Chapter 4 - The Operating Room Miracle
Inside Operating Room 1, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Dr. Vance worked with absolute precision, his scalpel moving swiftly across Rebecca’s abdomen.
“We’re through the uterine wall,” the surgical assistant announced. “Suction ready.”
Dr. Vance reached inside, gently maneuvering around the compressed tissues, and lifted a tiny, silent infant from the womb. The baby girl was pale, her skin tinged with a frightening blue hue from the oxygen deprivation.
“No cry. Apgar is 2 at one minute,” the pediatrician on the team said immediately, rushing the infant to the warmer. “Intubate now! Bag-valve-mask ventilation!”
For four agonizing minutes, the surgical theater turned into a synchronized blur of chest compressions on an infant no larger than a loaf of bread, while nurses fought to stabilize Rebecca’s plummeting blood pressure.
“Come on, little one,” the pediatrician whispered, adjusting the tiny endotracheal tube.
A faint, electronic beep broke the rhythmic hum of the monitors.
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“Heart rate is up to 110. She’s pinking up,” the nurse gasped.
At the same moment, the cardiac monitor beside Rebecca hummed a steady rhythm as her natural sinus rhythm returned. Dr. Vance let out a long breath, wiping sweat from his forehead. “She’s stabilizing. Close her up. Get her to the ICU.”
