Once I was settled into my room, I started dealing with the reality that my regular life as I know it has changed. My Type A personality came on and I had to get in major planning mode. I called my friend and great Zumba instructor, Jessica, and she helped me get everything in place for the fitness studio. I made a list of things for Milton to bring from the house. I tried to explain in detail where each item is since I couldn’t be there to point it out. I called all of my family and friends to let them know what had happened. Everyone said to be strong.
Wednesday night and Thursday morning I was put on a clear liquid diet. For those that don’t know what that consist of – chicken broth, apple juice, jello and italian ice. The first time I ate it, I actually looked forward to it since I hadn’t eaten in 10 hours. I was still on strict bed rest and had to use a bedpan when I needed to urinate. Thursday was difficult because for the first time I was having to be dependent on everyone else. The bed was my island and all the action happened around me.
Thursday at lunchtime I had graduated to regular food. For the meals here, you given a menu of foods and you can call down and decide what time you want to eat. For my first meal i chose pizza (surprise) and chocolate cake. It was good for the simple fact that I hadn’t eaten real food in 24 hours.
I had originally been on magnesium, but they stopped giving me that. The round the clock baby and contractions monitor was taken off and now they only monitor me twice a day. Freedom was mine – as long as I could do it from my bed.
The most difficult thing about Thursday and Friday was my concern for Milton. I experienced a major setback, but Milton experienced an even larger one with more emotion. Here both his wife and unborn child are rushed to a hospital, Milton is driving back and forth to the house to get all necessary items, when all he wants to do is be by my side. Everything I’ve always done to maintain the household now falls on him. He turned into the ultimate provider. His job could tell how overwhelmed he was that they made him take Friday off – which was good for the both of us!
Although thus far I’ve been limited to two 20 minute wheelchair privileges a day, I was given an extended pass to be wheeled down into the basement for their 2 hour New Mothers class. It was from 6:30-8:30pm and Milton attended with me. It was the last session in their six week series and we didn’t know what they would be discussing. As we wheeled our way down to room with able-bodied pregnant women, we were handed a baby doll (that looked nothing like us). 1) It was a baby girl 2) She had blue eyes 3) she had blonde hair. Milton obviously is not the father, and either am I.
