The Colorful World of Love, Life and Living

Lei didn’t eat and drink anything within the last six hours before her surgery as advised by Rosy. To ensure safety over Lei’s body receiving the general anesthesia, an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) was done before the actual procedure. Lei was put to sleep during the surgery so she wouldn’t feel any discomfort. And as pre-arranged by the two doctors, Mitch was given a seat at the left corner of the operating room, with an access to the TV monitor, guarded with instant-foldable walls around him. He was seriously told not to come near Lei or any of the doctors while the surgery was ongoing.


The laparoscopic procedure.

Rosy cleansed and draped Lei’s abdomen for the procedure. Betty placed an instrument in the uterus through her vagina. She then allowed a nitrous oxide to flow into the abdomen just below her belly button with the assistance of her lady nurse. That gas, the nitrous oxide, created a space inside of Lei’s body by pushing the abdominal wall and the bowel away from the organs in her pelvic area which made it easier for Betty and Rosy to see her reproductive organs, clearly.

Rosy held onto the instrument, the laparoscope, which was a slender tube, like a mini-telescope. She inserted it through a small incision just below Lei’s navel where she placed a small probe through another incision, which Betty created, in order to move the pelvic organs into clear view – that small probe allowed both of them to visualize all the structures completely.

During the laparoscopy procedure, Betty and Rosy carefully scanned the entire pelvis, then, they systematically inspected the organs - the uterus, the ovaries, and the lining of the abdomen, called the peritoneum. In addition to looking for diseases affecting those structures, Betty also looked for adhesions (bands of scar tissues), endometriosis and tubercles. Both doctors were being very delicately keen in checking every detail because they knew, years of experiences told them, that in case abnormalities were found, they should be prepared either to try to correct them by way of operative laparoscopy, or to take out bits of tissues for histologic examination through biopsy with a biopsy forceps. Rosy injected a blue dye, methylene blue, through Lei’s uterus and fallopian tubes to check whether the tubes were open. When everything was cleared, Betty then surgically removed the ectopic pregnancy and so far, as confirmed by Rosy, no organ was damaged, so nothing else needed to be repaired nor removed. As stitches were unnecessary, Rosy simply closed the incision with Band-Aids. Then boom! It hit Mitch. Just like that and the baby was gone. He sat still, tears flooded down his face, no sound managed to escape from his lips.

After a while, he saw two shadows blocking his view from the T.V. monitor. Betty and Rosy were standing before him. Silence unfortunately enthralled all three of them, shortly. Rosy bent herself lower to reach for Mitch who then cried on her shoulders just like a teenager who got fooled by his supposed fiancé. While still on her shoulders, Mitch looked forward, to where Lei was. More tears appeared from his eyes just by the sight of her. So much pains in his chest. She felt sorry for her wife. God, their first baby and it had to be like that.

“She’ll be sleeping like that for a couple of hours or four hours, the most, when she recovered from the effects of the anesthesia. The nurses will take care of her now. We’ll have her brought to the suite you have earlier reserved. You can meet her there, Mitch. I really want you to be there when she first opens her eyes. She must see you right away to assure her that isn’t alone. Brace yourself as she might show unexpected reactions like how women normally do after this kind of surgery. Doctor Thompson will be right there with you at five o’clock this afternoon. I’ll go check on your families.” Rosy smoothly patted Mitch’s back though she knew, no gesture, nor word, of comfort can ease out the pain from his chest.

“Rosy and I will be checking on some details at my office first. We’ll see you there later at your suite, too.” Betty hugged Mitch and went out of the operating room with Rosy. The nurses directed Mitch outside and told him he will have his chance to talk to his wife once the anesthesia subsided.

Her head ached. Consciousness visited her. Only Black was around her. She blinked her eyes once, then she blinked them again, afterwards she saw Mitch, clearly, staring at her with his jaw locked down. She let her eyes scan the place around and noticed she was no longer in the operating room.

“Mitch!”

“Sweetheart,” was all he could speak out as he held out her hands.

