CHAPTER 2 THE DIAGNOSIS NO ONE EXPECTED
The room fell into a silence so complete that even the rhythmic beeping of the fetal monitor sounded deafening.
Owen stared at Dr. Carter.
"What do you mean... biological?"
Dr. Carter set the folder on the counter before pulling a chair beside my bed.
She wasn't rushing.
Doctors only slowed down when they knew the next few minutes would change someone's life.
"I believe your wife has developed a condition called pica."
Neither of us spoke.
I'd never heard the word before.
Owen frowned.
"Pica?"
"It's a recognized medical disorder," Dr. Carter explained. "Some people develop powerful cravings to eat substances that aren't food. Soil. Clay. Ice. Chalk. Laundry starch. Paper. Even soap."
I felt my face burn.
"So... I'm not losing my mind?"
She shook her head.
"No."
The single word shattered the wall of shame I'd been carrying for weeks.
Tears spilled down my cheeks.
"I tried to stop."
"I know."
"I knew it was wrong."
"I know."
"I hid it from everyone."
Dr. Carter reached over and gently squeezed my hand.
"Most women do."
Owen looked stunned.
"This... this actually happens?"
"It does."
"But why?"
Dr. Carter opened the blood test results.
"Because your wife's body has been screaming for help."
She pointed to one line highlighted in red.
"Hemoglobin."
Another.
"Ferritin."
Then another.
"Iron saturation."
Every number was dangerously low.
"Mrs. Hayes," she said softly, "your iron stores are almost completely depleted."
I blinked.
"What does that mean?"
"It means your body has almost nothing left to make healthy red blood cells."
She turned the chart toward Owen.
"A pregnant woman's blood volume increases dramatically. The baby needs iron to build her own blood. If the mother's reserves become exhausted..."
"...the brain sometimes responds with abnormal cravings."
"So the dirt..." Owen whispered.
"...wasn't the cause."
Dr. Carter nodded.
"It was the symptom."
I covered my face with both hands.
For weeks I'd believed I was becoming someone disgusting.
Someone broken.
Someone unfit to become a mother.
Instead...
My body had been trying to save itself.
"But there's another problem."
Every hopeful feeling disappeared.
Dr. Carter pointed to another report.
"Your calcium is low."
Then another.
"Your zinc is low."
Then another.
"You're severely deficient in several essential minerals."
Owen rubbed the back of his neck.
"Can all of that hurt the baby?"
"It can."
I stopped breathing.
"But."
That single word became the only thing I could hear.
"We found it."
She smiled gently.
"And because we found it now..."
"...we still have time."
A nurse entered carrying two large IV bags.
One was nearly black.
The other pale gold.
"Iron infusion," she explained.
"And minerals."
The needle slid into my arm.
Cool fluid spread through my veins.
For the first time in weeks...
I felt strangely calm.
As though my body immediately recognized what it had been begging for.
Then Dr. Carter's expression changed.
"There is one question I still can't answer."
"What?"
She looked directly at me.
"How long have these cravings been happening?"
I swallowed.
"About six weeks."
"And they became worse recently?"
I nodded.
"Much worse."
"What changed?"
I searched my memory.
Nothing seemed different.
The nursery.
Work.
Doctor visits.
Everything had been normal.
Then...
A faint memory surfaced.
"My prenatal vitamins."
"What about them?"
"I switched brands."
Dr. Carter looked interested.
"When?"
"About a month and a half ago."
"Who bought them?"
I looked toward Owen.
"I thought you did."
He frowned.
"I didn't."
Both of us spoke at the same time.
"Then who..."
The answer arrived together.
"Lorraine."
My stomach tightened.
Three months earlier Lorraine had shown up smiling with a gift bag.
"I bought these for you," she'd said.
"The pharmacist told me they're better than the expensive ones."
I remembered thanking her.
Hugging her.
Using them every morning.
Dr. Carter asked quietly,
"Do you still have the bottle?"
"I think so."
Owen stood immediately.
"I'll go home and get it."
"Bring everything," Dr. Carter said.
"The bottle."
"The packaging."
"The receipt if possible."
He was already halfway out the door.
The hospital room became quiet once more.
I watched the fetal monitor.
Steady heartbeat.
Still...
No kicks.
I placed both hands over my stomach.
"Please, Sadie."
"Mommy's trying."
An hour later Owen burst back into the room carrying a grocery bag.
"I found them."
He handed the bottle to Dr. Carter.
She immediately noticed something unusual.
"The label looks... crooked."
She turned it over.
The expiration date had been scratched.
The safety seal looked different.
She twisted off the cap.
Instead of the familiar metallic smell of vitamins...
A sharp chemical odor drifted out.
Dr. Carter's eyes narrowed.
"These don't smell right."
She poured several tablets into her palm.
"They're the wrong color."
Owen stared.
"What?"
"The manufacturer doesn't make prenatal vitamins in this shade."
She compared one tablet with an image from the official pharmaceutical database on her computer.
They were completely different.
The room suddenly felt colder.
"These are counterfeit."
The word echoed inside my head.
Counterfeit.
"They may contain little or none of the nutrients listed on the label," Dr. Carter said.
"And they may contain contaminants."
Owen's face turned white.
"So for six weeks..."
"...she thought she was protecting our baby."
"...while taking fake vitamins."
Dr. Carter nodded slowly.
"We need toxicology testing immediately."
Outside the room...
Lorraine stood hidden around the corner.
She hadn't come to visit.
She hadn't come to apologize.
She had come to listen.
Every word.
Every result.
Every whisper.
As Dr. Carter mentioned the counterfeit vitamins...
The smile disappeared from Lorraine's face for the first time that day.
She reached into her purse with trembling fingers.
Pulled out another identical vitamin bottle.
And whispered to herself,
"No..."
"That wasn't supposed to happen."
Her phone vibrated.
Again.
The same unknown number.
Did anyone find the vitamins?
Lorraine stared at the message for several seconds.
Then slowly typed back.
Yes.
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Then a single reply.
Leave the hospital. Now.
Lorraine's breathing quickened.
For the first time...
She realized she might not be watching someone else's life fall apart.
May you like
She might be watching her own.
End of Chapter 2
