The High Risk Ward in Adar

You would expect that a room full of pregnant women to be full of hope, happiness and excited thoughts about the future. This is not the case in the high risk ward. Everyone here is here because they are in trouble. It is a ward filled with apprehension, depression and sometimes pure terror. Here, you can frequently hear women crying quietly in their beds and beseeching Hashem (G-d) to save them and their babies, to prolong the pregnancies. My last roommate was facing the risk of losing her baby, her uterus and her life. My previous roommate cried nonstop. She had an infection which if not treated would be life threatening, but when treated could affect her baby. This is not a fun place to be.

It is especially not fun to be here in the month of Adar. Adar is the Jewish month when we celebrate Purim (the story of how Queen Esther saved the Jews from annihilation.) It is traditionally a month filled with happiness and celebration. People do whatever they can to bring Joy to themselves and others. 

The nurses and banot sherut (girls doing national service) really do try. They have decorated the entire ward with pictures, balloons, posters, and masks. Occasionally, people come through to give out bags of treats and sing. Yet, it is still hard to get into a festive mood.  

One consolation is that just as this was a time of peril for our people and we were rescued, so too should we, the women of the high risk ward, be rescued and be zoche (merit) to see our own little miracles at the right time.