Roller Coaster Ride
Roller Coaster Ride
Yanmei could not grasp how nervous she was. Only she was allowed to the NICU and observe the procedures being done for Nari. She prayed sincerely to her god that her heart was okay and it was answered. After the cardiologist concluded that Nari had a healthy beating heart, she happily reported to Anton.
In the afternoon was Nari's cranial ultrasound. Recalling how some premature babies would have bleeding in the brain frightened her, but after the procedure, she was told that nothing was wrong with Nari's brain. She was relieved once more.
Now, she only had to worry about Nari's eyes. It was said that complications to a premature baby's eyes develop over time. Thus, she would have to wait it out and hope for the best. Otherwise, laser surgery would be required to undo the complications to the eye.
Yanmei was discharged from the hospital after another day. Anton practically had to trick his wife to come home with him, telling her that Chan-Mi missed her so and had been crying for the past few days.
However, the minute they arrived at the mansion, Yanmei directly went in search of her daughter. To her dismay, Chan-Mi only wanted to hug her for a few minutes. Chan-Mi was, as usual, looking for her daddy.
The couple was at the nursery when Yanmei glared at Anton. She asked, "I thought she missed me?"
"She did! And now that she has seen you, she playing hard to get," reasoned Anton while carrying Chan-Mi in his arms. "Isn't that right, baby?"
He pecked at his ten-month-old little girl and whispered to her ear, "Call your mommy. Say, mama. Mama."
"Mama! Mama!" Mimicked Chan-Mi. While she was calling her mommy, she was only looking at her daddy.
Yanmei could only shake her head, walking towards them, and kissed on Chan-Mi's cheek. She said, "Baby, do you want to see your sister? I'll show you some pictures and videos."
Trying to keep herself from thinking of Nari, she brought Chan-Mi to their bedroom, showing photos of her sister. She placed Chan-Mi on her lap and opened her phone for her daughter.
"See this, baby? Your sister is so cute. Her lips - her smile is so adorable," said Yanmei.
Chan-Mi pointed to the phone and said, "Baby?"
"Yes, baby. This is Nari, your baby sister. She is still at the hospital and is getting better," said Yanmei. Although she knew that Chan-Mi could not yet understand, she continued to speak to her about Nari.
In a way, it helped Yanmei feel better, not thinking about the downside of the situation. At least that night, she was able to sleep well with Chan-Mi and her husband on the same bed, at least for a few hours.
After midnight, however, Anton received a call from the hospital and it alerted Yanmei.
On the phone, Anton was yelling at the NICU's charge nurse, "Do you know who I am? I am Anton Yeong! I can afford to buy the hospital you are working for! How dare you even suggest that we look for the medicine ourselves! That should be your responsibility!"
The nurse had contacted Anton because Nari's condition suddenly deteriorated and they needed a medication that their hospital did not have. Nari had an x-ray taken, and it was determined that she had developed pneumonia.
"Mine? Mine? What's wrong?" Yanmei asked with worry in her eyes.
When Anton explained to Yanmei the situation, she lashed at Anton, yelling, "They are asking for our help, mine! Surely, they would not call you if they thought they could secure the medicine themselves!"
It took a moment for Anton to see things from Yanmei's perspective.
In the end, Anton used his influence to secure an antibiotic that was only available at another hospital, nearing the next city. He had to make a few phone calls, threatening the said hospital before they finally gave in.
It was known that some hospitals keep only for their patients, some highly in-demand type of medication such as antibiotics and most especially artificial anti-bodies.
Chun-Ho had to secure the said antibiotic, bringing it to the exclusive hospital where Nari was taken care of.
After that call, there was no resting for Yanmei and Anton. They both left for the hospital, notably since Yanmei could not rest at all, learning that Nari's condition weakened.
In that late hour, the resident doctor had to explain the situation on behalf of Dr. Jung. Just outside the NICU, Nari's condition was made clear to the couple.
"Earlier this evening, baby Nari was in distress. We had to manually pump air into her lungs with an Ambu bag. Her x-ray revealed that her right lung collapsed - "
"Why - why would her lungs collapse?" Yanmei asked. Her lips shivered as she let go of our words. Lung collapsing? It was the first time she had heard.
"There was very thick phlegm on her right lung, most likely blocking the entry of the air. So, right now, we are putting her on two kinds of antibiotics," said the doctor.
"Would that not have any adverse effect, doctor?" Anton asked.
"There is no telling. Clinical trials were made on these drugs, but there are still chances of getting side effects. We are, however, observing baby Nari's reaction to the drugs. So far, she is not allergic to any of the two that we have given her."
"The point is, right now, the infection needs to be addressed and we can only cure it with antibiotics. She will have to undergo chest physiotherapy and suctioning in order to take out all the secretions from her lungs."
"Mr. and Mrs. Yeong, we just want you to understand that everything we are doing for baby Nari is for her own good," said the doctor.
For the rest of the wee hours until morning, Anton and Yanmei watched from the viewing window of the NICU how Nari experienced having a tube going down her throat, sucking out secretions and getting tapped in her chest, sometimes with a vibrating machine and sometimes with the nurse's fingers itself.
Yanmei thought it was the most painful thing she had ever seen. Her daughter was going through so much and there was nothing she could do but watch from the window.
She now fully understood what the doctor said about having an intubated premature baby; it was a roller coaster ride and they have only begun.
The circumstance remained the same in the next few days that Yanmei was always at the hospital, returning to the mansion only to sleep at night. Yet, even then, there wasn't much sleep that was happening. Her heart was constantly aching, but for the sake of Chan-Mi and her own health, she had to rest her body.
One morning, she was taken aback by a surprise visit. Her mother, Ning Suyin, had flown all the way from China together with Li Wen and her children.
"Yanmei, we wanted to come and see you and baby Nari. Let me accompany you to the hospital, even for just a few days," said Li Wen with a tender smile on her face.
"I'll stay with you until Nari gets out of the hospital," said Ning Suyin, getting up from her seat and approaching Yanmei for a hug.
While Yanmei always had the support of Yeong Soon, she had to admit; it was different, having seen her mother after a long time. It all the more gave her the courage to face Nari with optimism.
Knowing it was her husband's doing, she looked back to find Anton and said, "Thank you, mine." She hugged him thoroughly and pecked on his lips. "I love you so much."
"I just thought you needed someone else to talk to other than me and mom." He embraced Yanmei tightly in front of everyone and whispered to her ear, "Mine, thank you for looking after Nari."