“OH GOD, NO! MITCH! TELL ME I’M JUST DREAMING!!” Lei was becoming frantic almost in panic as soon as she realized that the operation was done. She touched her tummy. Their baby was gone.

“Lei...sshh..Lei.” Mitch covered her with his loving embrace. Tears started flowing out of his face, too.

“Mitch...the baby...our baby’s gone, Mitch.”

“I know, honey, I know.”

Lei was in great pain. It was as if tons of big rocks fell on her body and crashed her bones all of a sudden. She felt sorry for their baby. She felt sorry for herself, too. She knew the operation was coming, she had been preparing for this very day since last week as they went through their therapy sessions with Des and so she thought she was ok with it all. Yet right now, her heart was in chaos. She was feeling so devastated that it felt like she was going through hell at that time. But Mitch got her. He didn’t say anything and instead held his wife close to his chest. Lei murmured some more words but they were incomprehensible as she burst into tears and loud cries.

“Lei?”

“Mom? Mom!”

“Oh, Lei. I’m so sorry, darling.”

“The baby’s gone, mom.”

“I know, dear. Hush now, mommy’s right here with you.”

Thessa embraced her daughter, looking for ways to comfort her child. Lei never often shed tears when she was growing up. She had a happy and great childhood back then. Thessa never had a hard time with her daughter before. She and Ricky always made sure that although they spoiled her with love and pampering, Lei understood all of those set limitations for her, and sure enough, as disciplined as she was, Lei never showed tantrums neither to her parents nor to anyone around her. She was never the bratty-kind-of-only-child in the family. So it greatly hurt Thessa seeing her one and only angel crying like that, in so much pain, the kind of pains they obviously wanted their daughter not to go through ever since. But this time, the situation is different, it was already beyond their control, Lei has got to face them. Poor, angel! Lei sobbed and cried even more while she dug her head into Thessa’s chest and held her mother tightly, closer to her. Mitch’s mother came in. Christina and Emilio followed from behind her. Ana embraced his son and then kissed Lei on her forehead. Christina hugged her brother, too. Emilio did the same. Alex and Mart were also there. They came shortly after Emilio’s entrance into the suite. Mart gave Mitch a brotherly hug. Mitch clung onto Mart with so much emotion all waiting to be let loose. Pain flowed through Mart as he tapped and patted Mitch’s back in comfort.

Lei cried again when Rosy and Betty went inside the suite together with Des. Rosy talked to Ricky and Thessa for awhile to explain what happened in the operating room. Betty spoke with Ana, Alex, Christina, Emilio and Mart, she diligently attended to their questions. Des had her moment with the couple. That moment was a tragedy, everybody grieved, no one dared to smile, and nobody can. Des reminded Mitch and Lei that she will see them tomorrow. Before leaving, Rosy informed Mitch that they would want to see Lei regularly at least once a week for the succeeding three weeks to make sure her hCG level returns to zero. As Betty had explained, both Mitch and Lei learned that the follow-up check would be necessary as the doctors needed to check on Lei’s hCG levels, because if they would find that the levels were elevated, it could mean that they may have missed some ectopic tissues which should be removed with the use of methotrexate or additional surgery, right away; although so far, they had not seen any problem with Lei’s organs when they were doing that surgery awhile ago. Rosy advised them too, that they can go back to their own house as soon as Lei felt better. She was actually allowed to go home on that same day but Mitch decided that they stay in that suite on that evening and will just go home the following morning.

And so tonight, they stayed in the suite. Everybody was gone. Lei and Mitch were left alone inside the room. She was still in his arms, sobbing. Mitch was really hurting, perhaps thrice as much as she was, though he tried so hard not let his feelings freak Lei out. He was hurting for the loss of their baby. He was hurting because he was seeing Lei, in pain. But most of all, he was hurting because there was nothing else he could do to make those pains go away from them. The incident had somehow created an invisible wall between them, as husband and wife, during those past several days. He sometimes slept in the living room just to avoid being near his wife, avoiding the guilt-feeling of having put her in that situation, ignoring his sensuality, temporarily forgetting the need to make a decision whether they should feel sorry for themselves because of the decision they were making or to feel blessed for it brought them closer to their families and friends. He was thankful though that they got to spend time with each other during their last day of therapy at Des’ office but he missed his wife, he missed them so much but terrible pain is amidst them now. And he also thought back of those days when they were at Rosy’s place when he usually saw Lei blankly staring outside of the window panes beside the coffee table. Then, he soon found himself recalling that very night which changed it all.

