The Best Day Ever by Monique McCoy Owen

 Bags packed, check; house clean, check; cars cleaned, check; and plenty of food in the refrigerator, check. Today was the day for my scheduled C-section at Beaumont Hospital.  For weeks, I had to make sure everything was ready for me and for my twin girls when we all arrived home. I was scared to death. I didn’t know what to expect or what to feel.  All I knew was that I needed my mother to be there with me. Yeah, I had my husband, but there’s something special about experiencing motherhood with your own mom. I called her to see what time she was going to be at the hospital that day. She told me that she wasn’t because it was too far for her to drive. I was crushed. Then I began to try to make her understand that this was supposed to be my day. I asked her why she didn’t mention it before because she had plenty of time to find a ride. She started to say a lot of hurtful things that made me start to cry. My husband came into the room where I lay on the bed, crying. He asked me what was wrong and why was I crying. I told him what had happened between my mom and me. 

He looked at me and said, “This is our day, and no one is going to make it an unhappy one.” We hugged each other tight and, that moment, I knew everything would be okay.  My husband stepped away for a minute and, when he came back, he had a smile on his face. He was able to find a way to get my mom to the hospital without her having to drive so far. He told me that he knew how much it meant to me that she was there, and I loved him so much for that. I called my mom to give her directions to where we would be located at the hospital when she arrived. My husband and I began to put all my things in the car and headed to the hospital.

When we arrived, I was excited because I wanted to see who the little people were who had been inside of me for almost a year. Finally, the time had come when I would be relieved of the sleepless nights and not being able to eat what I wanted. Today I would have myself back, but the only difference would be that I was going to be a mommy.  Who knew that the party girl who wore the short skirts and partied until the sun came up would be a mother?

The nurse came and gave me two arm bands, one for me and one for my babies, which I thought was cute. She had my husband and me follow her to a waiting room to wait until it was time for me to change into a gown. While we were waiting, my mom showed up, and I was so happy. I forgot about the argument that had happened earlier. I was just so glad she was there to see me be a mommy, which was important to me. 

When the nurse came back, she said they were ready for me to change and get ready for surgery. They took me into a room and laid me on the bed to draw blood and connect me to some tubes. The nurse who was doing it was not the same nurse who had been guiding us all day. It was someone who had bad nursing and communication skills. She kept poking me and could never get a good vein to draw my blood. My mom stepped in and told her to have someone else do it. That’s why I was glad my mom was there because I was still her baby, and she was not going to let no one do me any kind of way.

The new nurse who came in was much better and apologized for the last nurse. She handed my husband some scrubs to put on for the surgery, but I wondered where my mom’s scrubs were. The nurse explained that only one person was allowed in the surgery room. I was upset, but my mom said she would be there when I was done, and that made me feel better. When my husband put his scrubs on, we headed down to the surgery room. When they opened the door, all they had in there was a little bed with a big light hanging over it and the surgical tools on a table.

I thought to myself, “What the hell!” and then thought about God. I knew whatever was about to happen, He was in control of it all, and that made my heart smile. When they put me on the bed, I looked at my husband and he looked at me. I knew he was scared, but he was being strong for me. While we were waiting, as the nurse was setting everything up, my doctor came in the room. I was so happy to see her. She and her colleagues were so sweet to me during my whole pregnancy. She always made me feel comfortable and made me smile. I had God on my side, my husband, my mom, and my doctor there, so I was ready. Another doctor soon came in to give me an epidural. I had seen this needle once or twice on television, but when I saw it in real life, I wanted to get the heck out of there. 

This drug was supposed to numb my body from the waist down, so when I was being operated on, I would feel nothing. The needle was very long, and this was the scariest part I experienced through my whole pregnancy. When the doctor gave me the needle, at first I moved with the touch of it on my back. He explained to me that I could not move because it could cause serious problems. I thought to myself, “Give me a break, Doc; it’s not like I do this every day for a hobby.”  The doctor continued with the procedure and gave me the shot. 

Let me explain something to you: This shot hurt worse than anything I could remember.  Getting that shot made me look at my husband and think to myself, “You did this to me. You make me sick. You had all the fun, but I’m paying for it.” Then I felt a little better when the pain eased up a little. 

Now it was time for the surgery, since the drug was starting to work. When it finally kicked in, all I felt from the surgery was touching but no pain. My husband looked at me and said, “Honey, you’re doing well.”  I smiled but was worried because it seemed like forever, with no sign of my babies. Then I heard my doctor yell, “Here’s baby A.” They took my first baby out and put her in her crib and then took out my second baby. My second baby started crying, but that was the best sound I had heard all day. They cleaned my babies and took me out of the room until they checked their vitals signs and everything else that was important.  When they soon came out with them, they gave me one and my husband one, and I cried. I had forgotten about the argument with my mom, the nurse who kept poking the heck out of my arm, and every other disaster that happened that day. At that moment in my life, I was so happy. I looked at my little girls and felt my heart melt.

 Becoming a mother is something inexplicable. If someone wrote the experience down, detail by detail, it still could not be understood. This day, on September 24, 2008, was the best day of the beginning of my new life as a mom. When I looked into my husband’s eyes and began to think about all that just happened today, and the nine months of no sleep, no driving, no fatty food, no going out, and mainly no sex, it made me laugh. Even though I was sleepy, hungry and all drugged up, I found the strength to look at my husband and to say, “Thank you for making me a mommy.”