Page 22 of Finding Hope

A thump brought his focus back to Shannon’s belly. Jonathon pressed on her stomach lightly until he felt his son kick his hand again. It calmed him to know their baby was okay. He moved his hand off Shannon’s belly and placed it on her cheek, rubbing his thumb back and forth. “Baby, you need to wake up. I can’t lose you and I can’t lose Henry. You wake up and I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving to you that we belong together.” He pressed his lips against her forehead.

Chapter Eleven

Shannon

Shannon’s eyes fluttered open. Where was she and why did her head hurt so bad? She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog. Fall, fire, fall…Oh God, the baby. She moved her hands to cover her belly, but something was wrong. Her belly was barely a belly anymore. She flung away the covers, jolted out of the bed, and hit the floor with a jarring thud and pained cry. Blood poured from her hand where an IV had been. Her stomach was on fire, and her head was pounding. As she cried, she dragged herself toward the door when it opened.

Her mother and sister rushed in and she began frantically signing to them. “Where’s Henry? What happened to Henry?” Tears poured down her face, prohibiting her from seeing what her sister was signing to her. “Henry?” Shannon croaked.

She watched her mom and sister talk and then Mary disappeared, but then two nurses ran in. After getting her cleaned up and back in bed, Shannon’s mom sat down by her hip and began to sign. “His heart rate dropped. You were having regular contractions. They had to deliver him.”

“Is he okay?” she signed back.

“He’s early, but he’s strong. Jonathon has been by his side since they delivered him.” She felt tears leak from her eyes. “He looks just like Jonathon, or at least that’s what Jonathon says, and as soon as you’re able, we’ll take you to see him.”

Over the next half hour, the nurses checked on her and the doctor came in to check her staples. They took the baby via C-section since she’d been unconscious. She also learned that she had been out for almost two weeks and her son was already five days old. After they finished checking her over, her mom helped her into the shower and then helped her dress in a nightgown they must’ve bought for her. Like when Shannon was little, her mom brushed out her hair after drying it and put it into a braid that fell down her back.

The nurse came in and gave her some pain medication and promised it wouldn’t make her groggy. Shannon’s mom was getting her settled into her wheelchair when Jonathon walked in. He rushed toward her and wrapped his arms carefully around her. Shannon could tell he was talking because she felt the vibration, but she obviously couldn’t hear what he was saying. Before pulling away, he kissed her softly on the lips and gave her a huge smile and then signed. “How are you feeling?”

He was signing; she couldn’t believe it, and she signed and spoke back. “Sore, my head hurts, but I want to see Henry.”

“Well, then, let’s go see our boy.”

Shannon’s mom began pushing the wheelchair down the hall. Jonathon jerked when she reached out to grab his hand. She was nervous, scared, and she could feel herself tremble. She needed to feel anchored to someone. Who better than the father of her son? She wished she could hear, though. Shannon’s mom promised her they’d have another sound processor for her by the end of the week.

They reached double doors that read NICU, Neonatal intensive care unit. Shannon watched Jonathon push a button and then a few seconds later the doors swung open. Her body began to tremble as her mom pushed her through the open doors. A woman who appeared to be in her forties came up to them, smiling brightly at Jonathon and then turning that smile on her. Shannon could read lips, and her mom and Jonathon must’ve told her that because she looked her right in the eye.

“Hi, Shannon. I’m Karrie, Henry’s nurse. I’m so glad to see you’re up. Are you ready to meet your son?”

She nodded. They reached a little room that the wheelchair wouldn’t fit in. Jonathon took it upon himself to scoop her up into his arms and carry her into the room, sitting her in a recliner next to an incubator that was covered with a blanket. Karrie appeared in front of her again.

“The blanket is to darken the room a bit so he can sleep peacefully. I just want to tell you what to expect. He’s a big boy. He’s four and a half pounds and fifteen inches long. He’s still going to appear skinny, but every day he’s getting bigger and bigger. He’s on oxygen through a cannula in his nose. You’ll also notice that he’s got another tube in his nose and that’s to feed him.”

A tear slipped from Shannon’s eye. It was her fault; she shouldn’t have tried to go out the window on her own. “No tears. He’s doing so well. Let’s let you hold your son.”

Shannon’s mom kissed her cheek and excused herself, promising she’d be right out in the hall. Jonathon rested both hands on her shoulders, grounding her when the nurse took the blanket off. She couldn’t hear it, but Shannon felt a cry leave her lips. He was the most beautiful baby she’d ever seen. Henry had tiny wisps of brown hair on his head and he had his little fists curled up and under his chin.

Karrie told her she was going to recline her a bit so she could be skin to skin with Henry on her chest. Shannon waited, holding her breath, as Henry was picked up out of his incubator and brought to her. The minute Karrie laid him on her chest, Shannon felt whole for the first time in her life. His little body was so warm and such a comfort to her. She saw a little flash and knew Jonathon was taking a picture. Shannon didn’t care if she looked like shit. She looked in Jonathon’s direction and gave him a smile as he took more pictures.

She placed her lips on Henry’s tiny, smooth forehead and felt tears run down her face when he opened his eyes and looked at her. She felt Jonathon’s arms wrap around her, his large hand covering her hand and a good portion of Henry’s body. “He’s beautiful,” she said.

Her lips curled up in a smile against the baby’s forehead as she watched Jonathon sign, “Yes, he is.”

“I wish I could hear his noises.” She didn’t want to miss any of them. Jonathon bent down and pressed his lips to Henry’s cheek. He pulled back, and she asked, “Has Josie met him yet?”

“No, not yet. I actually haven’t let anyone else see him until you woke up. I think your dad’s mad at me.”

Shannon’s heart swelled that he did that for her. It would’ve hurt if everyone else had held him before she was able to.

“He’ll get over it. I want Josie to meet him. Will they let her visit?” Shannon didn’t know what the hospital’s policy was.

“Yes, since she’s his sister, they said she can come as long as she’s not sick.”

“I want her to come as soon as you can get her here. She needs to meet her brother.” It wasn’t her place to tell Jonathon what to do with his daughter, but the little girl must be scared.

“Okay, I’ll have Tessa bring her up.”

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