Nameless, Blameless Reproduction by JACHMD

When I get the call, I just know. Can I just answer barely awake and go back to sleep or do I need to be up in a flash? Some of it is the intuition that comes with getting calls in the dead of the night over many years. It’s the languid pace of a person’s voice with a bothersome question, the timid entry phrase, “I’m sorry to bother you with this…” Or it’s the fear and panic in the voice of the person on the other end of the line, the short demands with panting in between.

The phone rings at three a.m. The caller says, “We need you in OR four, NOW!” I don’t bother to ask. I just slam down the phone and I’m awake. In an instant, I’m in OR four.

I’m called to assist with a cesarean delivery. In forty seconds, the baby is delivered. The other obstetrician and I close without saying much. We close and inspect every layer in detail. There’s a steady flow to closing the patient’s abdomen. I’m a little tired, but each step prompts another and before long we are at the skin. Afterwards, the doctor thanks me for helping because it can be hard to find help on a case, “You know given the mother’s condition.” I just nod. This doctor is known to take the moms with HIV.