Gariep was the beginning but there was one more event to come. We had spent the following weekend recuperating and recovering from the scare that we had Wednesday night, but also the journey.
Gariep is lovely and lonely. One of those artificial creations of the apartheid era that will endure as a strangely positive legacy, like the voortrekker monument. I even noticed some legacy roadsigns pointing to the "Verwoed Dam". It is a silent monument just a few k's from the national road hidden behind the hills and possibly separated from the flow of the society by a couple of decades.
We slept and we rested, doing very little that Sunday. Ready for the upcoming week back in the metropolis and the stress of its demands and pace. At midnight, Gariep returned like a ghoul. Hayley rode it out again, with little sleep, believing that like before it would subside. But by morning it had not and the cramps were coming and going with the regularity of "labour". So we drove through in the morning melee to the hospital.
Dr Botner (Hayley's obstetrician) confirmed the reality of the labour while the hospital bureaucrat officially granted admission on pronouncement of "false labour". Nothing false about it, but it could be stopped. The wonder of medicine, we marvelled. The wonder of pethidine had taken Hayley's pain when I got back to her leaving her a bit ashen, but happy.
The next two days Hayley returned to normal, the drip and the monitor had shown the pregnancy could continue. As we had determined, we were taking it a day at a time and we had been given a few more days to take.
Gariep is lovely and lonely. One of those artificial creations of the apartheid era that will endure as a strangely positive legacy, like the voortrekker monument. I even noticed some legacy roadsigns pointing to the "Verwoed Dam". It is a silent monument just a few k's from the national road hidden behind the hills and possibly separated from the flow of the society by a couple of decades.
We slept and we rested, doing very little that Sunday. Ready for the upcoming week back in the metropolis and the stress of its demands and pace. At midnight, Gariep returned like a ghoul. Hayley rode it out again, with little sleep, believing that like before it would subside. But by morning it had not and the cramps were coming and going with the regularity of "labour". So we drove through in the morning melee to the hospital.
Dr Botner (Hayley's obstetrician) confirmed the reality of the labour while the hospital bureaucrat officially granted admission on pronouncement of "false labour". Nothing false about it, but it could be stopped. The wonder of medicine, we marvelled. The wonder of pethidine had taken Hayley's pain when I got back to her leaving her a bit ashen, but happy.
The next two days Hayley returned to normal, the drip and the monitor had shown the pregnancy could continue. As we had determined, we were taking it a day at a time and we had been given a few more days to take.
Hayley was discharged on Wednesday the 6th, and I took her home with a doctors note for leave till the end of the following week. She was going to take things easy, stay in bed, get bored and let the little guy grow some more.
Life had returned to normal, as had our denial.
Life had returned to normal, as had our denial.
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