Afterparty
“The woman noticed that the nurse did not say your baby or your daughter. The staff had been informed of the situation, and were careful to avoid possessive nouns.
The woman ached to hold the child. But should she? What cascade of effects would result from that act? This was the first decision she would have to make in the next seventy-two hours, and it paralyzed her.
The fetus had been exposed to a massive amount of NME 110. No one knew what effect the dose had already had on the child’s develo...ping brain or what the prognosis would be. The mother knew firsthand what permanent damage the drug could inflict on adult tissue, and neither she nor the doctors had any right to expect a mentally healthy child. Initial tests were inconclusive. The girl had low APGAR scores, but she was also born four weeks premature. Only time would tell.
On the bedside table was a multipage form labeled “Final and Irrevocable Surrenders for Adoption.” Not one surrender, the mother thought, but an unknowable number of them, a surrender for every day of the rest of her life.MoreLess
The woman ached to hold the child. But should she? What cascade of effects would result from that act? This was the first decision she would have to make in the next seventy-two hours, and it paralyzed her.
The fetus had been exposed to a massive amount of NME 110. No one knew what effect the dose had already had on the child’s develo...ping brain or what the prognosis would be. The mother knew firsthand what permanent damage the drug could inflict on adult tissue, and neither she nor the doctors had any right to expect a mentally healthy child. Initial tests were inconclusive. The girl had low APGAR scores, but she was also born four weeks premature. Only time would tell.
On the bedside table was a multipage form labeled “Final and Irrevocable Surrenders for Adoption.” Not one surrender, the mother thought, but an unknowable number of them, a surrender for every day of the rest of her life.MoreLess
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