Cramps came next, all across my pelvic region. I threw up from the pain, and within an hour or two, I bled through my tampon and soaked the pad below. I was scared, but I needed the hours, so I plugged back up and stayed on shift, but I called my doctor, who said to head for the ER if the bleeding continued for more than an hour. It had been going for several hours off and on at this point, so I figured there wasn't much harm in sticking it out. I finished out the work day, and my ex came to pick me up and take me to the hospital.
I'd eventually learn that I was pregnant after all ... sort of. I had an ectopic pregnancy. A fertilized egg had implanted in a Fallopian tube instead of the uterus. Without treatment, the cells would multiply, as cells generally should. But instead of forming into a baby and being born, they would grow until they ruptured the tube and killed me. The miracle of childbirth, everybody!
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