The Eye of a Hurricane

Lin

A male nurse came in to check on Pippa. One I hadn't seen before, but he had a hospital badge. I continued working on my computer as he took Pippa's IV bag off the hook and replaced it with a new one. He took her blood pressure and listened to her heart. He thanked me and left the room.

Thirty seconds later, Pippa started convulsing. I jumped to my feet and was at her side, yelling for a nurse down the hall. The man who had been there was nowhere to be seen. Another nurse came in and looked at the readings she was getting on the various machines. More people showed up and there was frantic movement. I was told to step out while they worked on her.

I watched as Pippa's tiny body continued to convulse violently on the bed. She'd been completely fine. Then it hit me. The nurse.

I rushed down the hallway to a security officer and told him I suspected a man had been impersonating a nurse. I gave his description and he was on his radio. The hospital was put on a lockdown.

Pippa's doors opened and her bed came rolling out, rushing towards another area. I jogged behind it, yelling for someone to tell me what was happening. The baby was in distress and might need to be delivered early.

My heart was racing and felt like it was being ripped in two. My tiny daughter's life was at risk. All because of some psycho. He'd poisoned my Pippa in front of my very eyes and I'd had no idea. It made me sick. I felt bile in the back of my throat and ran into an empty room, puking into a trash can.

I followed Pippa and her team down to surgery. The minutes that followed were the worst of my life. I wasn't sure if I was going to lose Pippa, or my daughter, or both. I couldn't shake the nauseous feeling enveloping my body.

I called my parents to let them know what was happening and they said they'd pick the girls up from school and not mention anything. With the girls off my mind, I could focus on Pippa and the baby. As if my mind could be anywhere else.

While I waited, I did the calculations in my head. Pippa was about six months along. If the baby had to be delivered today, it would be 3 months early. Could babies even survive being delivered that early?

An hour later I was finally called in. Our daughter had been delivered very prematurely and was now in the NICU. Pippa was stable. She'd suffered arsenic poisoning on both occasions.

I was furious. This man was playing games with our lives. Did this bring him amusement? Did it make him feel like God to almost kill an unborn baby?

I was finally able to see Pippa. She was sedated and recovering from her c-section. We didn't even have the nursery completely ready, though the baby wouldn't be coming home anytime soon. A doctor pulled me aside and explained the situation to me. The baby had been subjected to the arsenic poisoning. It was being flushed out, but it was undeveloped. Our daughter was need to be in the NICU for several months, likely. Her organs were still developing.

I asked if I could see my daughter. They told me I could, but wouldn't be able to hold her. She was stay in her little incubator for now. As they led me up to the NICU, I tried to mentally prepare myself. I'd heard premies were tiny, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight of my little daughter.

She had tubes all over her and her skin was red. Tears formed in my eyes as I sat on the chair next to her. She didn't deserve this. She should still be inside her mother, growing. I just watched her tiny chest go up and down quickly; a machine doing the breathing for her. As devastated as I was, I know Pippa would be even more so.

I sat with her for probably an hour. She was stable, but had a rough road ahead of her. The nurse tending to her was great. She answered all my questions and explained things to me multiple times patiently.