“Mitch? Mitch? Mitch, wake up! I’m pregnant, Mitch!”



“Huh? Wha...what was it? You’re pregnant! Yo-o-ou’re pregnant?”



“Mitch, why do you sound unhappy with the news that I am pregnant? Are you upset? I thought you’d like to have one?”



“Yes...No. Oh honey, I mean, I am happy....Yes, I am happy that you are pregnant! Honest, I am."



“You see, I am going to be a mom, soon!"



“Yes, you are going to be a mom, soon. That’s great isn’t it? And I am going to be a dad, soon, too! How heavenly! See, it's going to be alright for you, for me and for our baby. We're both going to take care of it so lovingly."

Geez! How he wished none of those days happened for real. Everything could have just been simpler for the two of them. He made a hard sigh and felt a huge lump formed in his chest. How he wished he had not gotten his wife pregnant at all, so Lei wouldn’t have to encounter such loss. You’re a fool, he told himself. He so loved Lei that he never wanted to see her cry at all - out of joy probably, but mourning, never. Damn it, it had to happen, anyway. It happened, indeed. And the baby was gone now. He saw it. He witnessed how it was taken out of Lei’s body. He saw how merciless that major surgery, though how smoothly and shortly it went, has killed their baby. And he just sat there, watching through the T.V. monitor, as their baby was being procedurally slain...he did nothing to disprove of it. Stupid! Stupid! he repeatedly said to himself.

His thoughts back to the present. They stayed close to each other. Lei slept through the night, when she was all spent. Mitch then dozed off into sleep remembering that he had Lei in his arms still.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hon, are you crying again?” Mitch inquired. He was awakened by his wife’s sobbing. He made a short look at his watch which said, 9:00.

“Sorry. I tried not to wake you up. I already got us breakfast. I bought them from the canteen downstairs but on my way up here, I saw another expectant mother. She tactlessly talked to me about how happy she was for the baby’s arrival. She said her doctor confirmed her pregnancy was fine and that she’s due next month. I was happy for her but as soon as I reached our suite, sadness struck me again.” Lei was in tears again but she was trying to control them as she wiped her tears with tissues she took out from a box set on top of the table below their closet.

Damn it! How careless that pregnant mother was. “Oh, poor dear! I should have bought our breakfast instead.”

“No, I wanted to do it for a change.”

“Fine. Calm down now, sweetheart, please. Let’s have this breakfast then we’ll vanish from here.”

They billed out and got a clearance from the hospital. They proceeded to Des’ office who warmly greeted them with a smile and a hug. They talked for awhile but Des received an emergency call from another patient. Her face blushed; she was embarrassed that she had to excuse herself to attend to her other patient. Mitch told Des it was ok, they were feeling worn out any way. Des asked them to return the next day and promised that will not happen again and will make up for the lost hours. Lei bade her goodbye as she followed Mitch from behind to find their way out of De’s office.

Lei’s head was on Mitch’s right shoulder while he was driving for them. The car was running 20 km/h. They were both talking about the baby, the surgery, how their families had supported them. But they especially talked about Rosy and Betty, how the two made it possible for them to go through this ordeal with the least worries and pains possible. They talked about what they learned from Des, too. Then Lei heard the car squeaked.

“Hon? What happened?”

“I saw something.”

“What was it, Mitch?”

“I don’t know but something tells me it was a baby. Just a second, I’ll go check it out.”

Lei felt a little impatient. She wondered what took Mitch so long, outside. She released herself from the secured clasps of the seat belt and decided to go out of the car to look for Mitch.

