It felt as if Rachael had been holding her break all evening while she waited for someone to come and update her on Sarah’s condition, so when she saw the scrubbed figure approach her, Rachael felt her breath catch in her throat. She hadn’t seen Sarah since they had gotten to the hospital, and it felt as if time had been moving at a glacial pace since that moment. The medics had taken Sarah away, in a desperate attempt to revive the child from her hypoxic stupor. They had ushered the girl away into emergency surgery, and that was the last Rachael has seen of her child. 

Rachael shifted in her seat and stood as the medical professional reached her. At this point, her mind had wandered to the worst outcome, and she could feel the hot tears starting to well up in her eyes. The surgeon gently touched Rachael’s  arm, in an attempt to comfort her, but Rachael shrugged it off, desperate for news. She could feel the dark thoughts tugging at her mind, struggling to make their way to the forefront of her mind. The surgeon’s voice snapped Rachael back to reality. 

“Ms. Montgomery, Sarah is in stable condition.” Rachael let out a shaky exhale, and let the tears slide down her cheeks. The felt as if some of the weight had been lifted off of her chest so that she could breathe again. “She has suffered a hemopneumothorax with multiple rib fractures. We had to surgically fixate the fractured ribs so that they are able to  support the chest a facilitate healing. We also placed a chest tube to drain the blood out of her pleural cavity,” the surgeon explained. Yet all Rachael focused on was his first statement. Sarah was alive. 

“Sarah will need to remain in the hospital for some time so that we can monitor the drainage process and healing of her ribs.” But still, all Rachael had heard was that her first born child was alive.