About Fiona
Former maternity patient at RIE
Fiona was a maternity patient at the hospital, where she experienced several long stays at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion. The portrait collage features Fiona and her son Luke, one of the tiny Howard twins. The portraits are taken on the Meadows; in their background is the place where the Simpson Pavilion used to be. Luke and Fiona each chose and wrote a phrase that represents their story for them.
A rollercoaster day at Simpson’s:
Tiny Howard recounts his in-utero experience
So, here we are at Simpson’s Maternity Hospital Pavilion: Dad, Mum and me. It’s actually Mum plus me as I’m only two months along with another seven months to go until I’m ready to grace the world with my arrival. So far it’s been fine: it’s nice to be cosy and safe in here and to be learning something of the world from all I’m managing to pick up.
But something happened today that’s upset everyone. Mum is very worried that I’m not okay. Dad’s pretty solemn too and not his usual jokey self and that’s made me more frightened. So we’ve come to Simpson’s so I can be checked over with a scan. The nurse examining Mum is trying to keep us all calm.
NURSE: Now what I’m going to do is use this detector to find baby’s heartbeat. It may take a while because baby is still so wee. So just bear with me.
Now, let’s try here…. and here….and here.
She’s moving the heartbeat detection thingy all over Mum’s tummy, back and forth, back and forth. But she can’t seem to pick up my heartbeat. I’m trying to help her by presenting my little chest to the detector as it passes over but my heartbeats just don’t seem to be registering.
I think all the tension in the room has made the nurse move the detector faster and I’m having to swim like mad to try to keep up. (PANTING) Forwards…back…forwards. Surely she must be able to hear my racing heart now.
Then suddenly I must have been in just the right place because:
(SOUND OF FAST HEARTBEAT)
NURSE: Can you hear that? (SMILING) That’s baby’s heartbeat. And he sounds like he’s just fine.
MUM: Oh, thank goodness. And what a strong beat!
DAD: Are you sure that’s a baby? Sounds more like an express train to me. Perhaps there’s a tunnel running under the hospital?
NURSE: Definitely a baby – I’m sure. Telling the difference between a baby and a train was the first thing they taught us on my midwifery course ( LAUGHING). So that’s us, everything is right as rain and baby is doing fine. No need to worry. I’ll just disconnect all of this…
But then a very strange thing happened.
(SOUND OF LOUD, FAST HEARTBEAT)
NURSE: Oh, that’s odd. I seem to have picked up baby’s heartbeat from here too. Let’s try again here with this detector. …and over here with this one.
(SOUND OF TWO LOUD, FAST HEARTBEATS)
NURSE: Well! We seem to have two heartbeats. That means…
MUM: (EXCITEDLY, INCREDULOUSLY, INTERRUPTING) Two babies?
DAD: Two trains?
NURSE: Well, I think it’s most likely the former.
MUM: (DELIGHTED SQUEAL) Twins! Really? How brilliant is that!
DAD: I think I need to sit down.
MUM: (LAUGHS).
So it’s turned out everything is absolutely perfect AND there are actually two of us in here waiting to be born – and nobody knew!
What started as a low day for us all ended on the highest of highs: a twin sibling for me and double the number of babies for Mum and Dad. Mum’s over the moon, Dad’s still coming to terms with having twins but I did hear him sing something about twenty tiny fingers…
And we discovered all that thanks to that very clever and very kind nurse at Simpson’s.
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An update to Tiny Howard’s account:
After a rather precarious pregnancy and a very premature birth, both Tiny Howard babies arrived safely at Simpsons – and they were tiny!
Now they are both strapping young men pushing 30. Their Mum and Dad are still over the moon.
Fiona Campbell
Written for Edinburgh International Book Festival’s initiative Words from the Wards
