Hello one and all! It's been about six months since we visited the Italian Hospital in Vicenza, Italy. In the last six months, my family and I have moved from Texas to Oklahoma and back to Texas again. The gypsy blood keeps pumping! I was able to wean one of my sons off of his ADHD medication and another, my baby Bitty, was found (after many tests and hospital visits) to have a GLUTEN allergy! Never, ever a dull moment at my house. Let's see what happened in the wood-paneled Italian hospital room where the bleeding and cramping in a young, pregnant Army wife waited, terrified. I remember it like it was yesterday . . .
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Oh
dear God . . .
The doctor barked something in Italian,
completely ignoring any shred of modesty I’d retained and any sense of privacy
I might have desired.
“He said get on the bed, now,” the nurse
translated, grabbing my arm and helping me roughly onto the bed. I held my hand
out for the sheet, but she snatched it away. “No time,” she said.
Someone had pulled a tiny sonogram machine
into the room. The doctor squirted the cold jelly onto my still-flat belly and
dug the probe into my flesh as the nurse manipulated my legs over the candy
cane stirrups just as I’d feared. Before I could get embarrassed, a strong,
thudding beat pounded out of the speakers apparently attached to this
particular machine.
“The baby is alive,” the nurse relayed,
relief evident in her strained English. “The doctor must use the internal probe
now.”
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I hope you enjoyed this ten-sentence snippet from my forthcoming memoir, Missi Wanderin' in the Woods. If you'd like to switch gears a bit, check out the rest of the weekend writers at the Weekend Writing Warriors blog. I have featured debut author Madeline McCandless and her contemporary western (spicy) romance, Silver Sky at Dawn (Silver Sky Ranch series #1) on my Everlasting Heart blog. Feel free to stop by and show her some love!
Whoa! Talk about immediate! Sara, you pulled me right into the scene, emotions and all. Nice jog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy!! <3 Still feels like yesterday though the baby in question here is now six years old!
DeleteSara, know you've been missed. As for Gluten, I've been on a gluten free diet for fifty years way back in the days when women didn't have such a thing. Now, at 85, I'm terrific, healthy writing every day, taking care of my youngest grandchild. Be well, your family too. Love from me.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Charmaine!! I am glad the gluten free diet has worked so well <3 My poor four year old . . . he had symptoms that mimicked leukemia AND meningitis. Thank God all that was ruled out <3 I'm so glad to be back and reading your wonderful writing!
DeleteWelcome back! Sounds like you've been busy. Love the snippet, in a terrifying sort of way. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Christina!! I hope you are well <3
DeleteWow--I can't imagine how scared you were!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Charmaine is right--you have been missed!
Thanks Teresa!! <3 It is good to be back! And settled . . .at least for awhile ;-)
DeleteYou HAVE been busy! Glad to hear some things have worked out ok though. At least a gluten allergy can be dealt with, right? Nice to see your excerpts back, was happy the baby was ok (so far) in this one!
ReplyDeleteThanks Veronica! So good to see you again here in literary cyberspace!
DeleteOh boy. It doesn't sound like that hospital has good bedside manners.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back.
Thank you Bonnie! Modesty certainly didn't rank high on their list of priorities . . . and now I am thankful for it <3
DeleteDefinitely a tense moment, with very high stakes!
DeleteSpeaking as a mom, this is a terrifying snippet. You grabbed me right away and I really felt for the character. Great job! Glad you found an answer for your little one, and good luck.
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