Charlotte's Battle - Jason's Recovery

Chapter 34

Jessica woke up from a nap with a sharp pain in her abdomen, then some kind of fluid flooded her jeans. She cried out slightly and reached for the nurse button. Jason was still asleep, not moving very much.

A nurse came into the room and was shocked, then quickly paged the OB that was on call. Dr. Green was the OB on call at the hospital.

Jessica tried so hard not to push as the contractions grew closer together. The pain grew closer and grew in intensity as time went by. Once Jessica reached the right centimetres, the doctor in call helped her get into the stirrups and Jason held Jess's hand as she cried out in pain and groaned. Jess squeezed his hand as the doctor finally said she could push. The labor of pushing lasted a few hours before the baby finally arrived. Alexis Renee Dunn was born at 5:49 pm on December 5th.

The doctor cleaned up Alexis and Jason was allowed to cut the umbilical cord, a blanket wrapped around the four pound baby girl. Jessica was crying in happiness as she held the small child. Although she was born ten weeks early, she looked so healthy and happy. She had a small amount of hair on her head and small fingers and toes. The doctor had put a preemie diaper on Alexis as well as a small beanie. She looked so cute in her little onesie. She had a pinkish purple tint to her face. She looked just like Jason but cuter.

Jessica held Alexis to her chest for a little while before they took Alexis to the NICU. She was born a bit early, but there were very little complications that they knew of. Due to a genetic condition, Alexis had two blue eyes and one of them was almost a crystal-like blue.

Alexis was taken to the nicu and placed into an incubator, a blanket laid over her as the pediatric doctor examined the small child. She was only three pounds and two ounces. She was only seventeen inches long. She was placed with an nasogastric tube to see if she would handle feeds well. The doctor did however, find a complication due to her prematurity. Her lungs were underdeveloped so the doctors ran a amniocentesis test to check her lungs. She had something called Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Her breathing was harsh and irregular so they placed an oxygen good to help her breathe better.

Alexis also had problems regulating her body temperature so they did place her in an incubator to keep her warm. They also, unfortunately, found an abnormality with her digestive system. She was unable to absorb feedings through the nasogastric tube and they had to place an IV. They gave her vitamins and nutrients via intravenously.

Throughout the first few days, they focused on keeping her stable. She thankfully seemed to be doing pretty well. Jessica and Jason went to see her every so many hours for the next few days. After the third day, Alexis was no longer needing oxygen so they were able to remove the oxygen.

Jason smiled as he held his daughter in his arms, watching over as she slept peacefully, her breathing calming down from the touch of her parents. He was in Charlotte's room, watching as she slept as well. "Hey Charlotte." He said, looking at the ventilator. She was unconscious but she wasn't brain dead yet. "Alexis Renee was born a few days ago. She's a fighter, just like you are. I'm so happy she's finally here even though she's struggling too. But she's fighting. Just like you did when you first had cancer. I promise I'll be here."

He moved a bit closer and grabbed Charlotte's hand, squeezing it and gently kissing her hand. "She looks just like me and you when we were little. They had to give her an NG tube because her digestive tract didn't develop properly. She's kind of like you. I'm just happy she's finally here." He said, smiling as tears fell down his cheeks.

He knew his sister wouldn't last much longer. He didn't forget about the bucket list he had been given by Charlotte. She had experienced a brain bleed due to the cancer spreading. She had bandages wrapped around her head and the ventilator. He sighed as he looked down, knowing the second she went brain dead, or her heart stopped, that he couldn't resuscitate her. It was what she wanted.

He sighed as he looked down at Alexis in his arms. "You're such a brave little fighter. I know if Charlotte was here, she would love to talk with you. She was so excited when we found out we were having a baby." He paused as he used his thumb to brush some of her hair from her forehead. It was brown hair, just like his.

He looked up as he saw Jessica, her purse over her shoulder. He smiled as he glanced at her, then got up carefully, handing Jessica the baby. She was a week old now but she was still in the hospital. They were allowed to let her come up to see Charlotte since the doctor said Charlotte wouldn't last too much longer. The second her heart stops, they were pulling the plug.

The second he thought about it, he kneeled down beside his sibling and held her hand as the monitor began to beep slower. She was only waiting to hear about Alexis. Now that her wish had been granted, she began to relax, her body beginning to slow down until she went limp.

Jason stood there and sighed softly as he held her hand until the tone of the flatline began to play out. He looked down as a nurse walked in, turning the sound off of the machine. Charlotte looked so peaceful and relaxed. He slowly leaned down and kissed her head. "I love you Charlotte. Stay strong and keep being yourself. I'll come and visit you every month and tell you about Alexis and how she's doing." He said as he watched as the nurses got Charlotte ready to leave to get her prepared for the funeral. He slowly exited the room and stood beside Jessica. "I'm happy she's not in pain anymore. That's what matters." He said as tears fell down his face.