Chapter 24 - Life

Dr. Talbot’s office was small compared with those back in LA that Cam had been in and out of over the past couple of years. She was glad that was pretty much all behind her now and healthwise, she was back on track. Now she could concentrate on worrying about Michelle.

Talbot was a plain woman. She was hitting her 60s, her hair was greying and pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore no make-up. But she smiled and invited them both in; if she recognized either of them, she said nothing.

“So, how can I help you today?” she asked gently, sitting in her chair at an angle that faced them both.

Cam looked at Michelle, unsure if she was supposed to do the talking or not, but then Michelle spoke. “I uh, my babies are at home back in LA.” Tears swelled and her throat tightened. Cam squeezed her hand. “I don’t…I just feel so low, and I’m not coping.”

“Well, first off let me offer my congratulations. And ‘babies?’”

“We have twins,” Cam interjected, her heart soaring at the thought. “Darcy and Noah.”

“That’s wonderful. And since having them, you’ve felt this…low?”

Michelle shook her head. “I had it before. Ever since that time when I tripped at work,” she said, turning to Cam.

“And you were pregnant when that happened?” Dr. Talbot inquired. 

Michelle nodded, and the tears that had been threatening finally overwhelmed her. “I felt so awful after that. Like I wasn’t good enough, I’d fail, they would be hurt because of me…”

“You never told me any of this,” Cam said.

“I couldn’t… I was so ashamed, and I thought it would go away once they were here, so I just kept going, but at times…I know I have been awful to live with.”

“It’s fine,” Cam reassured her, but the truth was, it had been hard.

“It sounds very much to me like a classic example of antenatal depression, Michelle. It’s common in about 20% of pregnancies, but it isn’t often diagnosed, and I think that is what we have here. When it’s not diagnosed and treated, it continues on into postpartum depression.” She turned towards her desk and reached for a pad. “I am going to prescribe something for you to take daily. It should lift your mood a little. I would also suggest getting some sleep; you look exhausted. You say the babies are back in LA?”

Michelle nodded.

“Okay then, so you’re not breastfeeding right now?”

Again, Michelle burst into tears. “God, I didn’t think…” The idea of her children not being fed hurt almost as much as her breasts did. Only now did she really acknowledge that. They’d been painful and leaky – nothing unusual, she’d been dealing with that all the time anyway; it was just the fact that her children were not benefiting.

“They’re fine. I got them all set up. Mum knows what to do,” Cam again reassured.

“Okay, I’m going to give you a light sedative to take tonight. That will help. I would also suggest some talking therapy, either one-to-one or in a group, whatever helps.”

“That’s all?” Cam asked.

“For now, yes. Come back and see me in a couple of weeks, or your own doctor if you decide to go back home. We can assess then if the dosage needs to be changed.”