Lily really thought the worst was behind her when she gave birth to her beautiful twin babies. But her supposed pregnancy sickness did not stop after that. It even got worse. 3 weeks after the birth she decided to go back to the doctor to have another ultrasound made. And what the doctors discover on that can only make him profusely apologize… As the days passed by, Lily found herself in even more pain than before. Her whole body ached, she had stabbing pain in her abdomen, and it was hard for her to walk. She couldn’t even properly care for her babies anymore. That was when she decided to tell her husband.  Pradeep was shocked his wife didn’t tell him about her illness sooner. He suggested they’d go to the hospital right away. And it was a good thing they did because, at the hospital, things only got worse. They kept Lily waiting for so long she physically couldn’t handle it anymore… Finally, after waiting for hours, the doctors conducted an examination, but what they found was shocking. They immediately scheduled an emergency operation, as they feared for Lily’s life. But why was Lily so sick all of a sudden? Will they be able to operate successfully? And will Lily make a full recovery? Lily had just given birth to beautiful twins, a boy named Ezechiel and a girl named Zahra, after a complicated delivery. Despite the exhaustion and pain, Lily was elated to finally hold her precious little ones in her arms. She couldn’t wait to take them home and start their new life together as a family. The first week with their two new additions to the family was rough. They don’t call this the no-sleep week for no reason. But Lily didn’t even mind. She cared for her children as if nothing else mattered in the world. And they quickly developed a routine that worked for them as a family.  But three weeks after their arrival, Lily suddenly began to feel sick. At first, she thought it was just the typical postpartum fatigue, but as the days went on, she knew something wasn’t quite right. Her whole body ached, and she felt even worse than when she had birthed the twins.  Lily was experiencing severe stomach pains and vomiting, and her husband, Pradeep, insisted they go to the hospital. But Lily was a bit hesitant. She had two little babies they couldn’t bring with them. And what if she had to stay at the hospital? How would she care for her newborn twins? So, Lily said no. She decided she could go on and let her body heal on its own. She figured it was probably just postpartum symptoms. Or so she hoped. Because as the days passed, she began to feel only worse. It wasn’t until she was unable to walk anymore she thought it was time to go to the hospital.  Pradeep called his parents, who came to look after the babies for a few hours. They expected to be back before dinner time, but Lily had pumped enough milk for the twins to be fed, just in case it would take a little longer. But little did they know, Lily wouldn’t be home for a while… Lily and her husband drove to the hospital as soon as his parents arrived because Lily was feeling worse by the minute. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she painfully held her abdomen. She cried out in pain with every bump on the road, which was almost unbearable for her.  When they arrived at the hospital, they immediately rushed to the emergency room. But, to their shock, it was very busy. The room was packed with people, from children to elderly people, and they all had different injuries. So, even with the severity of Lily’s pain, they still had to wait… Lily quickly sat down at the only empty seat left, and Pradeep checked her in. The receptionist said the wait could be half an hour up to three or even four hours. But Lily knew she could never make it that long. She was in so much pain, she could barely keep her right mind.  After barely holding on for half an hour, Lily couldn’t take it anymore. Slowly she started to slip in and out of consciousness, and before she knew it, she lay passed out on the ground. Everything after that was a blur to her, but Pradeep remembered it like it was yesterday.  He watched his wife as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she slowly plummeted to the ground. He immediately called for a doctor, and luckily, they began to take her pain seriously. They put Lily on a stretcher and rolled her to one of the available rooms.  Pradeep rushed after the doctors, afraid they would take his wife somewhere he wasn’t allowed to be. But the doctors and nurses saw the panic on Pradeep’s face and calmed him down; they would never take his wife away from him without informing him first. That reassured Pradeep a little, but he still worried about her well-being. There was a lot of stress and chaos going on in those moments. First, three doctors rushed into the room and asked Pradeep all sorts of questions while they hooked his wife onto various machines. It was a scary sight, and Pradeep had to try hard to stay focused. Then, finally, Lily regained consciousness again. She slowly lifted her head and looked around her. She was a bit out of it and kept asking for Pradeep even though he was right next to her. After a few minutes, she was back to normal but still in a lot of pain. She had no idea what had happened but was happy she was finally being helped. The doctors now asked Lily the same questions they asked Pradeep. All seemed to be going well until they discovered Lily had just given birth only three weeks ago. The doctors immediately told Lily they had to run some tests, and they took vials of her blood to send to the lab.  