Page 73 of Burned

“I love you, Sadie. So much. No matter what happens, I just need you to know that okay, love?”

Before she could answer a tall Asian man in scrubs made his way to their bedside. He pulled up a chair on the other side of Sadie’s bed and took a seat. “Miss Flowers, I’m Dr. Wong. I was working on your daughter. They’re about to wheel her out. I just wanted to discuss a few things with you before you saw her.”

“Is she alive?” Sadie asked anxiously.

“Yes, she is. Have you thought of a name for her yet?”

Rhys hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until the doctor answered that question. “Thank God.”

Sadie began to cry again. “Names haven’t been discussed yet. I want to see her.”

“You will shortly. I just needed to go over a few things with you. As you know your daughter is sixteen weeks premature which usually gives her about a fifty percent survival rate. But she has three things going for her: her second APGAR score was an eight out of ten which is excellent for one born so prematurely. She’s a girl which typically means girls do much better than boys in these situations, and the final thing is that she’s African-American. African American children also seem to fare better.”

“So in other words, she’d be doomed if she was a Caucasian male?” Rhys asked not quite understanding the gist of what was being said.

“Not doomed, but there is a little saying we have in the NICU. They’re generally referred to as “wimpy white boys” We’re still not sure why but for some reason they don’t seem to fare as well as the other groups. Anything a preemie is prone to they usually get it.”

“Dr.Wong, what does APGAR mean?” Sadie asked tentatively.

“The APGAR score is something used to access the health of a newborn, one being lowest and ten being the highest. We take into account appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration.”

“So it’s good that our daughter scored an eight?” Rhys asked.

“It’s excellent,” Dr. Wong confirmed. “Like I said, for one born so early she generally has about a fifty-fifty chance of survival but this is an excellent hospital and we work hand in hand with two other leading children’s hospitals which increases her chances. Not to mention, your daughter seems very feisty and that also is a great sign.”

“So what happens now?” Rhys wanted to know.

“She’ll be staying in the Intensive Care Special Nursery until she’s strong enough to go home and that’s generally closer to the time of her original due date. Sometimes they get released earlier than that and sometimes later so please don’t get discouraged if she’s in here longer than you think she should be. Every baby is different and we have to do what’s best for her. That being said, she has a long way to go. Currently, she’s on a ventilator which is doing the breathing for her because her lungs aren’t developed enough for her to do it on her own yet. She has a delicate immune system so she’ll be susceptible to various infections but we do the best we can to make sure that doesn’t happen. For now, your daughter’s health status is listed as critical but we’re hoping that will eventually change. The next two weeks, in particular, will be crucial. There are five other doctors in the NICU and we are usually on rotation for a week at a time in the day and night. You can visit your daughter anytime you want; there are no formal visiting hours. The only time the nursery is closed to visitors is shift change at seven to seven-thirty AM and PM. You’ll be given wristbands as parents and you’re allowed six visitors for the duration of your daughter’s stay. Their names will be put on a list and you can let the nurse know when you go up.” Dr. Wong continued to go through some things they’d face in the coming months, which scared Rhys and gave him hope. “Any more questions?”

“I just want to see her.”

“Of course. She’s on her way out now. But only for a couple minutes. We have to take her to the Special Care Nursery.” Just as the doctor finished speaking a team of nurses, wheeled out an incubator. Rhys gasped in awe and fear. She was so tiny! No longer than the length of his hand. But she seemed perfectly formed. She moved her little hand and kicked her feet showing them that she was alive and kicking. He loved her so much his heart ached. Tears flowed down his cheeks.

“She’s so beautiful Rhys.” Sadie also had tears streaming down her face.

In that moment Rhys was determined more than ever that they would be a family. A complete one.

* * *

Sadie was so exhausted by the time she was wheeled into her own private room, tired from the Percocet the nurse had administered to her. She fell asleep once the nurse examined her; barely registering Rhys hadn’t left her side. She only woke briefly when the nurse gently shook her shoulder to change her pads.

When she came to, it was to find Rhys and Lily in the room. Rhys seemed to be giving her sister a blow by blow of what the doctor had told them. “Lily, when did you get here?” Sadie asked.

Lily and Rhys turned toward her when she spoke. Her sister rushed to her side and leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “Oh, honey. How are you feeling?”

“Just a little drowsy but fine otherwise. When did you get here?” she asked again.

“About ten minutes ago. Colin informed me when he received a call from Carys. I got here as soon as I could. Daisy is headed to the airport now and will be taking the next plane out so she probably won’t be here until the morning. And Rose is on her way back from Italy.”

“Oh, I didn’t expect them to drop everything and fly out. I know how busy they are.”

“Girl, stop it. We’re sisters. And you know we’d do anything for you.”

“I’m going to head down to the cafeteria and get some coffee. Would you like anything ladies?” Rhys asked.

“No thank you.” Sadie and Lily spoke in unison.

Rhys nodded. “Okay, I will be back. Perhaps when I return I can wheel you to the NICU to see our little princess?” he asked Sadie.

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