Thursday, January 27, 2005 (Perth - Australia - SPECIAL)
The ups and downs of the pregnancy roller-coaster
- that is, if Sandy is really pregnant at all. Good doctors and not so good
doctors. Just how long can we keep things a secret - particularly from tenacious
siblings? A T-bone tops off the day.
Day 325 (135). Sandy’s doctor’s
appointment here in Perth, that we booked whilst in Queensland, was for this
morning at ten forty-five. This allowed us the luxury of a bit of a lie in
which, together with the change in the time zone, meant that were truly rested
and relaxed when we awoke. We hadn’t yet bought any fresh food supplies so
we skipped breakfast and walked over to the nearby medical centre to make our
appointment.
Since learning that
Sandy was pregnant, we’ve done a fair bit of research and information
gathering but we still had a few more questions about anti-natal care and such
so we figured this appointment would be useful to that end. When we finally went
in to see the doctor, however, our whole world was turned upside down again. On
the strength of the previous pregnancy test being a urine-based test, the doctor
was by no means convinced that Sandy was even pregnant. He suggested several
possibilities such as a thyroid problem brought on by the stresses and strains
of travelling. Before even entertaining any of our questions, he wanted to order
a blood test by means of a more definitive determination of Sandy’s
potential pregnancy. He was a cold and matter of fact doctor and he didn’t
do very much to put either of us at ease. He didn’t smile once whilst we
were there. I asked him about the Doxicycline issue and he consulted a book
before telling us that this particular drug was a category D drug and that this
category of drug is known to cause birth defects. Although technically true,
this information was quite a shock since it was contradictory to the previous
information we had been given. We had previously learned that the side effects
of Doxicycline are only relevant if taken after eighteen weeks of pregnancy and
even then only stretch to foetal teeth discolouration. We came out of the
doctor’s office not only unsure of whether Sandy was even pregnant or not
but with the additional worry that we may have to be concerned about birth
defects if she was. Once again, I find myself in the uncomfortable position of
not being able to adequately put into words the emotions that were now going
through our heads. We just spent the past week becoming accustomed to the idea
of having a baby and now, all of a sudden, the whole thing is nothing more than
pending. What if Sandy wasn’t pregnant after all? Dare we even entertain
that idea? We found that we were both trying our best not to think about either
scenario at all throughout the rest of the day. We had come to love the idea of
starting a family and neither of us wanted to dare to consider this no longer
being the case. How cruel it would be if this joy were denied us after the idea
had sunk in. We really didn’t want to think about it too much. The only
way I can describe it is that this numbness and shutdown of thought was an
automatic self-defence mechanism to protect us. We were both silently hoping
that Sandy was, indeed, pregnant but to hope for something that is subsequently
ripped away from you is a very destructive and harmful experience. Sandy gave a
sample of blood at the nearby pathology lab and we would now have to wait until
a new appointment with the doctor tomorrow before we could be sure. The whole
thing is still a secret and all we had was each other for
strength.
Whilst providing the blood
sample, the pathologist told us that the doctor had marked the blood test
urgent. As a result of this, the test results would be ready by this afternoon.
Armed with this information, I walked back into the clinic and asked if we could
get the next appointment for this afternoon already – and with a different
doctor. Fortunately, both were possible and I was given a new appointment card
for four forty-five later this afternoon. We would still have to wait for the
results but the less time waiting, the
better.
We were charged AU$50
(€30,50) for the doctor’s consultation but nothing for the pathology
work. We can claim most of this back from the nearest Medicare office but
I’ll wait until the end of our stay here in Perth before doing so, as we
are likely to start accumulating more bills I would
suspect.
After Sandy was done with
giving her blood sample, we meandered back to the hostel. Whilst pottering
around in the kitchen, another traveller, a Korean guy, asked us if we were the
same couple that he had seen in the backpacker’s hostel in Tully,
Queensland. What are the odds of bumping into the same traveller in two
different hostels just about as far apart from each other in Australia as is
physically possible?
I was exchanging
text messages with my brother, Paul David, throughout the morning and he was
able to come up with a phone number for the convent where Mary’s sister,
Sister Jacinta Noonan is a nun. Mary is a good family friend and we had planned
on visiting Sister Jacinta to say hello, as we are here in Perth, but I’ve
not had any luck getting in touch with her so far. With the convent phone number
supplied by Paul David, I was able to finally reach her and we made an
appointment to swing by and say hello tomorrow afternoon. I’ve only met
Sister Jacinta once but she seemed to remember me from that meeting. It will be
nice to see her tomorrow, I’m
sure.
