The Colorful World of Love, Life and Living

"I'm so nervous, Mitch." Lei anxiously expressed to Mitch as he was driving them on their way to the hospital.



"Nothing bad is going to happen, sweetheart. This will be just like one of those days when we just visited Rosy for a consultation. Besides, you were doing ok now, right?" Mitch tried to calm her down.


"Yes, but what about the vaginal bleeding I had the past weeks? And what about the almost stabbing pains I frequently experienced on my shoulders."


"Now, now...calm down, Lei. That happened only once. And I am sure it was just brought by the stress from the party we held with our families then. Those thoughts wouldn't do any good to either you or the baby. You are healthy. The baby's healthy." He then added, "Let's just wait what Rosy has to tell us, ok?"


Silence passed in between the couple who were both seated in a car. Fifteen minutes more and they reached the hospital. The nurses prepped Lei for the scheduled tests. Mitch was asked to wait inside the consultation-office of doctor Ramirez. Thirty minutes after, the nurses brought Lei into the doctor's office and assisted her in laying herself on the bed which was prepared for her. Another fifteen minutes and Rosy appeared before them.


"Well, Lei and Mitch, we've done all the needed tests on Lei. I've already discussed the results with my fellow doctor which was why I just got in here now with her." She paused for a second and added, "Alright, no more suspense on the news, my colleague has something to share with you," Doctor Ramirez stated.


"Good Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez," the other doctor greeted the couple.


"Please, just Mitch and Lei," Mitch insisted.


"Very well. Mitch and Lei, I am Doctor Beatriz Domingo. Betty for you since you are a family to Rosy who has been my friend since our years in the medical school. I am a specialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine. Rosy asked me to give you an expert's advice from the viewpoint of a non-family member." Betty gave Rosy an understanding smile. She knew, delivering this news was very hard for Rosy to do. She focused back to the couple and then added, "Based on the tests we've performed on Lei, her hCG levels are lower than we expected them to be. She had vaginal bleeding once which she confided to Rosy in the previous weeks. I was made aware that she also had a spotting once during her first week. The pain she felt was so extreme, recently. We also did the pelvic and ultrasound examinations on her and all of these tests conclude only to one thing. Here are the results of the ultrasound." Betty handed to Lei the ultrasound film.


Lei shared the film with Mitch who sat beside her on the bed. They both stared at the film with mixed emotions. They both sensed tension governed their nerves.


Betty continued, "Mitch, Lei, I am an Obstetrician/ Gynecologist, which means that Lei's pregnancy is not normal. I brought here with me a picture presentation to better explain what I am about to say." Betty pulled out the colourful visual aid which she brought with her for the couple to get a clearer picture of the facts she was going to divulge to them thereafter. "We call it ectopic pregnancy or tubal pregnancy." She demonstrated. "Normally, the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus unlike in Lei's condition, the fertilized egg is implanted outside of the uterus - it's in the fallopian tube where there's not much space or nurturing tissue. And as the fetus grows, it will eventually burst the fallopian tube which was also the reason why Lei suffered from vaginal bleeding."


"That sounds scary, Betty. I mean, for the baby. How is it going to make it in there?" Lei held out Mitch's hands as her voice started to shake.


"Like I've said, there's not much space or nurturing tissue in the fallopian tube as in the uterus. A classical ectopic pregnancy does not develop into a live birth. And I should inform you, Lei. Your life here is at so much risk, too." Betty explained the situation to Lei with much warmth and sympathy.


"Oh, my God!" was Mitch's first reaction. "We only wanted a baby. As simple as that." Mitch looked at Lei and clasped her hand tightly, then he looked towards the two doctors. "Rosy, Betty, I don't want my wife's life to be put at stake here, please."


"We would have to remove the embryo from the fallopian tube, sad to say this." Rosy answered.


"What do you mean remove the embryo, Rosy?" Lei started crying then.


"Let me do the explaining, Rosy, if you don't mind," Betty interrupted. Rosy nodded to Betty.


"Lei, Mitch, we would like to suggest a less invasive surgical procedure called laparoscopy. We'll let Mitch watch through the camera as we do the operations on Lei once you both have decided on this. We'll give you time to think about this. But the surgery basically means that we'll be making small incisions in Lei's lower abdomen from where we'll try to take out the embryo. Removing the embryo automatically means stopping its growth. No growth, no baby, unfortunately." Betty explained. That was hard, she thought. It was not her first time to explain ectopic pregnancy and laparoscopy to her patients but this couple was different. Mitch and Lei were Rosy's family and she felt inclined to treat them just the same.


"Betty, with this case before us, is it possible for me to get pregnant again in the future?" Lei curiously inquired.


Betty discussed further, "Lei, some women who have had ectopic pregnancies will have difficulty becoming pregnant again. But your prognosis really depends on your fertility before the ectopic pregnancy, as well as the extent of the damage that was done, which we will have to carefully examine as we get there in the future."


"I'm sorry, honey. I was excited of becoming a grand-aunt, too. But this one is definitely a no-no when it endangers your own life. It's very rare that ectopic pregnancy such as your case develops into a live birth as what Betty had stated earlier." Rosy sincerely hugged Lei with tears on her face.


"We'll leave you two alone for a while. Press this red button just atop Lei's head once you're ready to talk to us again, ok?" Betty then motioned Rosy to their way out of the room.


"Mitch," Lei cried so hard on Mitch's chest. It was very painful to know that the baby was out of place. But knowing that it will never have the chance to grow is even more painful to take.


Mitch embraced his wife so dearly. He was so hurt, too. He cried along with his wife. Lei hugged him even tighter. They both stayed at each other's embrace for awhile.


Soon, all the tears have been shed. Pain, bitterness, heartaches, and all those stabbing feelings which made them cry bitter tears awhile ago had all been spent.


When they were both calm, Mitch grabbed Lei's hands, enclosed them with his own and silently looked at Lei's eyes.


Lei's tears started showing again as she stared back at him. She embraced Mitch without saying any word. After awhile, she cupped his face with her cold hands and gave him a smack on his lips. She felt that it was hard for Mitch to let the word out from his own lips so she verbalized it for him, "It's alright, honey. This pregnancy isn't meant for us. I know we're going to have a baby at the right time."


After saying those words to Mitch, Lei pressed the red button.