Lily and Pradeep kept asking the doctors how long it would take and if they could give a little heads up about what they thought it could be, but none of the doctors gave a clear answer. After waiting for the test results for hours, Pradeep got a text from his father saying they couldn’t stay any longer.  Pradeep’s parents had warned them they couldn’t babysit the twins all day, as they had actually already made plans. But neither Lily nor Pradeep had thought the wait would be so long at the hospital, and Lily was far from being released. There was only one solution, Pradeep had to leave Lily behind. Lily told her husband it was alright and that he should go home to care for their children. Pradeep agreed, but he promised his wife he would come back any time she needed him. They kissed goodbye, and Lily watched her husband walk out of the room. She was left alone in the worst pain she had ever felt. Lily lay in her hospital bed, trying to distract herself from the pain. She watched a little Tv and played a game on her phone, but there was still no news about her test results. A nurse came in telling her she would have to spend the night there, as they wanted to monitor her closely. It was a bit of a shock for Lily to hear she wouldn’t go home for the night. She had never spent a night away from her babies and feared Pradeep wouldn’t know what to do. She called him immediately after hearing the news, but he assured her he and the twins would be just fine.  Lily really wanted to believe her husband, but it just didn’t feel right. She tried to sit up straight, but quickly realized there was no way she would go home on her own. She was stuck here. She had to accept the fact that she would sleep here, and there was nothing she could do about it.  During the night, Lily tried to get some sleep, but doctors kept coming in and out of her room to check on her and on the machines she was hooked to. The following day, Lily woke up feeling a bit better, but there were still many questions unanswered. And she missed her husband and children, of course.  Luckily, Pradeep was already on his way to the hospital. He couldn’t find a babysitter, so he brought Zahra and Ezechiel with him. At the hospital, Lily was ecstatic to see her family. She held her babies in her arms and finally felt better again. But that didn’t last long, as the doctors arrived with bad news. Four doctors gathered in Lily’s hospital room. They had serious looks on their faces, and Pradeep could feel the tension in the air. “Lily, we have some serious news,” one doctor began. “We have found something on your ultrasound. We’re so sorry, but we’re not entirely sure what it is.” Lily was very confused by this. “What do you mean, doctor?” she said while frowning. “Can you do something about it?”  “I’m sorry,” he said while looking at the ultrasound. “But we have to operate as soon as possible.”  “Operate?! Pradeep exclaimed. “Why?!”  “We don’t have much time. Do you consent, Lily?” But Lily didn’t know what to say. Everything was happening so fast. She started to feel panicky as the doctors pushed her to answer faster. It was a heavy decision to make, as she had no idea why they were operating on her in the first place, but it didn’t seem like the doctors would leave her room without a filled-in consent form. Eventually, Lily agreed. She knew the doctors would do the right thing. Or at least, that was what she hoped. But, to be totally honest, Lily didn’t know anything. The doctors kept her and her family in the dark about everything, and now that she agreed to undergo surgery, without even knowing why, she started to get nervous. As soon as Lily filled in the consent form, the doctors rushed out of her room and prepped an operating room. They returned and prepared Lily for the operation and told Pradeep to wait in the waiting room. He had just enough time to kiss his wife goodbye before they wheeled her out of the room. Lily’s nerves only got worse as she stared at the ceiling while being wheeled through the hospital’s halls. They were going at great speed, and everyone had to step aside in a hurry as they made their way to the operating room. Suddenly, Lily doubted if she had made the right decision. But it was already too late when she decided she didn’t want to go through with the surgery anymore. She tried to yell for a nurse, but the anesthesia kicked in, and Lily drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile, Pradeep stayed in the waiting room with two crying babies, hoping his wife would come out, alive. He sat in a chair with the twins in his lab. It almost felt surreal; just a few minutes ago, he had kissed his wife, and now she was undergoing surgery for something mysterious inside her body. His mind raced with worry as he tried to keep his babies content. The first hour of Lily’s surgery was horrible for Pradeep. The twins kept on crying, and he couldn’t keep his mind on them. He kept drifting off, worrying about his wife. Luckily his mother had time to come to the hospital to help with the children, and oh boy, was it needed.  