Gummer Family Life

Surviving

Don's POV
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"Mary?" I'm confused and scared. What happened? Why doesn't she respond? "Is she okay?" I look at the anaesthesist. "She's okay. She's just really tired and in shock. I understand the C-section wasn't planned?" he asks. "No, not at all. Apparently the baby is in the breech position" I answer with a much calmer voice now. I'm still holding my unconscious wife hand. I notice how much I squeeze it and try to relax because I don't wanna hurt her. "I see. I can assure you your wife is fine." "Is that normal? A woman getting unconscious?" I ask back. "Well, I'm doing this for a while now and haven't seen it much but yeah, it can happen." So she's not to only one, not the first one either. I hear the doctors talking and saying things I don't understand. I try to relax and look down at my wife. She really does look like an angel. I can't see her blue-green-ish eyes because they are closed but her porcelain like skin, her thin, soft lips, her remarkable nose, her distinct cheekbones... She's the most beautiful woman ever and she's mine. As much as I wanna talk to her right now, they said she's fine and they are probably right about her being exhausted so I let her be. I probably can't wake her up anyway. All I can do is hold her hand and stroke her hair. I don't long how long I did that but suddenly I hear a doctor say: "I've got her" I look over the short screen and get a quick glance at our baby. Tears shoot in my eyes. She's beautiful and I couldn't be happier right now. But my feeling changed within a second when I realise she isn't crying. I feel myself turning pale. My smile disappears, tears of joy turn into tears of fear. I let go of my wife's hand and walk towards 3 nurses who are basically surrounding my little girl. "What happened? Is she okay? Is she.... alive?" I choke on the last word. I try to push myself through them. I get another quick look at her and now I know what's wrong with her. She's not breathing. Slowly I walk back, away from the nurses, leaning against a wall and slide slowly on the floor. I put my head between my knees. I feel like I'm going to vomit. In my head I count to 10 to avoid a panic attack. I never had one but I heard that works. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7 then a scream. I look up. Mary was still unconscious so it can't be here. Our baby. I jump up, run back towards the nurses and my little girl. "Congratulations Mr. Gummer. You're now father to a little girl." One nurse turns around, holding our baby who's wrapped in a yellow blanket. I was never so happy to hear a baby cry. "Oh my god. Thank you" I whisper. I'm still in shock and can't move for a few seconds. "Do you wanna hold her before we start the routine check-up?" she asks. I can't find the words and just reach out to her. Carefully the nurse lays her in my hands. "Hi beautiful" I whisper to her. For a moment I forget my surroundings and just look down at this little, screaming angel. "Mr. Gummer, I need to take her now." everything comes back and I give her back to the nurse. She disappears through the door. I just stand there. Grateful. Happy. Oh Mary will be so happy. I go back, holding her hand again until the doctor does his last stitch. "She did good. We gave her a narcosis after she got unconscious. She won't be gone for long and you can stay with her until she wakes up. A nurse will show you the room." "Okay. Thank you, Doctor" he gives me a smile and a little nod. Then he leaves and so does the rest. Only 2 nurses and I are still in the room. "Mr. Gummer, you can come with us now" one of them says. They roll the bed out of the OR, back into the elevator and down again. We turn right twice, once left and then enter a room. We are the only ones. I look around, examining the room. There's a little table with a chair. Two pictures hang on the wall. "How long until she wakes up?" I ask the nurse who gives my wife an infusion. "Not long. Probably around 30 minutes." I nod. The nurse gives me a friendly smile and leaves the room. I go to the chair and sit down. My watch tells me it's now 6:38am. I wanna call my Mom and Mary's parents but it's too early. Maybe we should call them together anyway. So I wait. It feels like an eternity when I look at my watch again but only 10mins passed. I sigh and lean back. I could try to get some sleep. But I can't. I wanna be there when my wife wakes up. Besides I'm not really tired anyway. After 10 more minutes, I get up and walk over to the huge window. The sun is rising and shines a beautiful glow into the room. I decide to go to the desk and ask how our baby is. I look back at my wife before I leave the room. Once I arrive at the desk, no one is there. I wait 2 minutes but no one is back. A little annoyed I go back to our room. Mary is still asleep. I grab the chair and sit down next to my wife's bed. Just when I sit down I see her eyes flicker. "Honey, I'm here" I say to her and grab her hand. "Mary, she's beautiful" I say, smiling. "Is she okay?" she asks with a weak voice. "Yeah, yeah she's fine. They are just doing the routine check-up" I answer. For a moment we just look at each other, both trying not to cry. "I love you" I whisper. I get up and kiss her on her forehead. "I see you're awake. Good! How are you feeling?" Dr. James enters the room. "A little numb" Mary says. "That's normal. Give it another 5 minutes. Don't try to get up yet. Just relax. A nurse will bring you your baby in about 10 minutes. Are you ready to meet her?" Mary looks at me, this time she squeezes my hand. "More than ever"