the operating room. “Can you please have Doctor Cooper confirm to me that Mr. Hayward has consented to harvest his wife’s eggs?”

The nurse placed a small box on the counter and opened it. She took out a vacuum-sealed, sterile bag containing a silver-coloured cylinder. Then, opened a small ink pad and took Dan’s left and right thumbprints. She placed the prints on the cylinder. She recorded the serial number and put a second copy of Dan’s prints on a Quinte Fertility Resource Centre business card, placed it in a plastic folder, and then handed the card to Dan.

“What are the thumbprints for?”

“If you decide to use your wife’s eggs, your fingerprints will have to match the cylinder and the business card.”

“Very good security,” he said, wiping the ink off his thumbs.

“Once a month, the Centre files fake samples with wrong prints to test their system. They’ve caught every mismatch. I’ll pass on any news I get about your wife and the baby,” she said sympathetically.

“Thank you.”

The phone rang, and the nurse confirmed Doctor Cooper and Dan’s request to harvest Karen’s eggs.

Dan was met by a swarm of his family in the waiting room, yearning for any news. “Mom has lost a lot of blood, and she and the baby are in very serious condition. The doctor said Karen’s life and the baby’s are in danger. The baby wouldn’t live if it was born now, and Karen might need a hysterectomy.”

“Losing the baby, that would virtually kill Karen!” Wendy mentioned.

“Karen told me that she wants the doctor to save the baby instead of her,” he said, tears pooling in his eyes.

They waited and waited in agonizing silence. Wendy comforted Dan, hugging and holding him close. She knew this wasn’t the time to be flirty with her love but she pressed her breasts against him, wanting him near her.