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“I am with my wife, so it could be worse. But I guess you are right. Okay, two minutes and then we move.”
Maybe in two minutes I would be able to figure out how my legs work again.
Maya
Icouldn’tgetmyleg to stop bouncing. I couldn’t help but be nervous. We were sitting in the waiting room at a doctor’s office just in the next town over. I had called a doctor’s office in Waco just because we didn’t have any doctor offices set up yet in town, and I didn’t want to sit in a waiting room for the free clinic. I wasn’t ready for the people of Rose Falls to discover I was pregnant. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had been to a doctor, and it felt weird to be in a larger city. It wasn’t anywhere near the size of Houston, but over a hundred thousand people was a pretty big city to me. I felt a warm hand being placed on my bouncing knee, and I looked over to see Charlie giving me a kind smile.
He leaned in and whispered into my ear, “It’ll be okay. Just relax.” He pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before he sat back in his seat.
I wished I could have been as calm as him. I couldn’t help but feel anxious and nervous about all of this. I had no idea what could be going on with my body. With not going to a doctor regularly I wasn't getting any check ups or exams. I hadn’t really been sick, but a life on the run for five years wasn’t exactly recommended for good health. What if I wasn’t healthy enough to carry a baby to full term? What if there was a genetic disorder that I had that I had no idea about? I didn’t know my parents or my blood family. I had zero family medical history, and there was no way for me to get that information. This was supposed to be the easy part, the exciting part. And yet I couldn’t help but think the worst.
“Miss. Hawke,” a female voice called out from an open door.
Charlie patted my knee as he stood up, and I had no choice but to follow him. The nurse guided us to a private room, and I went and stood there in the middle of the room as she spoke, “Dr. Heath will be with you shortly.”
“Thank you,” Charlie said with a warm smile as the nurse headed out. He came over and joined me in the middle of the room as he spoke, “Everything will be fine. I know it’s hard, but you just need to relax. Nothing crazy is going to happen today. He’s going to want to run some blood work, and we should be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. And he will probably set us up with an ultrasound and an OBGYN. It’s early days and nothing real crazy happens during them.”
“We just don’t know what could be wrong. I have no idea what my family history is.”
“And that’s okay. Lots of people don't. We can do the genetic testing at ten weeks. We did it with Zoey so we were prepared should something be wrong. I don’t think you have anything. I would have to imagine if there was a genetic condition that you had, you would have noticed it by now.” He placed his hands on my biceps and ran them up and down as he continued, “I know it’s hard but try not to worry.”
Easier said than done, but I appreciated him trying to calm me down. It was only a minute later when the door opened, and Dr. Heath walked in. He was an older man, roughly Charlie’s age, but he had kind brown eyes. He gave us both a friendly smile as he spoke.
“Good morning. I am Dr. Heath. I have been informed that you are pregnant Miss. Hawke.”
“Yes. I just found out a couple of days ago. I think I am a month or so along.”
“Okay, hop up on the table, and I can get your vitals.”
I reluctantly moved away from Charlie and went and sat down on the exam table. The paper crinkled underneath me. I tried to stay calm and relax, but it was not easy. I couldn’t help but fidget with the wedding ring that still felt foreign on my finger. Dr. Heath made quick work of taking my blood pressure, listening to my heart, and breathing, and checking my pulse rate. He didn’t say anything, but I didn't see anything in his eyes that would indicate that something was wrong.
“How is she?” Charlie asked and apparently, I wasn’t the only one worried, though he was hiding it much better than I was. It did help to ease some of my nerves knowing that Charlie had already gone through all of this. He had some experience and would know on some level what was typical and what wasn’t.
“She’s good,” Dr. Heath said as he moved back and looked at the both of us before he continued. “You both seem awfully worried. Is there something I should know about?”
“I haven’t really been to a doctor in over five years. Plus, I grew up in the foster care system. I have no idea who my biological parents are. I don’t have a family history to give you.” It was going to come up so he might as well know. Plus, I wanted to make sure I was healthy enough to have the baby, and if that meant I had to go through extra tests then I would.
“Okay, that’s nothing to be too worried about. Lots of parents don’t know their family history and lots of people know their family history but discover something new. It’s why I always recommend the fetal genetic testing at ten weeks so you will be able to see if there is anything you need to be concerned with. We can also do genetic testing on you Miss. Hawke if that is something you wish to do as well.”
“Would that be blood work?” Charlie asked.
“For the baby it is from the amniotic fluid. For Mom, it is actually through saliva. It’s very simple for Mom. She fills a vial with saliva, then it gets mailed out to the lab, and they run all sorts of genetic testing on it. A report will be emailed to you. Takes up to six weeks to get it all back. The baby’s genetic test only takes about a week, and at that time we will also be able to tell you the gender, should you wish.”
“What do you think?” I asked Charlie.
“The choice is yours. Like I said, I did it with Zoey, and it was a huge relief to know that nothing was wrong with her. It’s your body though, and I will support whatever you decide.”
“It won’t hurt the baby?” I asked Dr. Heath.
“Not at all.”
“Okay, I would like to do both the genetic testing.” I needed to know if there could be something wrong with me down the line as well. Maybe it would help me to feel like I knew myself on a deeper level.
“I can set up both tests. I can have the genetic testing kit for yourself either mailed to your address or you can pick it up at the office. Which would you prefer?”
“I can pick it up here. Thanks.” I didn’t want my address on file anywhere. Paper trails had a way of being discovered just as easily as an electronic trail.
“Not a problem. I will also get you an appointment for your first ultrasound within the next two weeks. That should put you at the six-week mark, and if you are a bit further along we will be able to see it on the ultrasound. Do you have a prenatal vitamin yet?”
