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My youngest son carl is a little feverish so I woke him up and gave him some meds. I can’t sleep again after that, so I finished the dishes and started the laundry. I don’t have problem with water now because the pressure is very strong (hey, for sure I am the only one up at 2 am and doing these household chores and using water!), unlike during the day when the water only comes out from the shower faucet (well, at least we can still have a shower during the day).

While the washing machine is doing its work (I am so thankful I already got an automatic washer, saves me a lot of stress!), I watched the 17th episode of House, MD’s Season 3 titled Fetal Position. The plot is about a 42 year old pregnant photographer, Emma Sloan, who suffered a stroke while doing shoots for a rock star (whom I thought was the one who’ll be sick because of his looks). House concluded that she has a mirror syndrome, or a condition that the symptoms in the mother reflect symptoms in the fetus, but in this case, its the fetus who’s dying and could take the mother with it. House said to Emma that she needs to abort the 21-week old boy fetus, otherwise she’s dead in two days. Emma declined to have an abortion, but gave House two days more to find what they could do to save them both.

The team, together with interventions from the hospital directress Dr. Lisa Cuddy, went through some series of tests before they finally got the right diagnosis (the usual flow of all House episodes). The team decided to do exploratory surgery to the fetus’ developing lungs. During the operation, they cut open the mother’s womb then another doctor tried to drain the amniotic fluid but Dr. House got impatient so he did it himself. Then the baby’s hand emerged weakly and grasped House’s index finger. House, in response, paused for a moment and reacted by touching the tiny hand with his thumb. House stared at the phenomenon in awe, but Dr. Cuddy reminded him to proceed, and he snapped back to reality. They found lesions in the baby’s lungs but Emma went into ventricular fibrillation, a very fast, irregular heart rhythm that could lead to cardiac arrest. House prepared to cut the umbilical cord to save Emma but Dr. Cuddy stopped him and insisted on applying the paddles until Emma was revived, and threatened to electrocute House. Dr. Cuddy succeeded and Emma and her son lived. During the course of the episode, Dr. House repeatedly referred the unborn baby as a fetus. However, when he talked to Emma after the procedure, he finally called it a baby, not a fetus. Before the last scene, House is shown to be deep in thought as he stared at his index finger, which the baby touched. I have taken the photo of that scene where the baby touched House’s finger and uploaded in this post. I can’t stop the urge to take that photo because the scene was so beautiful. I also have the scene replayed and shot a video, although I didn’t uploaded it because I don’t know if it will play here. But you can still see that moment in YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jzZLkNidWZ8 . I almost cried watching this scene.

(The touch of an unborn child in House,MD)

Apparently, the scene is based on a real story. In 1999, a photograph by Michael Clancy was became famous, showing the little finger of a baby (now 7 year old boy named Samuel Armas) who grasped his surgeon’s hand from a hole in his mother’s uterus during open fetal surgery for spina bifida. Similarly, the unborn child then is also 21 weeks old. I also uploaded the original picture of Samuel Armas’ tiny hands holding his doctor’s middle finger.

(Orig. photo of Michael Clancy)

Anyways, like Dr. House, I just can’t help but to be in awe with those tiny fingers, and marvel on the miracle of bearing a child. Just what have shown in House, whatever we call it - a fetus or a baby - an unborn child is still a human being, in any stages of pregnancy starting from the conception. The moment we conceive, another life is already growing inside us that we should nurture. Having a baby is always a miracle specially for the mother. The feeling of having another human being that is actually growing inside your womb is a unfathomable. Any child brings more meaning to life. Specially when you can already feel their movements, then you feel his tiny bump in your womb. Oh my, I miss those happy moments!

I can’t help but reminisce being pregnant. After three pregnancies and deliveries by caesarian section, my husband and I decided that 3 kids are enough so I had tubal ligation despite the doctor saying I am still too young for it. But after a few months, I wished I didn’t have the ligation. I don’t want another baby now, but sometimes my husband and I talk about having the ligation reversed if still possible so that we can still have another baby after some few years. I told him, maybe we can try in-vitro fertilization in the future if it is possible for a ligated woman. Oh well, wishful thinking. Now it is impossible for me to have another baby, so I just try to enjoy my three beautiful kids while they are still small. I still love kissing my 2-year old’s feet and hands, and giving them all hugs and kisses whenever I can. Hey, since my husband is away from us and he’s Downunder working so hard, I am making double efforts to show them the affection they need!

Life is so amazing, isn’t it? So let us enjoy the miracle of each life!!! To end, here’s the chorus of Dan Hill’s song, Unborn Child.

Soon, you’ll hear the beating
Of an unborn heart
This is the answer
You’ve been searching for so hard
And for the first time in my life I felt
The wave of love so deep
As I listened for
the unborn child’s heartbeat

Ohh, I can almost hear the beating….
Unborn child