Alexa Noel Feldman
July 24, 2001, began like every other day that week. I was thrilled to have completed my summer pre-matriculation course at USF college of medicine the week prior. It was a 6 week boot camp of gross anatomy, embryology, biochemistry, and histology which I voluntarily signed up for. The course load did not count for credit, its main purpose was to give its students a head start for the fall when the classes would count. By the time it ended, I was ready to enjoy the remaining 3 weeks of my summer vacation. I remember telling Aimee, that I planned to live up every moment of my care-free vacation to the fullest. Care-free it would not be.
Midway through the summer course, I learned how frustrating it would be to commute 30-45 minutes back and forth from school. We decided to move closer to school and we transferred to an apartment complex under the same ownership so we wouldn't have to break our lease. The Lord was faithful in providing us with an apartment so quickly, much to the amazement of our new apartment's management staff. Our moving day was set during my 3 week vacation.
During this period of time, Aimee informed me that she was "late." This was not too unusual, Aimee had been late many times. Nevertheless, I was little more concerned about this lateness. You see, Aimee would tell me that this may "the one" for every prior delay, only to find out later that she was wrong. I got used to this. But this time, she assured me that she wasn't pregnant. I knew then that she was.
Tuesday, July 24 was cloudy and gray but incredibly hot and humid. We spent the morning driving around looking for an armoire for our TV. By this point, Aimee was a week and half late. I decided reluctantly to go buy a home pregnancy test kit. I had no idea how much it would cost and was pleasantly surprised to find Wal-Mart's Equate brand 2 sticks in package for only $7.99 (compared to $14.99 for one EPT test). Feeling like a pretty savvy shopper we returned home to give it a shot.
Aimee was glowing with excitement. She has wanted this for a long time. "Do you realize my mom had 3 of us by my age now?" she would often say. Now, it looked like it was finally her turn. She was ready to start baking.
My thoughts were a bit different. I was pretty nervous and, needless to say, I had butterflies in my stomach . I had so many questions. "Am I ready to be a father?" "But fathers are old aren't they?" "Good grief, I am really an adult now!" "If she is pregnant, that would make the delivery in the middle of my 2nd semester of my 1st year in medical school. . . the 1ST YEAR!! The 1st year in medical school is a killer! Am I up for this challenge? Who knows, we'll see when we get home."
Aimee took the test and called me into the room. She quickly said a "plus" means positive and her stick was a perfect +. Aimee was stunned. I was speechless. We had talked about getting pregnant but not for a little while. At least until, he or she could be delivered during my summer vacation.
I felt faint and went to sit down. I remembered in embryology how we learned that only 40% of all implantations would remain viable. Oh no, embryology! I remember all those horrible pictures and how many things can go wrong! I sat down on my computer chair, and an instant message popped up from one of my classmates, Vegas. Vegas would be the 1st to hear the news. He asked if I was serious then congratulated me.
In retrospect, I think Aimee was expecting a more joyous response from me. I was happy, and I knew in my heart that the Lord will take care of us.
I , too was anxious to have a child. I relished the time I could spend with our 2nd graders in Sunday School. I remember being brought to tears after reading a little girl's "sermon" notes from me after class one day. My heart was ready. The problem was convincing my mind not to lean on its own understanding.
During the next week, we informed our families of the news and received joyous acclamations. I realized how much support we had and how the Body of Christ would come together for us, just as He did after Scott's death.
We learned the news of Alexa's sex on the morning of what was supposed to be my third block exams. It turned out that the night prior, I had passed out in the bathroom from a lack of sleep and fluids and struck the my eye on the way down. Aimee was on the phone and heard a loud thump, only to find me face down with my head slightly breaking the plane of the bathroom doorway. I had a very deep laceration circumscribing the skin around my eye. I required 30 micro sutures and a day's delay for my exam. While studying at home, I got the call.
"We have a little girl!"
My heart was lifted and for some reason, I imagined a girl version of myself. Very scary! I hope she gets her mother's good looks. Wow, Aimee and I had expected a boy because Aimee had a dream prior to finding out she was pregnant. In her dream, she was changing the diapers of little boy. We learned that Aimee is no Joseph, and adjusted to this "change" in plans. No big deal, my favorite and most respectful students in our Sunday School class were girls. For some reason, I found boys to be like untamed squirrels at that age.
Aimee has handled her pregnancy with grace and peace. She went through a little evening sickness but nothing more. Oh, she gags every time she puts a toothbrush in her mouth. She tried to convince me that maybe she could stop brushing her teeth. She failed, although I think she did manage to go a day or two one time.
Aimee has not had any unusual appetites during her pregnancy. Conversely, her appetite has become more "normal." Prior to her pregnancy, Aimee could down a jar of pickle juice in no time, leaving the remaining unfortunate pickles to dry like little green mummies. This stopped after she got pregnant. All of sudden, sour cream became disgusting too. Our taco bell orders changed.