Chapter 4 - The Hospital Paper
The nursery was completely finished. The walls were painted a soft, soothing cloud-blue, and a beautiful white wooden crib sat in the corner, covered in hand-knitted blankets.
On the changing table rested a silver-framed 4D ultrasound picture of their baby girl.
He rushed over to the table, his eyes darting frantically across the empty room. Behind the ultrasound frame, tucked discreetly out of plain sight, was an official medical document bearing the red emblem of Saint Jude Memorial Hospital's Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit.
He pulled the document out, his hands shaking so violently he almost dropped it.
It was an emergency diagnostic report dated December 24th—yesterday afternoon.
At the top of the page, highlighted in bright yellow ink, were the words: CRITICAL MEDICAL ALERT: SEVERE PREECLAMPSIA & HIGH-RISK FETAL COMPROMISE.
His eyes skimmed down the page in horror as the medical jargon burned into his brain: Patient presented with dangerously elevated blood pressure (185/110), severe edema, and reduced fetal movement. High risk of placental abruption. Immediate hospitalization and emergency induction required.
At the bottom of the document, in the attending physician's bold handwriting, was a handwritten note: Patient requested 12-hour grace period to spend Christmas Eve with her spouse before admitting herself to the Intensive Care Unit on Christmas morning.
He gasped in sheer, overwhelming horror, the paper fluttering between his fingertips.
Emma hadn't handed him her wedding ring out of jealousy or drama. She had given it back because she knew she was walking into a life-threatening emergency medical procedure completely alone while he was drinking champagne with another woman.
"Severe blood pressure risk... extra monitoring required today...?" he whispered, his voice cracking as his vision blurred with tears of gut-wrenching panic.
He stumbled backward against the crib, dropping the document as complete, suffocating panic consumed him.
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"Emma... what have I done?" he screamed into the empty house.
👉 Click to continue reading as he races against time to reach the hospital.
