Page 110 of Jackson
A nurse left the room and I ranover.
“Summer? What’s happened? Please, you have to tellme.”
“I don’t know yet. I will find out though. Please, wait in here until I have more news,” she said, as she reached behind me to a door I hadn’tnoticed.
“Mybaby?”
“Your daughter isfine.”
“Why was there so muchblood?”
She didn’t answer as she left theroom.
I heard Katie sobbing as she slumped onto the couch. Richard had his arm around hershoulder.
I paced for what seemed forever until the door opened again. It was the same nurse that had ushered me from theroom.
“Would you like to see your daughter?” sheasked.
I nodded my head. “I want to know what’s happening to Summer, aswell.”
“The doctor will be with you shortly, but come and meet yourdaughter.”
I followed her to a small room. There were four plastic cots and she led me to one. Lying wrapped up was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. She had dark brown hair and a screwed up face, as if angry at having been taken from her mother sobrutally.
“You can pick her up,” the nurse gentlysaid.
I reached down for her. As I lifted her into my arms, she opened her eyes. Brown eyes stared back at me and her face softened. I watched my tears drip onto her forehead. I looked around for a chair and then sat. It was as I did that I fell apart. I hugged my baby to my chest and I cried like I’d never criedbefore.
“Please tell me, is Summer…” I couldn’t finish the sentence; the words physically chokedme.
The nurse knelt in front of me. “The blood loss was because an artery was nicked in the rush to deliver this little one. We had to act fast, Jackson, your daughter was in distress. There is always a risk when that happens. But it seems Summer developed a blood clot, that clot could have been there for a while and was dislodged. She suffered a pulmonaryembolism.”
I didn’t understand what was being said. “The doctor is waiting for you, he’s with her parents rightnow.”
“What do I do?” I whispered, holding my daughter tighter against mychest.
“Let me take thebaby.”
I handed over my daughter, but not before kissing her forehead. With every step I took back towards the family room, dread set in. My footsteps were heavy and my heart broke the closer we got. I could hear crying. I hesitated before opening the door; my hand shook as it gripped the door handle. I closed my eyes and swung the door open, believing I was about to walk into my worstnightmare.
