Janetha Richards was terribly excited to be pregnant, but that wasn’t the reason she fainted.
She loved kids so much that she had signed on as a teacher’s aide at her local kindergarten, and she had always wanted her own. She had been trying to conceive for six years, but until seven weeks ago, she had gotten nothing from her efforts except a chlamydial infection from a cheating boyfriend. She had been thrilled to see the pink stripe on the home pregnancy test kit. But she was deliberate and more than a little superstitious, so she had waited to call for an obstetrician’s appointment for fear she would miscarry. After all, she’d had an episode of spotting a month after missing her period, and she’d had worsening cramps over the last three weeks. Then, too, she was 32, older than most of the first-time mothers in her neighborhood in south Chicago.
She loved kids so much that she had signed on as a teacher’s aide at her local kindergarten, and she had always wanted her own. She had been trying to conceive for six years, but until seven weeks ago, she had gotten nothing from her efforts except a chlamydial infection from a cheating boyfriend. She had been thrilled to see the pink stripe on the home pregnancy test kit. But she was deliberate and more than a little superstitious, so she had waited to call for an obstetrician’s appointment for fear she would miscarry. After all, she’d had an episode of spotting a month after missing her period, and she’d had worsening cramps over the last three weeks. Then, too, she was 32, older than most of the first-time mothers in her neighborhood in south Chicago.
Janetha still hadn’t called her doctor that afternoon when she felt a ripping pain in her pelvis. She had struggled to keep smiling for the children, but she was frightened that she was losing her baby. She kept a smile on her face right up to the moment she lost consciousness.
When her ambulance pulled up to the emergency department doors at Cook County Hospital, it was clear even to the medical students that Janetha was in serious trouble. She was barely conscious, despite the intravenous fluids the paramedics had poured into her on the ride from school. Her smooth dark skin was ashy gray. Her pulse was racing. The nurse couldn’t find a blood pressure reading with the automatic cuff, and when she checked with her stethoscope, it was only 70/40. Janetha was in shock.
When her ambulance pulled up to the emergency department doors at Cook County Hospital, it was clear even to the medical students that Janetha was in serious trouble. She was barely conscious, despite the intravenous fluids the paramedics had poured into her on the ride from school. Her smooth dark skin was ashy gray. Her pulse was racing. The nurse couldn’t find a blood pressure reading with the automatic cuff, and when she checked with her stethoscope, it was only 70/40. Janetha was in shock.
