Chapter 3 - The ER and the Diagnosis
Daniel didn't waste another second. He rushed back into the bedroom, pulled a heavy winter coat around Rachel’s shoulders, and gently lifted her into his arms.
Rachel gasped as the movement disturbed her broken ankle, her face burying into Daniel’s neck, her tears wetting his collar. "Daniel... the baby... is the baby okay?"
"We're going to the hospital right now, sweetheart," Daniel whispered, kissing her temple, his own tears spilling over his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I'm so, so sorry I didn't see it sooner."
He carried her down the narrow stairwell of the apartment building, carefully placing her in the front passenger seat of his pickup truck. He drove through the rain-slicked streets of San Antonio, blowing through two red lights until he pulled up to the emergency entrance of University Hospital.
Within three minutes of entering the triage area, the medical staff recognized the severity of the situation.
Because Rachel was seven months pregnant and presenting with severe trauma, open infected wounds, and a visibly deformed limb, she was immediately wheeled into a high-priority trauma suite.
Dr. Sarah Lin, a senior attending obstetrician, along with an orthopedic surgeon, began an emergency evaluation.
Daniel stood in the corner of the room, clutching Rachel’s hand like a lifeline, his knuckles white, watching the monitors as nurses attached fetal heart rate monitors to Rachel’s abdomen.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
The loud, steady, rapid heartbeat of their baby boy echoed through the sterile room.
Daniel let out a long, shuddering breath, collapsing into a chair beside the bed, burying his face in Rachel’s blanketed lap as tears overwhelmed him. "He's alive... thank God, he's alive..."
Dr. Lin looked up from her examination, her expression exceedingly grave. She walked over to Daniel, gesturing for him to step into the adjacent consultation hallway.
"Mr. Morgan," Dr. Lin said quietly, her voice laced with professional concern. "Your wife’s fetus is remarkably resilient. The amniotic fluid levels are stable, and the placenta has not detached. However... your wife is in a precarious state."
"How bad are her legs?" Daniel asked, his voice raspy.
"Her left fibula is fractured in two places," Dr. Lin revealed, pulling up an X-ray on a mobile screen. "Because it was left untreated for three weeks, the bone has begun to align improperly. Furthermore, the deep tissue abrasions on her calves have developed a severe bacterial infection. If we hadn't brought her in tonight, that infection would have entered her bloodstream within forty-eight hours, causing sepsis—which would have killed both her and the baby."
Daniel pressed his hands against his face, his chest tight. "My mother did this to her, Doctor. She shoved her down a cellar staircase and threatened her so she wouldn't seek help."
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Dr. Lin’s eyes narrowed into sharp, defensive slits. "Medical staff are mandatory reporters, Mr. Morgan. Given the nature of these injuries and your statement, I am legally required to contact the San Antonio Police Department and Child Protective Services immediately."
"Call them," Daniel said without a single second of hesitation. "Call everyone. I want my mother put in prison."
