It started with a phone call.
5 years ago today, November 2nd, 2012. It was a Friday. I was at work managing a small retail shop in a city an hour away from her when she called. "I'm in a lot of pain, and I'm bleeding. I'm going to the emergency room. Don't worry. I'm fine, I think." "I'll keep in touch." She told me. She didn't give any other details. She didn't sound scared, in fact, I could almost hear a sense of exasperation in her voice as she spoke. Of course, she was busy. She managed one of the largest sports and events centers in Ontario. That weekend she had a major league basketball game, over nine thousand ticket holders eagerly awaiting the puck to drop for an OHL game, and a sold out Van Halen concert. She really didn't need this. She had to be there. But, that's how I knew something was wrong. She loved what she did, often working 80 hour weeks. Sometimes it seemed like she never went home. She lived for the energy and excitement of opening the gates to the crowd. This was her life, and the reason I was still living an hours drive away.
I had to keep about my day, trying not to worry much for the better part of an 11 hour shift. She assured me I would hear from her soon. All I had to do was stay busy and keep myself occupied, not hard to do in retail. She messaged when she got to the hospital around 11am, and I was relieved that she was there. If something was wrong, she was in the best place possible, I told myself. She kept in touch while she waited. And she waited, and waited, growing a bit frustrated as the pain increased. "I'm just sitting here, its been hours" she text me more then once. "I'm in so much pain now." That was around 5pm, and also when my phone fell silent. I then waited, and waited, but no more texts came. "Hey, everything okay?" I replied several times with no response. I started to worry. We had just seen each other on the 31st. Two days prior. She came to visit and we handed out Halloween candy at a friends house together. She seemed fine? What could possibly be wrong? Hours went by. I checked my cell phone constantly. Checking didn't seem to be helping my crumbling nerves. I was truly worried at this point. That's when I got the next call.
"Hey, it's Sarah. You need to get here tonight, is that possible?"
I didn't know what to say. "Um, I can try, is everything okay?"
"Well, She's actually pregnant and has gone into labor. You need to get here as fast as you can"
With that one sentence, my entire life changed. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of what life has had, and continues to have, in store for us.
