My Miscarriage in Another Country – Part 1
“What do you mean,” I asked, reclining on the medical table in the infirmary. “I just need some pain reliever for the cramping.”
“You are being disembarked here.”
“Excuse me?” I sat up abruptly.
“Miss, calm down, or we will strap you to the table…”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. What do you mean I’m being disembarked here? You mean you’re leaving me in Turkey?”
We were two days into our seven-day Mediterranean cruise. The boat was amazing; our room was beautiful, our balcony was fabulous, and the food was outstanding… Everything was perfect. Except that, I was having a miscarriage, and we were being kicked off the cruise.
Did your doctor know?
“I went to my doctor a few days ago, and she told me I could come on this cruise!”
“Did your doctor know you were having a miscarriage?”
“Well. She said it was possible based on the ultrasound but that since I was early in pregnancy, my body would take care of the baby if I had a miscarriage. She said it would be like a heavy period, which it is.”
“Your doctor is an idiot. Any number of emergencies can arise, and if we are out at sea, we won’t have the medical equipment necessary to keep you from bleeding out. An ambulance is on its way to pick you up. The boat leaves in 15 minutes.”
Alan saw the terror on my face. “Emma, it’s time to compartmentalize. Pack your emotions in a box because our immediate focus needs to be getting through this. We can’t afford to have a mental breakdown right now. Pull it together.”
“Sir, you have 15 minutes to pack your stuff,” the doctor told Alan.
“Pack our stuff?” Alan looked shocked. “We are not getting off the ship for good.”
“Sir, your wife will be removed in 15 minutes. If you want to leave your stuff onboard, so be it. But if you’re not back here in less than 15 minutes, your wife will be left in Turkey without you.”
“I need to tell our friends what’s happening and ask them to watch our stuff. I’ll be back before the ambulance arrives.”
Is this really happening? A miscarriage in another country?
So many things went through my mind as I sobbed on the stretcher. But one thought hovered above the others: is this really happening?
The ambulance arrived. They rolled the stretcher into the room.
“My husband isn’t here yet,” I pleaded.
They ignored me as they spoke to each other in Turkish.
“I need my husband…” They loaded me into the ambulance. Just then, Alan ran from the ship to the ambulance.
He had my purse, our passports, and a small bag of other odds and ends. He looked at me as I lay there. “We are going to get through this,” he assured me, kissing my forehead.
“I don’t think they speak English,” I whispered.
He looked at the medic. “Do you speak English?” The medic shook his head no. Alan looked back at me.
“We are going to die,” I said dramatically. We both laughed. Laughing was all we could do other than crying. And once the tears started I knew they wouldn’t stop.
“We have trip insurance,” Alan said as the ambulance pulled into the clinic. “I’ll get in touch with them. They’ll tell us what to do. Surely they can help us with a translator.”
“The doctor speaks German.”
“This is the clinic?” I mumbled to Alan as we entered. “I really think we’re going to die.”
“Emma.” Alan scolded.
The clinic was old, dingy, dark, and dirty. We were ushered to a room in the back. The medic spoke with the hospital workers. One of the workers made her way to the stretcher and smiled. Her lips moved, but I didn’t understand a word she said.
“She’s speaking German,” Alan said.
“I am losing my mind! I thought we were in Turkey!” I said, trying to force a smile. She continued to talk, pointing to my waist and pulling toward my feet.
“What is she saying? Does she want me to get up?” I sat up and threw my feet over the side of the stretcher. She nodded affirmatively. I stood. She motioned toward my waist again.
“Alan, I don’t know what she wants.”
Without further ado, she reached over and abruptly pulled down my pants. I felt like a middle schooler being picked on in the locker room. She patted the stretcher and motioned for me to get back on, half-naked. I tried to act normal.
“How about my doctor, Alan? Will they let me use the phone?”
I was feeling weak. I didn’t know if it was because of the trauma of being pantsed or blood loss, but Alan sensed it.
“Are you ok? Emma, are you ok?”
My Miscarriage
When I woke, Alan was on the phone with my doctor. “They won’t let us back on the ship unless she has a D&C. Do you think it’s safe to allow this clinic to do a D&C?” Alan listened intently. Then he looked at the doctor and nodded yes.
“What’s happening,” I asked, trying to keep my eyes open.
“Emma, you’ve lost the baby, but it probably hasn’t passed, which is why you had such bad cramps. They want to do a D&C and ensure you don’t hemorrhage. I talked to your doctor from home, who said although a D&C is unnecessary since your body is taking care of it, it won’t hurt you to have one. Plus, the cruise line won’t allow us back on the boat unless you have a D&C and get this doctor’s clearance.”
I opened my eyes to look around. “Look at this place, Alan… Do you think they are medically capable of doing a D&C without scarring my uterus? What if we can’t have any more kids after this?”
“Emma, I think it will be fine. Ultimately all it’s going to do is speed up the from the miscarriage.”
“Who told you this?”
“The German doctors. The insurance company sent a translator.”
“Thank the Lord! Can you get me a sheet or something to cover myself? There are obviously differences in modesty here…” I nodded at my naked body from the waist down.
The elevator to the penthouse.
The doctors rolled a wheelchair to the stretcher and motioned for me to sit down in the chair WITHOUT a sheet or towel or anything between my bare butt and the pleather seat. I looked at Alan, my eyes the size of saucers, as they forced me into the chair. They rolled me toward the door. I was still half-naked, mind you. Alan ran back to the stretcher and grabbed a sheet.
We got to the elevator. There was no way we were all going to fit. Alan took the handles of the chair. “Which floor,” he asked.
