A Mother's Love..... is Never Ending

Some patients, you just never forget. I have several. There are a couple that I would prefer not to remember, but there are some that I never WANT to forget. Wendy is one.

W was a young pregnant wife and mother that went to school with my brother. We got a call that we were getting an admission, a pregnant lady with a headache. Didn't sound bad on the first bit of information we had. We thought she could go into our semi-private room. Then she came to the unit. The RN had gone down to supper. I took one look at her, and told the aides, etc to take her back out of the semi and put her into the private room. I asked someone to get her vitals, then went to the phone and paged the RN to return NOW to the unit. I told her, this girl looks like a head bleed, she belongs in ICU, not here, come back now.

RN came back, probably not too happy at missing the last half of her supper break, and took one look at Wendy and got on the phone to the admitting doctor, her OB/GYN. W had called him several times saying her head hurt, badly. Finally, her husband called and said something is wrong, and what are you going to do about it? They came to the ER, met her MD, and she was admitted. Pale, nearly unconscious, diaphoretic, she entered my life, her husband following. She was about a month and a half or so from due date. They had one child who was supposed to be thirteen months old when sibling came. They had JUST signed a contract for a home to be built for themselves.

Dr came to the floor, looking worried. This was beyond him, and he knew it. We dragged her, bed and all, to the Radiology Dep't downstairs for a CT Scan, and I stayed. By now, W was not conscious at all. No response to even painful stimuli. Nothing seemed to look different on the scan....until they added the dye.

WOW! Three huge bleeds showed up, and I think I remember a smaller fourth one. The history had already been spoken about while the first part of the scan was done without the dye... W had had malignant melonoma four or more years before, and three months prior to this admission, had returned from Bethesda after a check-up. She was told there that she may be the first to go into not only remission, but cured (five years, you know?)....

And there it was, in front of us on the screen. Tumors, bleeding, actively. Wendy was dying in front of us, and we could not do one single thing to help her. Nothing. Ever.

But an OB patient is NOT just one patient. Every OB patient is TWO patients--the Mom, and the baby. Suddenly, they remembered, as they got Wendy to ICU. Her grief stricken young husband now had only one hope. That W could hold on long enough to bring their little one into the world. W ended up on a respirator for a couple of weeks, but their baby was born healthy. Her husband now had two children under a year old, just over eleven months apart. Alone.

And, the contractor refused to release him from the contract for 'their' house.

I am reminded of Gianna Beretta Molla, a wife, mother, physician. Perhaps today, they could have saved both, but then, she had a choice. Kill the baby, save herself, or do whatever they could to save the baby, and THEN do her surgery, etc, to save hers. She chose the baby. Her baby survived, she did not. She is now a Saint, and her daughter is thrilled that she is living.

The other day, I was reminded of W again, as I was when I first heard about Susan Torres, a young wife, mother, as well as a working college graduate, vaccine researcher at NIH. There are some very powerful statements from her husband included in an article in USA TODAY. There are updates (and see the archives for more) available from the site.

Today, I was reminded not only of W, but of her husband, and her two children, now probably grown. God bless them. W hung on til her child was safe. May Susan be able to do the same for hers, as Gianna Molla did, and so many other beautiful mothers who would choose life.

And those husbands/fathers who stand by them. God bless.

At her beatification, the child, Gianna Emanuela spoke, and ended with a prayer:

"Thank you, mother, thank you for having given me life two times; in conception and when you permitted me to be born, deciding for my life. Intercede and help always all mothers and all families that come to you with confidence.

"Look at the mothers who truly love their children: how many sacrifices they make for them. They are ready for everything, even to give their own blood so that their babies grow up good, healthy and strong."

Saint GIANNA BERETTA MOLLA

LIFE IS PRECIOUS FROM CONCEPTION TO NATURAL DEATH!
CHERISH IT!
PROTECT IT!