“Mitch? What’s...?”

“It’s a baby, Lei. A baby just under the nose of our car with its mother right over there.” He pointed towards the direction of the mother who was probably 20 meters away from the baby.

“Oh my God! The mother’s bleeding to death! Some gang must have attacked her here on the road.” Lei widened her eyes at the sight of the accident. It was gross. The mother’s clothes were that of rugs and she was terribly bleeding all over. Mitch couldn’t figure out where the blood was exactly coming from. He was afraid to touch her for fear of hurting her even more. While she froze...she stood in front of the baby whom the mother must have tried to keep secured before some prankster stabbed her. She was trying to analyze how young the baby was. The baby’s a girl and probably just four months old.

“Hon, snap it out.” Mitch was calling to her now. “Lei, why don’t you get your mobile and call 911 for help? I’ll call Rosy and Betty to see if they can order the hospital’s ambulance to come meet us here. Whichever comes first should be fine. The mother has to see a doctor asap.” He instructed Lei as he carried the baby in his arms and approached the car to search for his mobile, too.

Five minutes later, both the 911 rescue team and the ambulance issued by the hospital as requested by Rosy, were all there at the scene. The 911 team contacted the Social Services agency for assistance about the baby; the inspector looked for ways to identify the mother’s name and to see if he can get a hold of her relatives, while the rest of the team was checking on her physical condition.

The inspector asked a few questions to Mitch and Lei then thanked them for their call. Soon, they brought the mother and the baby to the nearest hospital for immediate care and the Social Services representative asked them to go with her for further questioning which the two courteously agreed on.

They were both at the Social Services agency’s office and Vienne, being the specialist-in-charge, tried squeezing out for more details about how Mitch and Lei saw the mother and the baby on the scene. She asked if there were any people around whom they may have noticed at the scene or if they may have seen some note inserted in the baby’s clothes or something before the rescue team arrived. Another social worker approached Vienne who graciously excused herself afterwards. Mitch encompassed Lei’s shoulders and kept her still in his arms. Then Vienne came back with a look on her face unknown to the couple.

“Is there something wrong, Vienne?” Mitch instigated.

“Yes. I received a call from the inspector who was among the 911 rescue team at the scene earlier. He said the mother didn’t make it. DOA, dead-on-arrival, the doctor announced.”

“Oh, God!” Lei clung onto Mitch’s arms, tighter. Mitch responded by hugging her to his chest.

“And what’s worse, the inspector found out that the mother was Mrs. Cherry Woods.”

“You especially know her?” Mitch searched through the specialist’s face as she obviously looked personally affected having mentioned her name.

“Not technically. Mrs. Woods was one of the beggars that our agency helped once before when the police department caught her scattered along the streets begging for money. We had her here at our care for four months, educating her, attending to all her physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. She just gave birth to a daughter when we saw her. But after four months, she left without any due notice. But just last week, we received a thank-you-letter from her expressing her gratitude for all the care she has received from us. She wished to care for her baby on her own so she left.”

“And you said she was a beggar. Where’s her husband?” Lei asked further with much concern this time.

“I’m afraid that’s what’s troubling me even more. We’ve learned from Cherry back then that Mr. Woods was killed, by some burglar who barged into their tent settled under the bridge behind the police station, a couple of months ago prior to seeing his daughter’s face. After that incident, she went out through the streets begging for money and food.”

“What’s going to happen to the little girl, then?” Mitch asked again.

“We’re going to look for some foster parents for her. Or, perhaps we will coordinate with the orphanage to help us find suitable parents for the baby.”

Lei looked towards Mitch. He took out something from his pocket.

“Vienne, this is my calling card. If no other immediate relative appears, to claim for the baby, please, do call me. We’d sure be glad to take care for the baby.”

Vienne read the inscriptions on that rectangular small card. “Will do, Mr. Alvarez. I certainly will. Now, I wouldn’t take much of your time, but thank you so much for all the information and help you’ve extended today.”

“The pleasure’s ours,” the couple responded together.