It almost seemed like the babies could sense their mother was in danger, as if they sensed her absence. They were inconsolable, no matter how hard Pradeep tried. He tried giving them a bottle, but they refused. He tried pulling weird faces at them, but they didn’t care; nothing seemed to work. Pradeep sighed when he finally saw his mother. He handed her her grandchildren and immediately started pacing around the waiting room. Sweat dripped down his forehead as all the worst-case scenarios raced through his head. Will she make it out alive? How could he ever care for the babies on his own? He tried to distract himself by helping his mother with the twins. She took one baby, and he took the other, and for a little while, they seemed to settle down. They were lucky to be the only people in this waiting room, or could that be because of the crying babies? After one and a half hours, a doctor finally emerged from the operating room, but he didn’t look happy. “Pradeep, the surgery will take a bit longer. Your wife is in stable condition, but there were complications. We knew the operation would be risky, but we’re doing everything we can to get her healthy again.” Pradeep was lost for words. The doctor spoke to him so casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world. But what could he do about it? Nothing. All he could do was trust the doctors and hope for the best. So, he silently nodded his head and sat down. This was going to be a long wait. Finally, after what felt like forever, the doctor came out again. This time, he looked happier. Not extremely happy, but still. Pradeep knew his wife would be okay. And he was right. Because the doctor told him his wife was out of surgery and recovering. But Pradeep was met with a strange answer when he asked to see her. “I’m sorry, but you can’t see her yet. It’s best for you to go home and come back tomorrow or maybe the day after tomorrow so your wife can make a full recovery.” Pradeep was stunned once more. He waited for hours for his wife to come out of surgery so he could support her, and now the doctor said this? This time, he would not let it slide. “I’m sorry, doctor, but I will see my wife. I don’t know why you would suggest such a thing, but I know my wife, and I know she would feel even worse if I didn’t check in on her after such a long surgery.” But the doctor didn’t allow it.  This set off a side of Pradeep he or his mother had never seen before. It was as if he felt like he was losing his wife. He ranted to the doctor to get him to his wife, but he only made it worse for himself because speaking like that wasn’t accepted in the hospital. After Pradeep’s rant, the doctor called for security to escort him out. But Pradeep didn’t go without a fight. He ran away, leaving his mother and children in the waiting room. But that was the least of his concerns. All he could think about was his wife and what the doctors were trying to conceal.  He ran through the hospital’s halls, desperately looking for his wife. He tried to do it as discreetly as possible at first, but that wasn’t working as the security guard was close behind him. He had no idea where he was going, but he just knew he couldn’t leave without seeing his wife first. Did they slip up? Was his wife in a coma? Why wouldn’t the doctors want him to see her? He ran through the hospital, calling his wife’s name with the security guards running after him. Finally, after shouting her name again, he heard her voice. “Pradeep?” It was faint and weak, but Pradeep knew where it came from. He shouted her name again, and she replied. He did this a few times, following the sound of her voice. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but he had done it. He was so close he could almost feel her. His heart began to race with adrenaline at the thought of seeing his wife again. He ran to a room and peeked through the little circle of glass to see if his wife lay inside. And to his surprise, she was. She looked sleepy but okay. But just as he was about to walk in, the security guard tackled him to the ground. “Let’s go, sir. You have to leave the premises.”  Pradeep felt defeated, but he didn’t struggle anymore. He had seen his wife alive and well. He would go home, care for his children and come back tomorrow as soon as they would allow him. His mother waited for him at the hospital’s entrance, and together they traveled home in silence. The car ride was dreadful. Pradeep didn’t say a word, nor did his mother. She looked straight ahead, but Pradeep could feel her judgment. He wanted to explain why he did what he did, but he knew she would never understand. She was a complicated woman from a strict upbringing. Once at home, they managed to get the baby’s to sleep, and Pradeep finally had some rest. His mother hadn’t said a word since they traveled home, but Pradeep knew what she was thinking. She would never forgive her husband for leaving if it were her in that hospital bed.  