Chapter 5

Dan tried to concentrate on his babies, but his mind was on Tina and her operation. Karen and Wendy enjoyed holding the newest members of their extended family, remarking how James looks like Dan and Emily like Tina. Dan went to the door and peered down the hallway that led to the operating room, hoping the doctor would suddenly appear.

“I can hardly wait to have our babies,” Wendy smiled.

Fifteen minutes later, they were replaced by Cathy and Lisa. “Daddy, holding your baby is giving me that motherly feeling again! Jessica needs another brother or a sister!”

“I’m sure that Ben can help you more than me.”

“That’s true, but I’d rather make another baby with you.”

“Don’t forget about me; I hope to have a baby with him too,” Lisa added, placing her cheek next to James’ cheek.

“We’ll have to do a get-pregnant marathon with Dad and the women who want to have a baby with him,” Cathy joked.

“We’ll have Dan worn out!” Lisa kidded.

A nurse came into the baby room and talked to Nurse Anderson. “Dan, Doctor Clements is finishing up operating on your wife. She’s doing okay. The doctor will brief you on her condition in the family room in about half an hour.”

“Thank you.”

Dan held his babies another time, then handed them to Nurse Anderson. He noticed that Brad, Abby, Diane, and Brenda had joined them as they waited for Doctor Clements to arrive in the family room.

Everyone stood as Doctor Clements entered the room. “How is Tina?” Dan asked urgently.

“Your wife is in ICU, and she should fully recover.”

“Thank you, Doctor!” He said that and gave her a heartfelt hug of appreciation. “What happened to Tina? Can I see my wife? Why did you have to operate so fast?”

“You can see her in a little while. She’s still waking up from the operation. Let’s sit down.” The doctor suggested placing her clipboard on the table. She noticed the teenage blonde standing close to Dan, placing his arm around her tiny waist. “Your wife suffered a postpartum hemorrhage that was caused by uterine atony. Uterine atony occurs when the uterus doesn’t contract to deliver the placenta. The delivery of the placenta causes the blood vessels of the uterus to contract, cutting off the flow of blood.”

As she spoke, she tried to sketch what she had done to Tina.

“I tried massaging her uterus for five minutes in hopes of stimulating the contractions to deliver the placentas. That didn’t work, so I had no choice but to operate on her. I made a C-section incision in her lower abdomen. We immediately noticed that her uterus was distended, which isn’t uncommon in twin births.”