Chapter 1 – The Help That Never Came
At thirty-two weeks pregnant, I was afraid to fall asleep. My blood pressure had climbed into dangerous territory, our son’s heart rate had dipped twice, and I had already been rushed to the hospital two times in less than fourteen days.
My specialist did not soften his warning. If I kept pushing myself, we could lose the baby. He ordered strict bed rest, medication, daily blood-pressure checks, and as little stress as possible.
When my mother-in-law, Diane, offered to stay with us, my husband, Mark, and I accepted gratefully. We thought she would help with meals and our eight-year-old daughter, Lily. Instead, Diane watched Mark wash dishes, fold laundry, and bring food upstairs as if I had forced him into servitude.
She sighed whenever he helped me. She told anyone who would listen that modern doctors frightened pregnant women unnecessarily. Once, I heard her tell a neighbor that I enjoyed being waited on.
I cried after that conversation. Lily climbed quietly into bed, put her arms around me, and stayed until I could breathe normally again. I thought she was simply comforting me. I did not know she had begun using her iPad to preserve the remarks Diane made when Mark was out of the room.
The confrontation came during a Sunday family lunch. Although my ankles were swollen and the baby had barely moved that morning, I went downstairs. When Mark stood to refill my water, Diane dropped her fork.
“Pregnancy is not an excuse to be lazy,” she announced.
