Last fall, my wife and I were elated to learn we were pregnant with our third child.
We'd quietly planned for it to happen but still found ourselves overjoyed at the sudden reality of adding another member to our family. Over the next two months, we mulled names, tried to guess the gender, and -- though it was still early -- broke the news to our 6-year-old daughter. We decided we'd tell the rest of our family on Thanksgiving Day by outfitting our 3-year-old boy with a newly purchased "big brother" shirt.
But something wasn't right.
My wife unsurprisingly felt sick, but it wasn't like the others. More uncomfortable. Less nauseous. Just ... different.
Loss
Fast-forward to the day before Thanksgiving. I was downstairs, starting a new article for the Fool.
My daughter came bounding into my office, armed with her usual frenzied tone and exclaiming, "Mommy needs your help!"
I nodded my head, my eyes still fixed on a particularly troublesome sentence. Then she grabbed my wrist, looked me in the eyes, and insisted in a more serious, almost mature voice, "She needs your help. Right now."
My heart sank when I found my wife doubled over on the bathroom floor, trying not to pass out from the pain.
A few hours and one unexpected surgery later, I would learn it was an ectopic pregnancy. The surgeon had removed her left Fallopian tube -- and, with it, the pregnancy -- which had ruptured, causing heavy internal bleeding and threatening the life of my better half.
Love
It goes without saying I love my family dearly, and it almost hurt more than anything to see them weather such an ordeal.
My wife tried not to cry in the days following the surgery, mostly because it literally hurt to do so. The kids and I cried for her instead. Even now, despite some of my more lighthearted musings here at the Fool, I'll readily admit the magnitude of it all still weighs on me.
I also know it could have been worse.
My wife is still here, after all. Secondarily, our high-deductible insurance from Assurant (AIZ 0.98%) Health also helped lessen our financial burden.