The Father's Choice Husband
Chapter 34
That day, I will have my first surgery. Something that I had been afraid of, I had to experience as well. I resigned completely, even if I had to die that day.
The nurse helped me wear surgery clothes that I've only seen in movies. For some reason, my heart was pounding faster than usual. Aak grasped my hand tightly, trying to strengthen me.
"If something bad happens to both of us, please let us know, Mas. I'm sorry that I've done so much wrong with you. Please wish us all the best, ma'am" I said before the nurse took me to the operating room.
"You can't say that, Dek. You must be strong! You must endure, so that our child is also strong and can survive," Mas Aak replied while rubbing the corner of his eye with the index finger and thumb of his right hand.
I nodded and smiled faintly, trying to calm my husband who looked very different from what he used to be at the beginning of our marriage. Although in my heart, I was not sure I would survive, insisting on my condition which seemed to be very severe. One thing that calmed me down was that the mother who died from childbirth would be judged a martyr's reward, so I was very prepared for that to happen.
Shortly after, the nurse led me to the operating room, which felt very cold to the bone. I got a few injections before the doctors started to perform a cesarean section to get my baby out. I wasn't fully sedated, but still I wasn't fully aware of what was going on in the operating room.
When my consciousness fully recovered, I was already in a different room from the room before I had surgery. I saw my mother standing guard on my side of the bed.
"Mom" I said softly.
"Where, Mel? What is it feeling? Is anyone sick?" my mother answered while looking at my situation.
"My son, how's he doing, Mom?" tanyaku later.
"She's now in the NICU room, but I haven't seen her face either. Only his father can deliver to the special room earlier. She said she was a girl, definitely beautiful and adorable," my mother replied with a smile.
I smiled with relief, and my son was still alive. Hopefully he can survive until later.
"So, where's Mas Aak now, Mom? Are you still waiting for my baby?" ask again.
"No, the baby can't wait. Aak just wanted to buy baby equipment as requested by the nurse. You guys haven't prepared at all, have you?"
I nodded lethargicly. How do you prepare? My gestational age hasn't even been seven months. In addition, according to the belief it is not possible to buy baby equipment before the age of seven months, so it is not our fault, right?
Not long after, Mas Aak came to my room.
"Where, Ak? Is this all right?" My mother welcomed Mas Aak's arrival with a question that represented my question.
"Here you go, ma'am" Mas Aak replied as he sat in the long chair that was used to wait for patients.
"What's the condition of our son, Mom?" I also asked.
"He's fine. Woman, beautiful as you are," Mas Aak replied flattering me, as I recall this time my husband praised me like that.
"No, you can't take pictures while you're in the hospital. I also did not enter the room where he was treated. It was only allowed to drive to the front of the room, continue to be asked to take care of the administration and other needs of our baby," explained Mas Aak made me a little disappointed. The rules at this hospital are pretty strict.
"How do we pay for hospital fees, Mas? The cost of treatment is the same medicine, not to mention the cost of surgery, and also the cost to take care of our children, in the incubator must be expensive right?" I ventured to discuss this, after yesterday I held it, because my head hurts almost every time.
"We're calm, Dek. All covered by health insurance, including our baby, I have taken care of bail also for our baby," Mas Aak replied casually. It seems like Mas Aak is not lying to calm me down.
"Health insurance? Since when do I have bail? Aren't we not that good?" I was confused by that awkward answer.
"I made yesterday when you were treated here, fortunately you can be active immediately after I pay. So it can be covered all, most only for the hero who has to cost himself," explained Mas Aak makes me a little relieved even though it still feels heavy, for those of us who do not have the slightest money.
"Where do you get your money for your daily expenses? I didn't ask Mom, did I? I don't want to continue to bother Mom," I asked again, without trying to corner Mas Aak.
"No. I didn't ask Mom for money. I sell my vespaku, Dek," Mas Aak replied calmly.
"Huh? Sale, Mas?" I raised my voice.
Cook nodded without hesitation. In my heart, I felt guilty again, because of me, Mas Aak had to lose something that he loved so much. But on the other hand, I felt salute, Mas Aak was willing to sacrifice like that for our needs. It seemed like he was really an adult, even though it was a little late.
Shortly after, the nurse came to check on my condition, while giving me a message about what I should do as a new mother who should take care of myself post-surgery, should also prepare to breastfeed my daughter, although it cannot be directly. The nurse also told me how to pump breast milk and so on, making me feel like I really have become a mother.
"Mom, even though the baby isn't here, it should still be considered that she's here huh, ma'am. So once every two hours, it must be pumped, and accommodated, then handed over to the Melati room. Let the production of acid is smooth, so the baby mother does not lack breast milk, either while still being treated, or after returning home later," explained the nurse as she prepared to leave my room.
"When can I see my daughter, Sus?" askaku expectantly. I can't wait to see my daughter, especially when I see the sound of crying babies from other rooms, making me feel more miserable.
"Tomorrow if you can escape the infusion, Mom. I could shower, so it was clean. Because entering the special room the baby must be in a sterile condition, for the sake of the health of all the babies who are there," explained the nurse with a smile.
I nodded in understanding, the most important thing now is that I have to follow what the nurse's advice is. So that everything goes well.
***
A few days in the ward, I remained calm while continuing to do what the doctors and nurses suggested. After all, Mas Aak every day asked my daughter's condition to the baby nurse, even though he did not see it directly, but the nurse always told me how the latest condition of my daughter every time Mas Aak came.
Until the night of the third day post-surgery, I couldn't sleep at all. My feelings are not out of whack. Especially in the morning, the nurse from the Melati ward called the parents of my baby through a loudspeaker, an unprecedented thing.
"Mass? What's the matter?"
