Read Online A Life Everlasting by Sarah Gray - Free Book Online

said.
    Next, I was led to the operating room while Ross stayed behind. I was carrying a bag filled with test tubes that Duke had sent. “These are for collecting the cord blood. Where should I put them?” I asked.
    A nurse put the bag on a table near the back wall.
    â€œThere are instructions in here, too.”
    â€œThey know how to do it,” she said kindly.
    Even though this was now so important to me, I was still concerned that I was imposing. I understand that medical professionals care about one thing—the health and survival of their patient—and in this case, their job was to perform a complex surgery in a way that was safe for the twins and me. Asking them to collect cord blood for some study hundreds of miles away felt like asking a DC Metrobus driver to pull over at Starbucks and wait for me while I picked up my breakfast.
    I’d never had surgery, so I didn’t know what to expect. I’d pictured a small room with a window, like a normal hospital room, with a few hints of baby stuff like a stuffed animal here and there. Instead, the windowless room was at least three times the size of a normal hospital room. There were metal tables lining the walls, another room with two-way mirrors in the corner, and large medical equipment hanging from the ceiling. I had imagined thatthe bed would be the largest thing in the room, but in fact it was dwarfed by all the high-tech gizmos. The bed itself looked like nothing so much as a crucifix with a board on which to rest each outstretched arm. The whole thing was clean and sterile, with not a stuffed animal in sight; in fact, it had all the warmth and charm of mission control for a space flight. But if that’s what they needed for a safe delivery, I could do without the stuffed animals. Looking around, I quickly realized that this surgery was no joke.
    There were already a bunch of people quietly bustling about. One of them, a young woman in a white jacket, said, “I am a resident here, and I would like to observe the birth. Is this okay with you?”
    â€œSure, that’s fine. Did they tell you about the twins?”
    â€œYes,” she said.
    I was glad to have one more medical professional learn something and witness what I imagined was an unusual case. There was no avoiding this bizarre situation, but maybe someone could learn from it. This young student at the beginning of her career added an element of hope for the future.
    There must have been fifteen people I had never met already there, all dressed in scrubs, quietly going about their preparations. One of them, a man with an Eastern European accent, told me to bend over the operating table “like a rainbow” so he could administer an epidural. He told me to stay completely still while he inserted the long needle into my back. If I moved, I could paralyze myself. When I felt the sting of the needle pierce my skin, I let out a high-pitched “Ahhhhh!”
    He told me I should try out for American Idol .
    I had been afraid, and I was grateful for this silly comment that distracted me and put me at ease.
    My legs started to feel tingly and warm.
    â€œHurry up! Get on the table!”
    â€œRight now? Is this where I’m having the babies?” There was no reason I should know how these things go, of course, but nevertheless the surprises kept coming.
    Dr. Khoury was stuck in traffic, someone said, so in the meantime they put a privacy sheet up so I couldn’t see what was happening at the business end of the table. I felt someone lift my robe and, though I was numb to pain, I could feel the vibration of the electric razor as they begin to shave me. Given all the people in the room, I did wonder if they could all see me naked. With Ross confined to the waiting area until just before the doctor made the incision, I felt alone and lost, like I was at a party where I didn’t know anyone.
    Finally, Ross came in wearing scrubs and a mask.
    â€œAm I