Page 71 of This Love
I saw Ava less because she and Vinnie often scheduled photo shoots for the golden hour, so she missed dinner.
But we had weekends, when there weren’t wedding gigs, and our evenings.
In February, I took the day off for both Ava’s and my neurologist visits. We were seeing the same doctor and had scheduled ours back to back.
Dr. Simmons ran us both through the usual eye tracking and muscle tests. “You both seem good. Any concerns?”
“None here,” I told him. “Although my VNS is over six years old. They said seven to ten years on the battery.”
“Do you manually stimulate it a lot?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“I’ll put in for the technician to test it at your next visit,” he said. “It’s a simple connection between a wand and a monitor. It will tell us when you might need to replace it.”
“Which is surgery, right?” I asked.
“Yes, but very minor compared to the original one. We don’t have to touch the wire, just the device.”
“Okay, cool.” I stepped back so Ava could talk to him.
She hesitated for a moment, and for a second, I wondered if I should leave. But then she said, “I was curious about my menstrual cycle.”
“Oh?” Dr. Simmons looked up. “Your OB/GYN should be able to guide you on that.”
“Yes, I guess, but I read that seizures and the medication could delay them?”
He frowned. “I suppose they can, in theory, although that would more likely be for young teens, and the medication you are on doesn’t have that side effect. Nor do you have the frequency of seizures where we see other body impairments.”
She sat up. “Oh. So, you’re saying my cycle shouldn’t be affected?”
“I wouldn’t think so. Besides, it says here you’ve always taken Depo-Provera as a precaution in case your seizures were hormone related. That would be the reason your cycle has ceased.”
Oh, God. Her shots. All the blood ran from my face. “Ava, we haven’t gotten you in for a shot since the last seizure.”
She turned to me. “Should we have?”
“They’re only good for three months.”
Her eyes got wide. “It’s been eight.”
“Okay,” Dr. Simmons said. “I would check for pregnancy. You could certainly go from the shot to a pregnancy without ever having a cycle.”
“I had one a little over a month ago,” Ava said. She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Christmas Eve.”
So, that was why she stopped on the way to her father’s. And why she was elusive for a few days. Why hadn’t she felt she could tell me? We could have handled this. And I would have remembered the shot. Not that I ever had much to do with it. The OB/GYN visits weren’t ones I typically went to. But, of course, she hadn’t been.
“Let’s stay on top of this,” Dr. Simmons said. “Because the current drug you are on has not been sufficiently tested for safety during pregnancy. We’ll need to switch you.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Ava said. “I haven’t been sick or tired or anything.” She smiled, but I could tell she was masking her anxiety.
“Okay, good. But do let us know.” He stood from his stool. “Otherwise, I’ll see you in six months. Tucker, we’ll test that battery then.”
“Great, thank you.”
When he left, I turned to Ava. “Christmas Eve, right?”
She nodded.
