Personal Narrative: The Moment That Changed My Life

It was almost 5am on July 17, 1996, when I was rushed to the hospital. I was balled up in the back seat of my mother in laws car, biting down on a towel because the pain was so unbearable. I heard him say “it’s ok baby… ” just as another jolt of pain came. As his voice faded I could feel him rubbing my back, and I tried my best to listen to his voice and forget the pain. It was impossible though, the baby was coming and there was no turning back now. As we arrived at the hospital I was quickly taken from the car and rushed up to the maternity ward and placed in the delivery room. I was surrounded by nurses and the attending doctors; all trying to get me hooked up to machines and check my stats. Once the doctor had done his full exam he notified us that I was only at three centimeters and still had seven more to go. I began to cry. If it was this bad now, I knew it was only going to get worse.
The doctor ordered an epidural and I was immediately relieved.
When we started to pushing process the doctor said that we needed to remove the epidural because I wasn’t pushing with enough force. The pain was excruciating and in that moment the doctor confirmed my instincts. Something was wrong. I screamed with pain and I heard my husband ask the doctor if I was going to die.
He hugged me tight and told me repeatedly, “It’s going to be ok baby! Be strong! I love you so much!” The doctor grabs a scalpel and forceps and the pain consumes me. I let out shrilling cry and then my body collapses as the pain diminishes from what would be a ten on the pain scale, to a four or five. Then we heard the baby scream as the doctor placed him on my chest. Overwhelmed with joy, we began to sob. That moment changed us forever. I never knew that I could love someone as much as I loved this baby. This baby would be my reason to exist and if I had to do it all again, I
would.