Chapter 4

Dan hurried back to Tina, taking her hand and kissing her.

“Doctor, the patient is bleeding quite heavily,” Nurse Woodhouse stated, concern etched in her eyes.

“Pack her!” The doctor said this, hurrying to her seat.

“I already have, and the blood keeps seeping out.”

Dan’s moments of joy turned to concern. “What’s wrong with my wife?”

The look of terror was in Tina’s eyes. Dan watched the doctor remove the gauze, deep red blood oozing from her vagina.

“Doctor, she’s lost about a litre of blood!”

“Your wife has a lot of heavy bleeding, and we need to find the cause and fix it. She may have suffered a postpartum hemorrhage, likely from the uterus trying to dispose of the placenta.”

“She’ll be alright, won’t she?”

“She’s lost a lot of blood, and I have to find the cause before it’s too late! I need you to go with Nurse Anderson and take your babies to the Neonatal Unit.”

“I can’t leave my wife!”

“Dad, I need you to go, now!”

“What’s wrong with me, Doctor?”

“You have a little bleeding that we need to take care of,” Doctor Clements said, trying to remain calm.

“Mr. Hayward, I need you to leave now! Kim, I need an operating team, three minutes ago!”

Nurse Anderson handed him Emily and picked up James, ushering them to the other unit. “I love you, Tina!” Dan yelled as the operating room doors closed.

“I love you, Dan! Please take care of our babies!”

“I need that team, now!” The doctor demanded, yelling from the operating room door. “And we’ll need several units of O-negative blood!”

Dan made sure his new babies were comfortable in the Neonatal Unit and went back to the operating room. He tried to enter, but the door was secured with a bypass card.

“I need to see my wife! I need to be with her!” He protested to Nurse Anderson.

“Mr. Hayward, Dan, I know you want to be with her, but you can’t. Doctor Clements is one of the best in the business. I’ve worked with her for many years delivering babies,” Nurse Anderson stated.

“Has she lost any mothers in childbirth?”

“Thankfully, she hasn’t. Your babies and family need you; go be with them. I’ll let you know anything I can about Tina’s condition.”

Dan returned to his babies, holding and cuddling each in his arms. He was turning into an emotional wreck, tears pooling in his eyes. His arms held the newest members of his family while he worried deeply for his wife. He managed to smile as Nurse Anderson used his phone to take their first pictures.

Dan kissed the foreheads of his babies, then went to see his family. He tried to smile, but his thoughts were with Tina.

“There’s the new daddy!” Karen remarked, going to him. “I thought you’d be happier that you have a new son and daughter.”

The others gathered around him, congratulating him.

“I’m ecstatic that I’m a new dad, but I’m very concerned about Tina. She has a lot of bleeding, and Doctor Clements is operating on her right now.”

“Oh my God, is it serious?” Wendy asked.

“She said Tina suffered some kind of hemorrhage; I can’t recall the name of it.”

“A postpartum hemorrhage?” Karen asked.

“Yes, that’s what she said—postpartum hemorrhage. Karen, tell me, is that serious for Tina?”

“That’s difficult to say. It depends on what caused the hemorrhage. The fact that she had her babies in the operating room saved valuable time.”