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Maliqua West
Professor Sipin
English 211C
February 17, 2015

The Trickle Effect

In the early fall of 1989, Susan Ito was forced to end her five-month pregnancy. Who, or
should I say what, pushed her to point of destruction? Preeclampsia- a dangerously sudden
blood pressure surge that occurs during some pregnancies. Susans actions are considered brave
amongst many, and murder among others. With her use of pathos and intricate language, Susan
sends her readers through a whirlwind of emotions as she retells her heartbreaking and
controversial story. The question of lifes value, no matter how new, old, big, or small comes into
play, and the effect that childhood has on ones decisions in their adult life.
Susan and her husband John had been married just over a year when they learned the
news of Susans pregnancy. Nausea and a chanced visit to a womens clinic while on vacation
confirmed the couples suspicions. John, a medical doctor, was eager to hear a confirmation but
Susan was fearful as the possibility of following in her mothers footsteps crept behind her. Their
first real encounter came sour 20 years past Susans arrival. Two decades had passed and her
mother still wasnt woman enough to show her beautiful child, or rather budding adult off to the
world.
As with most pregnant women, Susan struggled with accepting her weight and often
criticized herself. John continued to love her and offer words of support and encouragement as

any good husband should. But, Susans worrying wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as gaining 13pounds in a single week allowed her slowly but ever growing condition to surface. Reading
advice on weight-gain in a pregnancy book gave Susan the push towards enlightenment. She was
happy as she sat in her husbands office, swinging her feet and smiling from ear to ear as he
checked her blood pressure. Her numbers were through the roof.
John went from smiling and trying to end his wifes constant banter about her swollen
feet and chubby cheeks to pale and grim. A urinalysis showed that Susan had an excess amount
of protein in her system due to increasing kidney failure. The two quickly rushed to the hospital
directly across from Johns office and went straight to the maternity ward. Susan was in
desperate need of a neonatologist and an x-ray. Time was running out and all further actions and
decisions had to be made swiftly.
A magnesium sulfate drip was placed into Susans wrist vein as she was wheeled to
radiology; her chances of seizing were extremely high. As the medicine began to infiltrate her
system, her body temperature rose and her stomach turned in knots. The x-ray technician invited
Susan to know the sex of the baby, a boy who she and John would name Samuel. Susan beamed
with joy, still ignorant of the dangers that lie ahead of her. Samuel was literally causing her life to
diminish and she didnt even know it.
The neonatologist, Weiss, explained that there was no way possible for both Samuel and
Susan to survive. Samuel needed two weeks to grow before any sort of surgical action could take
place, but Susan was at risk of having a stroke and seizures. The possibility of them both
surviving was slim to none. Susan was willing to risk it all but John wasnt putting it up for
discussion; Samuel had a great chance of being born with severe disabilities and if things got
bad, hed lose both of his loves.

Contemplation kept Susan awake all night. How could she possibly let her baby die? The
extension of her soul? The thought of it all was too much to bear yet the ever beeping fetal
monitor voiced its opinion loudly. Susan signed consent forms the next day to terminate the
pregnancy but her conscious played tug of war with her emotions. Wiess performed a simple
procedure, poking a small syringe deep enough to infiltrate Samuels amniotic sac in Susans
belly, and allowing the dreadful action to take its course.
Over the years, Susan and John tried to adopt a child, fearing that what happened with
Samuel would occur over and over again, but two beautiful baby girls insisted on showing up the
natural way. Decades later, Susan still thinks about her baby boy and the tough choice she had to
make. Had she not chosen what she did, she and Samuel couldve both perished. John could have
a wheelchair bound son instead of a loving wife and two beautiful daughters.
There was no right or wrong way to handle Susans situation, nor was there a right way
for her mother to handle hers. All choices we make come with good and bad, and no matter how
much we focus on the good side, the bad will always linger like a deep musk in the air. We cant
go back in time and change what has already happened. Instead, we must live with our decisions
and accept the way our cookies crumbled.