Eliana's earthly entrance
This is the story of my daughter's birth. We had had to wake up early, but I had not been able to get much rest in. My mind had been wondering in so many places and yet had remained centred on one thing: I was going to be meeting my baby in a few hours. My emotions were intense and wide-ranging; excitement, anxiety, fear, elation… terror. I was terrified. Terrified of the surgery which was required because Eliana had not turned into the head-down position and had remained in breech position for a minimum of 11 weeks. Terrified of the unknown effects I could experience from the anaesthesia that would be used because I had never been operated on before – my appendix, tonsils and even wisdom teeth are all still in place. Terrified that something could go wrong, that I would have to be put under general anaesthetic due to my scoliosis interfering with the administration of the spinal block or that there would be a surgical complication. Terrified that despite regular check-ups and