Picturing Perfect by Melissa Brown, Lori Sabin Page B
Authors: Melissa Brown, Lori Sabin
Tags: Contemporary
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vocabulary. My brain was too scattered to think of anything else to say.
Dr. Myers walked in just a few minutes after I perched myself on the exam table. She was a woman in her mid-thirties with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. I'd always found her beautiful. But, today, she looked stunning, almost as if she was glowing.
"Hadley, back so soon? You were here-" she paused to glance at my chart, "in November, right? Is everything okay?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant," I muttered.
"Ohhh," she said, pulling her stool up to the table where I sat, almost squirming. "I'm guessing this wasn't planned?"
I shook my head while pursing my lips.
"I see…well, now I know why we're in room 4." She looked back to my chart. "Okay, so the first day of your last period was December 17th."
"Right."
"So you're about two months pregnant, assuming you are pregnant."
"Is it possible that I'm not?"
"Yes. Missed periods usually do mean pregnancy, but there's always a chance that something else is happening. Stress, a hormonal imbalance. You've lost weight, and you've always been trim…it could be that you're not storing enough fat to get your period. Have you started a new exercise regimen?"
"No. But, I've been throwing up a lot."
"Ahh. Did you leave a sample?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"I'll be right back. You just sit tight."
Dr. Myers patted me gently on the knee before walking out of the room. About five minutes later she returned, looking serious. She sat back down on the stool and patted my knee again.
"Your urine test was positive. You are definitely pregnant."
"All right." There was that word again.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Dr. Myers asked.
"Um…not sure what to say."
"Well, we can discuss your options…" her words trailed off.
"I don't want an abortion."
"Okay, I respect that," she said with a warm smile. "Lie back, we're going to do an internal ultrasound."
She sat down, pulling the large machine towards us. Placing latex gloves on her hands, she then selected a plastic wand from the side of the machine.
"This is going to go inside of you. It's a little uncomfortable, but as you can see, it's no larger than a man's penis. Just remember to breathe, okay?"
"Okay," I replied, shaking my head at myself.
"Let's get started," she said. I took a deep breath and stared at the projection screen on the wall. The wand was uncomfortable, but I was so focused on the little thump thump thump on the screen that I barely even noticed it.
"What is that?" I asked, pointing at the little circle that was throbbing out of control.
"That's the heartbeat."
"Ohhh," I said, left speechless. My baby had a heartbeat. My baby had a heartbeat .
"I'm going to do some measurements, but I'm pretty sure everything is right on schedule. You appear to be nine weeks along."
"So, that means I'm due in…"
"We'll take a look at the calendar in a moment. Just relax and look at your baby."
"It's so small."
"That's normal," she reassured me as she clicked the buttons on the keyboard, measuring the different dimensions of the baby.
"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"
"Not yet. We'll be able to see that around 20 weeks or so."
"Sorry, stupid question, I guess." My cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
"There are no stupid questions during pregnancy. If you're curious about something, do just that…ask. And you'll want a copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting. "
"I bought it."
"Good. Then you're on the right track." She removed the wand and told me to sit back up.
"Everything looks good. Let's figure out your due date."
"All right."
She looked down at a calendar on the desk.
"September 23."
"Really? That's so soon." My heart was pounding and I felt faint. Suddenly, it was hard to swallow. And the room felt smaller somehow. Smaller and warmer. Yes, someone had definitely turned up the heat in this tiny shoebox of a room.
"Believe me, it's longer than it seems. By the end of July you'll realize just how long nine months is."
Dr. Myers walked in just a few minutes after I perched myself on the exam table. She was a woman in her mid-thirties with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. I'd always found her beautiful. But, today, she looked stunning, almost as if she was glowing.
"Hadley, back so soon? You were here-" she paused to glance at my chart, "in November, right? Is everything okay?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant," I muttered.
"Ohhh," she said, pulling her stool up to the table where I sat, almost squirming. "I'm guessing this wasn't planned?"
I shook my head while pursing my lips.
"I see…well, now I know why we're in room 4." She looked back to my chart. "Okay, so the first day of your last period was December 17th."
"Right."
"So you're about two months pregnant, assuming you are pregnant."
"Is it possible that I'm not?"
"Yes. Missed periods usually do mean pregnancy, but there's always a chance that something else is happening. Stress, a hormonal imbalance. You've lost weight, and you've always been trim…it could be that you're not storing enough fat to get your period. Have you started a new exercise regimen?"
"No. But, I've been throwing up a lot."
"Ahh. Did you leave a sample?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"I'll be right back. You just sit tight."
Dr. Myers patted me gently on the knee before walking out of the room. About five minutes later she returned, looking serious. She sat back down on the stool and patted my knee again.
"Your urine test was positive. You are definitely pregnant."
"All right." There was that word again.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Dr. Myers asked.
"Um…not sure what to say."
"Well, we can discuss your options…" her words trailed off.
"I don't want an abortion."
"Okay, I respect that," she said with a warm smile. "Lie back, we're going to do an internal ultrasound."
She sat down, pulling the large machine towards us. Placing latex gloves on her hands, she then selected a plastic wand from the side of the machine.
"This is going to go inside of you. It's a little uncomfortable, but as you can see, it's no larger than a man's penis. Just remember to breathe, okay?"
"Okay," I replied, shaking my head at myself.
"Let's get started," she said. I took a deep breath and stared at the projection screen on the wall. The wand was uncomfortable, but I was so focused on the little thump thump thump on the screen that I barely even noticed it.
"What is that?" I asked, pointing at the little circle that was throbbing out of control.
"That's the heartbeat."
"Ohhh," I said, left speechless. My baby had a heartbeat. My baby had a heartbeat .
"I'm going to do some measurements, but I'm pretty sure everything is right on schedule. You appear to be nine weeks along."
"So, that means I'm due in…"
"We'll take a look at the calendar in a moment. Just relax and look at your baby."
"It's so small."
"That's normal," she reassured me as she clicked the buttons on the keyboard, measuring the different dimensions of the baby.
"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"
"Not yet. We'll be able to see that around 20 weeks or so."
"Sorry, stupid question, I guess." My cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
"There are no stupid questions during pregnancy. If you're curious about something, do just that…ask. And you'll want a copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting. "
"I bought it."
"Good. Then you're on the right track." She removed the wand and told me to sit back up.
"Everything looks good. Let's figure out your due date."
"All right."
She looked down at a calendar on the desk.
"September 23."
"Really? That's so soon." My heart was pounding and I felt faint. Suddenly, it was hard to swallow. And the room felt smaller somehow. Smaller and warmer. Yes, someone had definitely turned up the heat in this tiny shoebox of a room.
"Believe me, it's longer than it seems. By the end of July you'll realize just how long nine months is."
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