Chapter 65
Sarah woke with a start. Her gown was soaked with sweat, her heart was racing, and her breasts ached with the fullness of having missed a feeding. Was it a dream? No, it couldn’t have been. Most of the time, she remembered them, good or bad. Something had her scared.
Feeling her move, Howie woke. “What’s wrong, Angel?”
“I don’t know. What time is it?”
Howie looked at his watch and realized they’d slept through the night. “It’s almost six.”
That set off Sarah’s panic. “Something’s wrong, Howie. Something’s wrong with the twins. Please! You need to check on them.”
“Calm down, Sarah,” said Howie soothingly. “I’m sure there’s a logical reason.”
“No, the only reason is something’s wrong. Why else wouldn’t they bring them to me to feed?” Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
“Maybe they did bring them and saw you were asleep,” tried Howie as he wiped her tears. “You’ve just given birth and you need your rest.”
“I need to know if they’re okay.”
“I’ll call but AFTER I help you get a shower and a fresh gown.”
“No, ‘D’…please. I need to know.”
Howie looked into Sarah’s eyes and saw she was truly scared but before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. “I’ll bet that’s the nurse bringing Caroline and DJ now. Come in.”
The door opened and a young man stuck his head in. “Sorry if I woke you.”
“Dr. Rowe!! You’re here early,” greeted Sarah wiping her tears. “Have you seen the twins? They didn’t bring them to me in the middle of the night to nurse them.”
Dr. Rowe sighed as he sat on the foot of the bed with the couple placing his hand on Sarah’s foot. “Sarah, Howie….I’ve been here most of the night and I know they didn’t bring your babies to you. The nurses called me around midnight when they noticed Caroline and Dwaine were having difficulties breathing. I’ve examined them, we’ve taken chest x-rays, and I’ve started them on antibiotics. I’m going to run more tests but I wanted to let you know what is going on first.”
Sarah had buried her face in Howie’s shoulder and he was holding her as he asked, “Can we see them?”
“Sure, for as long as you want.”
“Sarah’s nursing them….” Howie’s voice trailed off, his own fear seeping into his words.
“I don’t
see why she can’t still nurse them but their breathing difficulties may cause
them not to nurse as well or as long. She may want to express some. My only
request is that they stay in the nursery and no visitors other than the two of
you. I don’t want to take any chances.”
”What brought this on? Was it something from Sarah’s pregnancy or the
delivery?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve looked over the charts and I don’t think it was. They are fully developed but they are small. I’ll know something more definite after I’ve run more tests.” Seeing the concern in Howie’s eyes, Dr. Rowe said, “I promise, I’ll keep you posted every step of the way.”
“Thank you.”
“You can go down now and see them.”
“I need to help Sarah get changed. We’ll be down in a few minutes.”
Dr. Rowe left the couple alone and Sarah began to sob. Howie pulled her tighter running his fingers through her hair as his own tears fell.
“Shh, Angel…they’re going to be fine. We chose Dr. Rowe and his group because of their reputation and he’s doing everything possible to take care of them.”
“I shouldn’t have slept so long. I should have set an alarm or something so….”
Howie pushed Sarah back to make her look at him. “Stop it! Do NOT try to blame yourself for this. Caroline and Dwaine were fine when they were born and they’ve got their own nurses around the clock. I’m SURE that as soon as they noticed something wasn’t right, they called the doctor. Now, let me help you get a shower and a fresh gown and we’ll go down to see them.”
“You won’t leave me?” questioned Sarah in a child-like voice.
Howie smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Just TRY to make me leave.”
“I love you so much,” whispered Sarah as she wiped her own tears.
Leaning in, their lips touched in a gentle caress. “I love you too, Angel.”