Their Miracle Baby

Chapter 11

When they returned to the village the next morning, Ronnie was there waiting for them. One look at their clasped hands told her all she needed to know, but she couldn’t wait to hear the story from Venetia. It would have to wait though, because they had something of an emergency on their hands. Never before had she been so glad that there were other healers here with her.

One of the reason’s she’d agreed to let American doctors into her little slice of paradise was need. She alone could no longer cope with the needs of the village and surrounding areas, population growth had come here just like the rest of the world. It was both a blessing and a curse. More people meant an entire new set of problems, one of them being medical care.

“Hey, you two. I take it from the big smiles that you had a successful birth,” she said, when they got close enough.

“Venetia was amazing. It was a breech and she turned the baby on the first try,” Lewis boasted.

“She’s a very skilled healer. As much as I’d love to hear about it, I have a problem that just can’t wait,” she said, leading them to the medical hut.

Once they’d dropped their gear, Ronnie handed them cups of tea and they settled down to listen to Ronnie’s news. “It’s a long trip to the village where I went, on the way I stopped several times at other villages for the night and I discovered that we’re about to have a large population increase.”

“What do you mean?” Venetia asked.

“Well, by my calculations, we have more pregnant women right now than we’ve ever had. They’re all due within weeks of one another, many are new mothers on top of that. I’m worried that we won’t be able to attend to them all when the time comes.”

“How many are we talking about?” Lewis asked, remembering seeing several pregnant women in the village they’d just been in.

“At least two dozen in just the area closest to us. I sent a scout out to get a count,” Ronnie said, getting up to pace.

“That’s a lot, but there are three of us,” Venetia said.

“True, but if we start running all over the jungle, we’re going to exhaust ourselves. I think we should set up a birthing clinic here and another one a few miles farther into the jungle. That way they can come to us. It’ll be much more efficient.”

“I think that’s a perfect solution,” Lewis said, grabbing some paper and beginning to sketch a floor plan. “How long do we have?”

“Not more than a few weeks,” Ronnie said, sitting down again. “But together we should be able to handle it if they come to us.”

With the help of the village, a new hut was built and outfitted with bedding and pallets. Ronnie managed to get a shipment of medical supplies brought up the mountain after Venetia considered it enough of an emergency to use the satellite radio. In less than a week, they were ready, which was a good thing because one by one the women were showing up in the village.

Through all the upheaval, Venetia and Lewis still managed to take a few minutes each day to sit quietly and enjoy being together. Often there were few words spoken between them, but that proved to be more restful than a long conversation would have been. Venetia looked forward to the nights as much as Lewis, but sometimes the quiet time fed her soul more than their nights together.

One morning, Ronnie, with a long string of village men carrying hundreds of pounds of equipment on their backs, left for the distant clinic in the jungle. Venetia and Lewis had little time to think about her leaving, they still had their regular patients to treat besides the mothers, whose numbers had grown over the last few days.

They managed to get away for a whole day only once. Instead of spending it out in the jungle looking for plants as Venetia would have normally done, they barricaded themselves in their hut, only coming out to use the bathroom and to steal food from the communal kitchen. When they emerged the next morning, both were walking on a cloud of air, buoyed by their love.

That feeling would carry them through what would prove to be the most challenging few days of their lives. When the first of the women went into labor, Venetia and Lewis were ready, but what they couldn’t predict was that one labor would lead to another until they had their hands full of women in the process of giving birth.

Working as a team, they delivered one healthy baby after another, the hours flying by until after 48 hours on their feet, the last baby was delivered. Venetia and Lewis, exhausted but proud, sank down together on the floor. The new lives and those of the mothers were still at risk but for now they were all safe and sound.

“We did it,” Venetia said, grinning from ear to ear. “I think I’ve become addicted to this. I never thought anything but treating kids would bring me this much joy.”

“I never realized what a thrill it would be to bring a new life into the world. I mean I thought about it, but it’s so much more intense than I thought it would be. It really is a miracle,” Lewis said, putting his arm around Venetia.

“I know, just imagine what it will be like someday when we have one of our own,” Venetia said, bringing a smile to his face.

“But not until you’re ready. One of the things I realized over the last few days is that bringing a life into the world is a big responsibility, bigger than I’d ever imagined,” he said, leaning his head against hers, mutual understanding flowing between them.

That night as they got ready for bed, Venetia was getting ready to take her birth control pill but stopped. Something told her that now was the time, she knew deep in her heart that they were both ready. The idea of a baby had been heavy on her mind the last few weeks, it was impossible for it not to be, surrounded by the miracle of life like they were.

Her love for Lewis had blossomed to something that was whole and real, backed up by respect and admiration. Just the kind of foundation that she’d always wanted her love to be built on. He still hadn’t told her that he loved her, but she knew he did, the ceremony in the village had told her that. It was a public declaration that he would always love and care for her.

She put the pills back in their bag, zipped it shut, and stuffed them into the back of her backpack. It would take months for her to get pregnant, by that time they’d be home, a decision she’d yet to share with Lewis. As much as she loved it there and wanted to come back someday, it was time to go home and begin their lives together in the real world.