Clara – Part II

Clara’s Test Decision: Prioritizing Extra Pay Over a Doctor’s Anaemia Appointment. The next day, Clara had no time to visit the hospital. She had an opportunity to take on a colleague’s duties for a while for extra pay, and more money is always better. As a result, when she and Nikita arrived at the hospital, Clara was already fifteen minutes late for her appointment. Running into the CBC Doctor’s office, she saw another patient and a nurse sitting with her.

  • – Orlova? – the nurse asked immediately. Our couple’s last name is Orlov.
  • – Yes. Sorry, I’m late. I was held up at work, – Clara lied automatically.
  • – Well, wait in the corridor now. The doctor has left, and the other patients can’t wait.
  • – How long do we have to wait?
  • — Are you late for anything else?
  • – Yes, to be honest, I’m late.

– It’s obvious that you dropped in here in passing. Well, the doctor will see you after this patient. A few minutes…

“Oh, that’s a long time,” Clara interrupted the nurse. “Or if my Anaemia blood report is ready can you just give me my test results? I’ll re-register.”

The nurse, shaking her head in displeasure, handed her the results. Clara quickly found the haemoglobin readings in the table.

– Could you tell me if my haemoglobin level is normal?

Clara’s Impatience: Rushing Through Life

The nurse, having looked at him, answered that he was normal. However, she added that the Anaemia Blood tests were not taken in vain as a group and that it would be better to wait for the doctor and do everything correctly since you want children. Clara thanked him and quickly left because the sale would not sell out, and the apartment would not be won. And museums are free only today.

“Oh, these young people. They’re in a hurry everywhere, and then their CBC treatment costs them a fortune when it’s already too late,” said an elderly patient sitting in the office the whole time.

Months Later: Trying for a Baby Without Success

Several months passed. Nikita and Clara started to “try” with all their might, but there was no good news yet. In addition, Clara has recently begun to feel some constant malaise. Both mothers knowingly tell her that she is pregnant, and all these modern CBC and Anaemia testers do not work. “Go and find out everything from the doctor,” they constantly persuade Clara. Masha is also constantly worried about her friend, and she is constantly whining today at work.

– Clarush, you signed up, right?

– Oh, Masha, yes. The appointment is the day after tomorrow.

– Damn, that’s a long time. You’re generally lethargic today.

– It’s just stuffy here. “And you’re stuffy,” Clara added to herself, got up and went to get a drink of water. But she didn’t get there…

A few moments later, Masha and all the colleagues sitting in the office heard a dull blow. Masha immediately jumped up and ran out into the corridor, where she saw Clara lying on the floor and unconscious.

The Hospital Visit: Clara’s Condition Revealed

Luckily, Clara came to her senses in the ambulance, though she was very scared. Masha went with her and called Nikita from the office, telling him what had happened. When Clara and Masha were brought to the hospital (and they ended up in Clara’s local Anaemia hospital), Nikita was already pacing back and forth at the entrance to the emergency room, all restless.

The CBC Panel Doctors immediately took the patient’s tests. Fortunately, the panicking Masha helped them better understand the situation, telling them everything about her friend, including plans to become a mother and the “bloody waterfalls.” Half an hour later, the same doctor our patient had once failed to wait for entered the ward where Klara had been temporarily placed.

“Oh, hello,” Clara greeted her friend, the doctor, embarrassed.

“Good day, and I wish you good health, too, but you are so impatient and careless,” the doctor replied.

“Can we please get down to business without philosophy?” This time, Nikita, unaware of the whole backstory, became impatient.

“Nikita, calm down,” his wife and Masha hissed at him in unison.

“Well, there’s no sign of calm here yet,” the doctor began. “Let’s take things in order.”

The Doctor’s Diagnosis: Severe

The doctor scolded our patient quite a bit. It turns out that last time, Clara had really bad iron levels—1.2 (with a norm of 9) and ferritin in the blood—4 (with a norm of about 60 for women planning a pregnancy). Now, Clara has zero iron levels. And haemoglobin is only 71 (for pregnant women, it should be at least 110).

*Serum iron and ferritin levels (a special protein that contains a reserve of iron for further use when necessary and for the synthesis of haemoglobin) are the standard for determining in people planning pregnancy, in people with anaemia (low haemoglobin content in the CBC blood test), as well as in screening pregnant women

– Yes, yes, you heard right, my dear hurry-ups. Clara, you are pregnant, – the doctor repeated to the Orlov couple and their friend, who were stunned by such a flow of information.

Emotional Reactions: Joy and Shock for the Orlovs

It turned out that Clara was already in her fourteenth week of pregnancy. Great news! Masha burst into tears, either from joy for her friends or from relief that it wasn’t all that serious. Nikita and Clara looked at each other with silly smiles, not knowing what they were experiencing but taking turns calming Masha down.

– Well, you Orlovs, I can understand. You are shocked for good reason. Clara will have to be put in the gynaecological department for several weeks. We will “feed” her with iron preparations to restore her.

“Doctor…” Nikita began.

“Now, you can calm down. Everything will be fine with both your wife and your child,” the doctor reassured him understandingly.

Masha burst into tears even more. The Orlovs themselves gave free rein to their emotions.

“I’ll buy and bring you that therapeutic pillow tomorrow,” Nikita promised Clara, hugging and crying.

A Happy Ending: A Baby on the Way

Congratulations to our couple; they finally got pregnant. I will say in advance that they gave birth to a nice, healthy Nina.

And now for the moral of the CBC story. My dear readers, the state has come up with a special freebie for you—a medical examination, which includes laboratory tests and a conversation with a doctor about the results and your complaints.