His Perfect timing

I had been to see my doctor that November day.  He confirmed that I was pregnant and that my pregnancy was progressing.  My due date was 07/08/09.  I walked home with a light step - our first baby was on the way!  Only Graham knew.  We would figure out a fun way to let the news out.

An hour or so later I had started cooking supper at the stove when I was interrupted by a terrible pain in my abdomen.  I remember putting the stove off and moving the pan from the burner and then I remember being on the floor at the other end of the hallway, praying for Graham to return home soon.  I had a lot of pain.  Eventually he did return home but I stayed put on the floor, happy for the addition of pillows and a blanket.  

My naivete knows no bounds.  I was nowhere near putting two and two together.  I assumed I had the flu.  I was used to having severe pain with my periods, praying and knowing the pain would eventually end so the pain wasn't a red flag for me.  All would be fine.  

I sent Graham out to get some ginger ale and probably chicken noodle soup (the great duo cure for sickness!)  I also asked Graham to stop by the library.  I had received an email earlier that day from our library to say that a book I had put on hold over a month earlier was ready to pick up.  It was The Secret Life of Bees and I had heard it mentioned on a talk show.  I also asked Graham to try to take out the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting."  

I slept in my bed that night but my biggest issue was that I had intense shoulder pain if I tried to lie on my side.  If I just squeezed my shoulder, I didn't feel anything.  Weird.  

The next morning I told Graham that I was going to spend the day in bed and I let my work know.  He drove to Elmira for work.  I was about to go back to sleep but first I thought I would briefly look at the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting."  I looked up 'shoulder pain' in the index.  I read the entry and started crying.  I knew right then that I had had an ectopic pregnancy, though I had never heard of it before.  

I called my doctor's office and tearily asked if I could see my doctor.  I told the receptionist the problem and she told me I had to go to the hospital as she had had ectopic pregnancies.  I called Graham and told him what was happening and then I drove to the hospital.  

It took me a while to get past triage as I seemed okay.  At one point, I was told to lie back on a bed but I couldn't do it due to pain.  The doctor doing the external ultrasound didn't find anything, but the one who did the internal ultrasound realized that my abdomen was full of blood.  That is what caused the referred pain in my shoulder.  Our bodies are incredibly complex and fascinating!    

I had emergency surgery and a very large scar to remember it by (my nurse told me that it was a beautiful scar and that my doctor had done such a good job.)  The doctor told me I had to take six weeks off work to recuperate.  An incredible gift of rest and time to grieve.  I returned to work right after Christmas, when the office was very quiet.

**

I watched a t.v. show over a month earlier to put a book on hold so that Graham would go to the library that night.  I had taken a pregnancy test and gone to the doctor on that day so that I knew I was pregnant and wanted to get a book on pregnancy.  I picked up the book right then instead of going back to sleep with great blood loss that I knew nothing about.  The receptionist who answered the phone was very knowledgeable about my condition.  Actually, while I was in the hospital, I read The Secret Life of Bees and while I don't remember the plot, I remember an image of a woman grieving at a stone wall.  God even provided the story to read.  

He is a good God.  He takes care of me.  I trust Him.