We quite like it here at this
hostel and we’ve decided to stay for a few days. We may yet get in the car
and start touring around the region but for now we are content to stay where we
are and just slow the pace down a bit. This means that we will need to stock up
on food and to that end we drove off in search of a supermarket. Prices for
pretty much everything are elevated here in the city so we headed out of town
for ten or twenty minutes in search of a supermarket in the suburbs, where I
suspected the prices would be more reasonable. After twenty minutes of searching
around, we found a supermarket with the help of a couple of directions from a
passing taxi driver. We picked up enough supplies to feed us for a few days all
for about AU$75 (€45,75). With a car boot (trunk) now full of supplies, we
made our way back to the hostel and found some space in one of the fridges and a
spare cubbyhole to store everything. Some slices of turkey and ham along with a
fresh loaf of uncut bread made for some nice sandwiches for
lunch.
For the next few hours, we did
our level best to try to keep busy and our minds occupied. Judging by my shaking
hands, I don’t think I was very successful at this. It’s amazing how
every second seems like a minute and every minute seems like an hour when you
are waiting around for time to pass. The clock did finally inch it’s way
around to four o’clock and we slowly made our way back to the clinic, all
the while desperately pretending that everything was fine and we were just out
for a stroll. We showed our faces at the reception desk and were asked to take a
seat ready for the new doctor to see us. The next ten minutes were agonising but
the ordeal was not yet over. For one thing, the previous doctor that we disliked
so much walked past us. He didn’t say anything but it would not have been
difficult for him to conclude that we were there to see another doctor and not
him. It was an awkward moment. After a while, the receptionist then came through
to tell us that the lab results were still not yet ready. She suggested we make
a new appointment for tomorrow. Not bloody likely! I asked her if she could call
the lab herself to find out when the results would be ready. Somewhat
reluctantly, she agreed to do so and went off to make the call. She came back a
few minutes later and told us that it would be another hour and a half still,
but she did agree to find us another appointment slot with the last doctor on
duty then. Once again, we left empty handed and somehow needed to find something
to do for another hour. We spent that time wandering around the city centre,
aimlessly and without really taking any of the surroundings in. Once again, we
just had each other for comfort and emotional support. I guess it was a wise
idea to keep things a secret up till now, despite the best efforts of one of my
brothers to try and find out what it is that we are trying to keep secret (are
you reading this Paul David?).
So, we
went back to the clinic again for the third time. This time, the receptionist
confirmed that she had received the results from the lab. She didn’t say
what the result was and I didn’t dare to ask her. We waited for the new
doctor to finish up with the patient he had with him before we went into his
office and sat before him. We tag-teamed at explaining the whole situation and
he picked up the phone to talk directly to the lab right there and then. The
test results were in and they were positive. Sandy was, indeed, not only
pregnant but very pregnant with no room for ambiguity. A mixed feeling of relief
and euphoria overcome the two of us and I remember my shoulders actually sagging
as I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if
this is what our lives would now become from here on in. We still have a long
way to go with this pregnancy and there may be pitfalls and hurdles to be
overcome along the way. Even after the birth, the emotional rollercoaster will
not end with illnesses and other trials and tribulations to test us. Still, they
say it’s just the first thirty years that are the
worse.
We spent the next thirty
minutes or more talking with the doctor about various issues and he was
absolutely superb. He put our minds at rest on a number of issues, not least of
all that concerning Doxicycline. In his view, we had nothing to worry about.
Although he did his best to volley the barrage of questions that Sandy and I
alternately threw at him, he eventually suggested that we would be best advised
to visit the local hospital, where they could perform all the necessary
anti-natal tests and where we could get the very best health care and advice
possible. A GP can dispense good general advice but the hospital will have a
maternity department that do nothing other than deal with maternity issues day
in day out and we will be better off in their care. To that end, he compiled and
issued us with a referral letter and we will go over there tomorrow morning. We
left his office with a content and warm feeling about Sandy’s pregnancy,
even though his blood pressure test showed Sandy as being hypertensive with a
slightly elevated blood pressure. And so the rollercoaster ride that is
pregnancy continues. There will be more twists and turns to come, I’m
sure. When this ride ends, we will get right back onto the next one again
– family. Welcome to our new
lives.
With Cheshire cat grins on our
faces, the two of us walked happily back to the hostel, where Sandy cooked us
each a T-bone steak, whilst I drove ten minutes out of the city to find a fish
and chip shop. I bought more than we needed and we offered the excess to the
other hostel guests. This went down well. As we ate, we all sat in the cavernous
and comfortable TV room to watch a movie. Life is good.
Posted: Thu - January 27, 2005 at 01:16 AM