Page 7 of Mia Amata

In the bedroom, Audra requested that I take my dress off, and put the robe on. As I was doing that, she got her stethoscope along with some other things out of her bag, lying them on a clean blue chuck pad she brought as well.

“When you are ready, just have a seat on the end of the bed. I’ll start by just listening to your heart and lungs and then check your pulse and temperature,” she instructed.

I tied the sash on the robe and sat down on the side of the bed. Audra took my temperature and pulse and commented that those looked good. She put on her stethoscope, asked me to take some deep breaths, listening carefully and then said I could breathe regularly as she continued to listen with her stethoscope. She examined my face closely, pressing as gently as she could, feeling for broken bones.

“Your heart and lungs sound good. Your face looks worse, probably feels worse, than it actually is. I don’t detect any broken bones. The swelling and bruising should go away in a few days. Now, if you would lay back, I’ll listen to your stomach and check for abdominal injuries. I need to open the robe to look at your bruises and wounds.” I nodded and lay down.

After she finished the exam, she told me to go ahead and get dressed again. She cleaned up all of her things by putting everything back in her bag. She threw away the trash, washed her hands and then reached back into her bag, pulling out a box.

“Mattie, have a seat, let’s chat for a couple minutes.” I did as she said, and she sat down. “Mattie, you probably do have some internal bleeding, but I do not think it isn’t very bad. I think with some rest and fluids, you will heal up just fine. I would like you to stay on bed rest for a couple of days. You can get up, shower, use the bathroom, and fix something to eat, but other than that no heavy lifting. I would like you to do the rest of your time either in bed or relaxing on the couch.”

“Oh, OK,” I agreed.

“There are symptoms that I want you to watch for, worsening pain in your abdomen, fever, basically anything out of the normal for you. If something like that occurs, let Lauren and Eva know, they will contact me. This is important, I will review this with them also. I think one of them needs to stay in the home with you at all times,” Audra stated.

She looked at me intently before she went on. “There is one other thing I need to talk to you about. This could be a difficult subject for you. Mattie, could you be pregnant?”

I stared at her in stunned silence. Pregnant? A baby? Without even thinking about it, my hands went to my stomach. “I don’t think so,” I said.

“When was your last period?” she asked.

I looked at her, trying to remember. “I don’t know. I’m not regular at all.”

Audra nodded, “All the trauma you have been through—the stress, the anxiety, all the emotions—I am not surprised that you are not regular. I have a pregnancy test here; I would like you to take it. If it is positive, then we need to do some further testing to make sure the baby is healthy in order to let you make decisions regarding what you want to do. The nausea and the dizziness you had could be related to the injuries you sustained; I believe you probably have a concussion. There is also the chance it could be pregnancy-related. I feel we need to make sure.”

She held out the box containing the pregnancy test. I looked at it for a minute, then reached out and took it. She explained how to do the test, so I went into the bathroom.

When I came out, Audra and I moved into the living room where Eva sat, waiting. I automatically walked over to where she was, sitting down next to her. She took my hand, looking at me with concern. “Mattie?” Audra asked. “Can I call Lauren down to talk about the examination and explain what we need to do?”

I nodded my head and Eva squeezed my hand, “It will be OK,” Eva said.

I didn’t say anything. For some reason, Eva made me feel safe. The fact that this young woman I didn’t even know could make me feel that way surprises me. Maybe it is her confidence, her maturity. Whatever it is, I am glad that she is here with me. Audra went up the stairs and opened the door, calling for Lauren to join us. They were both soon back downstairs, sitting across from Eva and me.

“I wanted to speak to you both about things that Mattie and I discussed. She has given me permission to share with you,” Audra began. “I gave Mattie as thorough an exam as I was able to here without the full benefits of in a hospital or clinic setting. I don’t feel that we need x-rays as luckily, she does not seem to have any broken bones.”

Lauren said, “That is a relief.”

“Yes, it is,” Audra nodded. “I do believe she has some internal bleeding in her abdomen which is not severe. I have instructed her that I would like her to be on bedrest for a couple of days. I have gone over warning signs with her, I’ll do so with both of you also. If at all possible, I would like someone to be here with her, at least in the house, until I can see her again in a day or so. Would that be possible?” Both Eva and Lauren nodded, indicating that would not be a problem for them.

“Great. I will make arrangements to come back soon. There is one other thing we may need to discuss, but I need to check the test results.” With that, Audra got up and walked into the bedroom. Lauren and Eva looked questioningly at each other and me, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet their gazes.

Audra was only gone a few seconds. When she came back out, she knelt in front of me, took both my hands, and then said, “Mattie, the test is positive.”

Chapter 4

Positive? I stared at her dumbfounded. After all these years with no pregnancies, I’m pregnant now? I didn’t say anything, but it was a huge source of anger with Allen that I never seemed to be able to give him a child. Now I’m pregnant with his baby, and he has no idea. I can’t speak. I can’t think. “Mattie, do you understand? You are pregnant.” Audra repeated.

I slowly nod my head as tears start to fall. I had been beaten many times for not being able to give Allen a son. He blamed me constantly.

Audra sat back down, stating, “I need to go get some equipment and come back. I want to listen to the baby’s heartbeat and see if I can do an ultrasound. Then you will know how the baby is and can start to decide what you want to do with your future.”

Again, I just nodded. Allen’s baby. What am I going to do now? Do I have to go back to him?

“For now, please get comfortable, lay down, and get some rest. Bedrest is what you need right now more than anything. I’ll go upstairs and talk to Lauren and Eva about what we need to watch for and let them know what restrictions you should follow for the next couple of days.”

I stood up, as did Audra. She gently put her hands on my shoulders. “Listen, Mattie, we are here for you. I know you will have a hard time going forward, learning to trust total strangers, and letting them take care of you, but that is exactly what we are going to do. If you need or want anything, all you have to do is ask. If you need to be left alone for a while, we will respect that. Going forward you are in charge of your own life, we are only here to help you get to where you are confident in that, confident in knowing what you want to do.”

She gently pulled me in for a hug, out of habit I stiffened, so she let go. I wasn’t ready for hugs yet, she seemed to realize that. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the hug, I didn’t know how to react to someone being that close to me without getting hurt.

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