A moment later, I could see the baby's head in Dr. Matthew's hands. I could tell he was grinning like a lunatic, even under the mask. A birth was always an amazing thing. “I've got him, push again.”
A slippery baby slid into his waiting hands and he quickly wrapped the child in a towel. Dr. Matthews' face went stony. The baby wasn't moving. There were no cries. The infant hung blue and limp in his hands.
“Suction,” Dr. Matthews commanded. I came in and suctioned the little boy's nose and mouth, making sure that they were clear before he could breathe in anything that would make him sick. There was still no movement.
My heart was falling through the floor.
No, I thought, fighting back tears. Not after all this.
“Again.” Dr. Matthews waited until I had cleared everything, and then began moving the baby around and vigorously rubbing the child's back.
Suddenly, the infant let out a strong shriek of anger at suddenly being cold, wet, having things sucked out of his mouth, and being rubbed. My heart moved out of my throat and I could breathe again.
Tears ran down
Emily's face as I took the baby from Dr. Matthews, did a quick check to make sure he was well. He was now breathing normally and moving appropriately. He lost the frightening blue pallor and quickly pinked. Once I knew he was okay, I placed the baby on Emily's chest. She and her husband both held onto their small family, crying tears of joy. I watched them for a second, enjoying their joy, before focusing on the rest of the birth process.
Dr. Matthews continued to coach Emily to continue to finish her labor. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything but her child. Luckily, her body was doing most of the work automatically.
“Do you want to cut the cord?” Dr. Matthews asked Greg.
Greg looked up bewildered. Dazed love filled his smile and he looked like the happiest deer in the headlights I'd ever seen.
“I guess that was the plan,” Greg replied after a moment. He smiled once more at his son before coming around to cut the cord. Dr. Matthews clamped in two places and handed the surgical scissors to the father. Greg cut the cord and then promptly returned to his baby and wife.
I continued to monitor the baby and make sure that Dr. Matthews had the appropriate tools and bins. We were going to have a lot of laundry to do later.
There was a gentle knock on the door and Donna cracked it open, making sure that she still kept the patient's privacy but that we could hear her.
“The chopper just landed,” she said through the small crack in the doorway. I hadn't even heard it land. “Everything okay?”
“Excellent,” Dr. Matthews replied. The placenta was delivered and Emily's bleeding controlled. He stood up and pulled off his gloves and mask. “And we don't need them. Just a regular ambulance.”
“I'll let them know,” Donna replied with a grin. “Ambulance will be on it's way to come get him.”
“Emily, Greg. The ambulance will take you to the hospital to get checked out,” Dr. Matthews informed them. “You don't have to take the helicopter today.”
“Okay,” Emily said, not looking up at either of us. She was solely and completely focused on her new little baby. As far as she was concerned, he was the only thing in the world that existed.
I couldn't blame her. Newborns had a way of growing on you. They were usually slimy and slippery, but there was something about their little hands that I loved. The way their tiny mouths cried out for someone to care for them always broke my heart. Every time I heard a newborn cry, my maternal instincts seemed to kick in hard.
This time I heard the whirl of the helicopter taking off from the empty field behind us. I'd wondered why it wasn't planted with corn, and now I knew the reason why. It was for helicopters. That made me wonder just how many we called a year.
It wasn't long before the ambulance arrived and we bundled the new little family into the back of the truck. Emily smiled and waved, shouting her thanks to Dr. Matthews, Donna, and me. We stood in front of the office and saw them off.
When the ambulance was safely around the corner, the three of us went back inside the quiet office. I was so incredibly glad that we didn't have more patients. Now that the whole thing was over, I was exhausted and wired at the same time.
“I'll bet that's not what you expected to walk into this morning, huh?” Dr. Matthews asked with a playful smirk as we walked in.
“Not at all,” I admitted. “Look, my hands are shaking.”
I held my hands up, watching them tremble.
“It's the adrenaline,” he said. “Mine are, too.”
Indeed, his hands were quivering just like mine, but with a little less intensity. He took my hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. His touch sent electricity up my arms and my core heated.
As if sensing the effect he had on me, he pulled back, his eyes not meeting mine.