Page 84 of Zone Protection

“Thank you. I will.”

“Emma, you need to tell me some more information so I know what’s going on.”

“I’m twenty-six weeks pregnant. I haven’t had any issueswith my pregnancy, but I haven’t been feeling all that great today. After my last shot, I felt a twinge in my lower belly. When I was walking back to the cart, Peyton called out to me and pointed out that I was bleeding. I felt the trickle of blood as I was walking.”

“Okay, let me take your blood pressure. I want you to drink some water too. It could be a few different things, but this is not my area of expertise, so we should get you to a hospital to get you checked out.”

She puts the cuff around my arm, and I feel the pressure as it inflates, then slowly deflates.

“Your blood pressure is normal, so that’s good. Let’s get you back to the clubhouse and make arrangements for you to get to the hospital.”

“I’m not going to have to get in an ambulance, am I? I don’t love the idea of everyone seeing me leave that way.”

“Maybe. I need to let Coach know too. Have you told her about the pregnancy yet?”

I shake my head. “I haven’t. It gets a little tricky with my scholarship, and I was hoping to play as long as I could and thought I maybe had a few more weeks to figure it out.”

“I see. Okay, let’s head out. Drink the water slowly.”

We make our way to the clubhouse, and as we get there, Coach is already there, waiting for me.

“What’s going on, Emma?” Her hands are on her hips, and I can’t say she looks pleased.

“I’ve been feeling a little off all day today and had some cramping and now some bleeding.” I’m not sure why I can’t just say that I’m pregnant, but the words feel stuck.

She nods and then she waves her hand toward my body. “Go on. Tell me everything.”

My eyes start to tear up, and I just look at her. I truly hate disappointing people, and I’m not a deceitful person, but this whole situation has put me majorly out of my comfort zone.Even though it’s turned out to be a happy thing, I’ve spent the last few years playing on this team.

“I’m pregnant.”

She puts her hands on her hips and looks down and sighs. “Oh, Emma. Those are not the words I wanted to hear. But we need to get you to the hospital, so we can have this conversation later. I’ll come check in after the tournament. I’m going to have Miranda get you over there, and she can go with you.” Walking over to me, she puts a hand on my shoulder. “I hope everything is okay. We’ll talk later.” Then she turns and walks away.

Twenty minutes later, I’m loaded into an ambulance and on my way to the local hospital with Miranda. Once we arrive, they keep me on the gurney and take me to one of the rooms in the emergency room area.

I’ve texted and called Archie, but he hasn’t answered. I can’t remember what skills he will be tested on today, so it’s better if I just have all the information first anyway.

After all my vitals are taken and they’ve hooked me up to an IV, I sit and wait for what seems like an hour. Good news is, the cramping has stopped, and I’m no longer bleeding.

A doctor walks in, looking down at a tablet. “Emma Tucker?”

“Yes.” I shift on the bed to sit up a little bit.

“I’m Dr. Jones. I’ll be taking care of you today. So, I see that you’re twenty-six weeks pregnant. You haven’t had any complications during the pregnancy, which is good. You don’t drink or smoke, right?” He looks at me and rests the tablet against his stomach.

“No. Even when I wasn’t pregnant, I didn’t drink much, and I was never a smoker. I’m a golfer on my university team, so I’m in pretty good shape.”

“Okay, good. I’m just waiting for the blood work to come back to rule out anything serious, but in the meantime, I’m going to have you get an ultrasound, so we can see what’s happening with that little one in there.” He taps on the tablet and then holdshis stethoscope in his hand for a second. “Go ahead and sit up for me if you can.”

He holds out his hand, and I take it and pull myself up. Not something I would usually need help with, but I feel like I need to be cautious.

“Okay, deep breath in.” He holds the stethoscope to my back.

I breathe in.

“Good.” He moves it around to the front, above my heart. “Everything looks and sounds good, but like I said, I want to rule out anything serious with the blood work and the ultrasound. My guess is that you were probably a little dehydrated. Traveling, being out in the sun, physical activity—you can dehydrate faster than normal. Which can cause some cramping. As for the blood, likely related to the cramping. I’ll be back in when we get some results. Just try to rest.” He taps the bedrail, then turns and walks out.

Not even five minutes later, a younger girl—probably close to my age—comes in, attaches my IV bag to a hook on the bed, and tells me she’s taking me to get an ultrasound. Once we reach the sonography room, she locks the bed in place. “I’ll be back to get you when she’s done.”

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