She found Pradeep weak, but what other choice did he have? He couldn’t just stay when two security guards watched his every move waiting for him to leave. But then he suddenly thought of a plan. He would sneak into the hospital as soon as the night shifts started. They hadn’t seen Pradeep yet. But he couldn’t take his babies with him during their naptime. They had to stay home. Pradeep sighed. He had to ask his mother for one more favor, if he liked it or not. He knew she would never make him forget about this day, but he had no other choice. So, Pradeep begged his mother to babysit for one more night. She refused at first, but after some persuading, she agreed. “But this is the last time!” she said. Pradeep knew she meant it; she had never cared for being a grandmother. But she also knew this was the only option if he wanted to see his wife again.  Pradeep stayed home until it was 12 at night. That way, he was sure the shifts would’ve changed, and no one would know who he was. He only hoped the guards had changed as well; otherwise, this could all go wrong in an instant. Then, it was time to go. At midnight, Pradeep drove back to the hospital. The emergency room was packed, as he had hoped. So, he acted as casually as possible and sneaked in through there. He avoided eye contact at all times and just hoped for the best. He remembered where his wife’s room was, so he knew where to go. Everything seemed to go smoothly. Almost too smoothly. No one had questioned his presence, and no one had even looked at him. He hadn’t seen a security guard yet, but he stayed on high alert at all times. He was almost in his wife’s room, and he couldn’t help but feel relieved this would soon be over. But when he arrived at the room he had seen her in earlier, he was shocked. She wasn’t there anymore. Shit, Pradeep thought. Now what? But he wasn’t going to give up. He had come so far. So, he started searching. He peeked inside every room but, at the same time, tried not to arouse suspicion. Finally, after looking into almost twenty rooms, he saw her. She was asleep, so Pradeep carefully kissed her on her forehead and sat down next to her. He held Lily’s hand and watched her for a little while until he drifted off to sleep as well. Suddenly, all his worries had gone away, for now. Pradeep was awoken by a nurse entering the room. She gasped when she saw Pradeep, as she didn’t expect him to be there. Pradeep looked at his watch and saw it was only five A.M. “Sir, you’re not supposed to be here,” the nurse said. But Pradeep begged her to let him stay. After explaining the situation as well as he could and playing into the young nurse’s innocence, she finally agreed to let him stay. It was against the rules, but she couldn’t say no after what he had been through. Pradeep was very thankful and would remember this nurse’s act of kindness forever. He sat back in his seat again and looked at his wife. She looked peaceful. He hadn’t seen her like this in a long time, and he knew she needed that good night’s rest after taking care of the twins twenty-four-seven after their birth. He only hoped she would wake up in a few hours, all better.  Finally, after three hours, the doctor came to Lily’s room. He was shocked to see Pradeep sitting next to her, but not surprised. His love for his wife was huge, and the doctor had noticed that the moment he spoke to him. So, he finally allowed him to stay with his wife.  The doctor came to Lily to give her the test results and to talk to her about the operation. He gently woke her up, and Lily was visibly happy to see Pradeep sitting next to her. She squeezed his hand and smiled, but that was all she could do. She was still very weak.  “So, Lily,” the doctor began. “This was quite the ride.” he chuckled and looked at Pradeep. But he didn’t understand why the doctor would laugh in this situation. “Uhm, alright. So, the operation didn’t go without complications. Your heart stopped two times, so you might feel a bit sore from the defibrillator.” Pradeep was shocked to hear this. Why didn’t they tell him this sooner? But the doctor continued. “The reason for your sickness and fatigue was a big mass on your ovaries.” The doctor paused and looked at Lily. “I’m sorry to say this, but we had to remove your ovaries in order to save you.” Lily started crying. Her ovaries were removed, which meant she would never be pregnant again. She was happy to have two healthy babies, but this was a lot to take in. “By doing so, we saved your life, and it’s the reason you’re laying in that bed, alive.” Lily nodded. She knew it was the right thing to do. The whole experience was very traumatizing for both of them. Lily made a full recovery, but it wasn’t an easy one. She had a very hard time accepting she had no ovaries anymore. And her body had a hard time adjusting as well. But eventually, she expected what had happened. Pradeep and Lily went on to live a healthy and happy life together. They realized how lucky they had been, with Lily still being alive after something so traumatic. They never took life for granted anymore and devoted their lives to being the best parents they could be for their two children.