Free I Want by Jo Briggs Page B

situation was escalating further, and to save both Elle and
the child an emergency C-section was performed bringing the child into the
world four weeks premature.
     
    ~~~
    July 2004
    The next day passed in a drug-induced
haze. As soon as the prescribed medicine brought the pre-eclampsia under
control, her son was delivered, leaving the hostile environment of her uterus,
in favour of the neonatal unit. Following an anxious phone call from Annette to
Cate about what happened, her sister had shown up the second morning after the
birth. Seeing her sister by her bedside, as she awoke from a short nap, Elle
smiled weakly at her sister’s crumpled appearance. “Hi sis, you look almost as
knackered as I feel.”
    “Gee, thanks.” Cate consciously brushed
a hand over her hair and top. “I came to see my nephew straight from the
airport!”
    “Ha, yes, he is melting hearts already.
Have you been to see him?”
    Cate nodded, “Only through the window
of the neonatal unit though, he is attached to more tubes and wires than I
expected.”
    “They have a few concerns about his
lungs and other things,” Elle explained.
    Cate touched her sister’s hand thoughtfully
“Are these concerns going to affect him long term?”
    “To be honest, I actually do not know,
just having to take each day as it comes, for the time being. He is four weeks
premature, so he needs time to catch up to the level he should be at birth.”
    “Do you want me to get a message to
William through Charlie about his son’s birth? Maybe he would want to see him,
if he knew he was so sick,” Cate asked gently. She did not understand why he
had ignored all of Elle’s messages, after coming to see her that day, Cate had
felt sure he would come running to her side when he found out about the baby.
    Elle shook her head, “No. He has had
his chance. I only want my son to have reliable people in his life.”
    “I know you are hurt by his
silence, but what if he didn’t get the messages, and what if the baby takes a
turn for the worst, and William never gets to say goodbye to him.” The silence
did not sit well with her, and she sensed there was something amiss, but as
Elle seemed determined to go it alone, she would not broach her suspicions for
now.
    Elle turned her face away from Cate’s
gaze “Can we talk about something else please?”
    Cate sighed at Elle’s stubbornness.
“So, have you been out of bed yet?”
    Elle shook her head. “But, the nurse
said that I could try to do a short walk today. I just want to be able to get
approval from the doctor, to leave the ward and head down to the neonatal unit
myself.”
    As the nurse came into the room to
do her regular checks on Elle’s blood pressure, Elle yawned slightly.
    Noting Elle's yawn prompted Cate to
stand up from her chair. “I think that is my cue to head out and freshen up. I
am meeting with Annette and Lawrence for lunch, so I will see you after that.”
     
    ~~~
     
    Elle’s doctor cleared
her as strong enough to leave the ward after completing several short walks
with the nurse’s help over the next day or so, allowing Annette to wheel her
down to the unit, to spend time with her baby.
    The neonatal unit
offered the latest state of the art medical facilities that justified the hefty
private insurance she paid for. Her son was among several others, who were under
the care of a level 2a speciality care unit, as he had needed supplemental
oxygen, until the mild respiratory problems of his premature birth were
resolved. His paediatricians did not have time to give his underdeveloped lungs
a steroid boost, due to the rushed C-section.
    After being buzzed
through the security door to the unit, one of the nurses asked which baby she
was coming to see. “Baby Benedict,” was her reply, as she was still deliberating
what name to give him.
    “Ahh, he is over here.”
The nurse said, leading them to the far corner of the room. “He is doing exceptionally
well considering his prematurity, and we