Stitches of Life

Invest in Love

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Invest in Love

"Laura Young, thirty weeks pregnant." I told Arizona when she joined me in trauma two. "Car accident. Head CT showed a subdural. Shepherd's coming in. Baby's in distress. OB's on its way."

"Oh, it hurts." Laura groaned. "It really hurts."

"Okay, wait. Hold on. Stop. Move the wand up." Arizona told me as she watched the ultrasound. I did as she said, watching the screen, too. "Okay, baby's brain is hemorrhaging. She needs a crash C while Shepherd handles the bleed. Get ready to grab a rail and start running."

I nodded, cleaning Laura's stomach before we moved her out of the trauma room and up to the OR floor. We rushed her down the hall to the prepped OR, only to find Hunt and Callie hurrying towards it with their own patient.

"Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa." Arizona caught their attention. "We need the OR."

"Well, we need it, too." Callie said. "We're already on our way."

"There's only one OR prepped this time of night." Arizona reminded her girlfriend.

"Which is why we need it." Callie nodded.

"Mine's got a subdural." Arizona said.

"Fifty broken bones." Callie countered.

"Stroke in womb!" Arizona stressed. I felt a small sense of relief as Callie and Hunt were forced to stop, an open door blocking their way while Arizona and I were able to continue down the hall with Laura, into the prepped OR.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What's her status?" Derek asked when he joined us in the OR.

"Mom's heart rate and, uh, BP has been fluctuating, but she's ready for you." I told Derek without looking away from the little baby in front of me, the C section having already been performed.

"All right, let's prep her for a craniotomy." Derek nodded.

"Apgar's only four. We need to get to the NICU now." Arizona told me.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Allright, drain's in a good position." Arizona nodded once we'd gotten the baby set up in the NICU.

"She's breathing over the vent." I pointed out. "Maybe we should consider extubating her?"

"Yeah, but watch for apneic episodes, and keep an eye out for her CBC." Arizona warned me. "There's still too much blood draining from her head. What time is it?"

"Uh, half past eight." I checked my watch.

"Half past eight." She sighed. "I've already been awake for five hours. And my day hasn't even started. Rough way to start your morning."

"A stroke before you're even born- rough way to start a life." I didn't take my eyes off the little baby girl.

"Yeah." Arizona nodded in agreement. "I'll see you on rounds?"

"See you then." I nodded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Okay, I know this is the first time on a Peds rotation with me for some of you." Arizona said as Cristina, Percy, Avery, and I gathered in front of her, Callie and Hunt standing behind us, too. "Not for others. But I wanted you to understand that I run my Peds unit a little differently than you may be used to. This is not general surgery in miniature. These are the tiny humans. These are children. They believe in magic. They play pretend. There is fairy dust in their IV bags. They hope and they cross their fingers and they make wishes. And that makes them more resilient than adults. They recover faster, survive worse. They believe. In Peds, we have... miracles and magic. In Peds, anything is possible."