We're Having A Baby...But Will We Have A Hospital Bed?

My wife and I received some very surprising news about a month ago. We're expecting our third child, and she will be brought into the world this December.

We found out when she was roughly 22 weeks along, if you can believe that.

No, this was not planned. I'm 42, she's 37. We were done, happy with our two boys and watching them grow up. Yes, it's true. We had no idea! She wasn't showing, there were no "normal" pregnancy issues like morning sickness, cravings, etc. So to say "color us shocked"....is the understatement of the year.

However, we finally wrapped our heads around it. We've even picked out a name for her. We feel like we're a bit more caught up now. There is one thing though that is still bothering us.

When it comes time to welcome this little girl into the world, will we even have a bed at the hospital or are we going to get turned away? What do we even do if we are turned away?

Seems like a strange question, I agree. With COVID having its recent spike and hospitals either running short on beds or being completely out, it's a real question. I've heard stories of people being turned away and sent to another hospital because all their beds were used up with COVID patients.

See, we have an advantage in that this will be a scheduled delivery due to past pregnancy issues. That doesn't mean we can't be turned away though. COVID doesn't schedule when it's going to hit someone or go on a rampage. It just...happens.

Being in a new city, still learning it and growing comfortable with it, and then having an unexpected pregnancy has already thrown us way off. I don't know if I can handle getting a call or being turned away because there isn't a bed for my wife.

Has this happened to anyone you know? Let me know below, because I need something to ease my mind...or at least allow me to start planning for the possibility of it happening to us.

The Abandoned St. Anthony's Hospital on Amarillo Boulevard

The 119-year-old abandoned hospital is a fascinating place for any who are lucky enough to be granted the chance to explore.

The sprawling building saw thousands of Amarillo's citizens inside its halls daily, all the the way until it was shuttered in 2001. But there are still incredible artifacts of the all-too-recent past tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the old St. Anthony.

The explorer who took these photographs gave the following information:

"Many rooms were left untouched, we found patient files, old prescriptions, a blood transfusion machine from the 60s, and microscopic slides of breast cancer from the 70s and 80s. I put one picture in here of some heart scans so you can see the dates and diagnosis of the patient, but marked out the patient’s names of course. During a time when mental illness was not understood, 76 exorcisms were documented to have been performed between 1909 and 1931."

Take a look inside the halls of the legendary abandoned St. Anthony's hospital

Downtown Amarillo Over The Years

Downtown Amarillo has seen an incredible metamorphosis. Take a look at the photos below to see just how much it's changed--you won't believe the difference.