Careless People: Chapter 32 Summary & Analysis

While working for Facebook, Wynn-Williams randomly ends up traveling to João  Pessoa, Brazil, a place she later learns is the heart of the Zika outbreak.  She is currently pregnant and has no idea how to tell Tom, who disapproved of her travel while pregnant even before knowing about Zika. She goes to get checked out by a doctor, but the doctor is skeptical, since there’s been no Zika births in the United States and she wouldn’t know what to look for to diagnose it in utero anyway.

In March 2016, just a week after Diego’s arrest, Wynn-Williams delivers her baby, who is born healthy. But Wynn-Williams struggles to hold the baby because her arms are shaking, and a nurse named Lauren who helped with the delivery is concerned about all the blood Wynn-Williams is losing. Doctors come in, and it’s clear her condition is serious. Tom tries to make sure Lauren, whom Wynn-Williams trusts, remains by her side. Wynn-Williams fears she is dying. She tells Tom to get someone like Debbie or Sadie to be with him in the hospital in case he needs anything.

Wynn-Williams tries to stay conscious but passes out. When she awakens on an operating table, she tries to refuse any anesthetic, which would prevent her from breastfeeding for three days. The doctors say Tom already gave consent for general anesthetic. Wynn-Williams wants to give consent herself but eventually has to admit that she can’t hold a pen. She passes out again.

When Wynn-Williams wakes up the next time, only Sadie is there. She is worried that the absence of Tom and the baby means something is wrong, but she can’t talk because she’s on life support. She tries to remove the ventilator to ask about the baby, but medical professionals come to sedate her.

The next time Wynn-Williams wakes, Debbie is there. She gives Wynn-Williams a notepad to communicate with. Wynn-Williams worries about the baby until finally Tom walks in holding her. She is surprised to learn that while she was unconscious, he named by baby Xanthe. He can tell how incredulous Wynn-Williams is and adds that they can always change the name, but Wynn-Williams knows this probably won’t happen. When Wynn-Williams finally recovers and is able to hold Xanthe for the first time, she feels relieved but also guilty that she already failed the baby during the first few days of her life.

Wynn-William notes that although some might think dying in childbirth is something that hasn’t happened much since the 19th century, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, and it’s only rising. Her near-death experience solidifies her resolve to find a new job, but it’s tough when she is so physically drained. A week later, she has a hemorrhage and has to be taken back to the hospital in an ambulance. Even after the visit, she loses a lot of blood, trying to hide the extent of it from Tom, because she knows he’s already worrying so much.