Wed morning

after speaking with my very good friend, a surgeon, I realized just how dangerous the C-Section was on Sunday morning. It was terrifying to watch 2 surgeons, 2 assists, 4 nurses and the anesthesiologist circling her preparing to eviscerate her. I can only imagine how scary it must have been for her lying there exhausted in anticipation.

I did not watch the operation, we had heard that it is hard to see your wife in the same way after, so I was under strict instructions not to look at anything. although she was awake, her entire lower body was numb and this made her feel totally incapacitated. They had used velcro to hold her arms out so she looked like she was about to be crucified.

during the operation, her body had a reaction to the surgery and she vomited. this is extremely dangerous because she was on her back. my friend explained that if they choke on their vomit, patients get a nasty infection in the airway. apart from that, they will be unable to move and choking!

WHile I was observing her, I noticed that she was about to vomit. The anesthesiologist was watchign many things and had not noticed. I told him that i thought she was going to vomit. He sprang into action and had tube in her mouth within two seconds. This had A powerfull suction and removed everything - thank goodness he was fast.

she had turned her head to one side as an automatic reaction (which was correct) and even though she retched 5 or 6 times, luckily she did not choke. When i got home that night and started thinking about that moment, i stood in the shower shaking for minutes. it was terrifying.

Aftewards, I asked the anesthesiologist why she threw up and he quipped that the surgeons were the problem, to which they laughed and blamed the anesthesiologist. The joking relived the tension, but could not mask the stark reality that we just stared into the teeth of a very serious problem and escaped unscathed.

I attribute this to the strength in Barbaras body. Most high risk pregnancies like this get bed rest for many months.

One of the (many) criteria for finding a new place to live was proximity to a pool so she could swim. We also wanted a pool without chlorine. I found the condo in three very stresfull days of searching and chose it over a place in the hills I preferred because there was a local health club with a small pool and ozonated water (no chemical treatments). It is walking distance from where we live and served as a great exercise for her during pregnancy.