Handle With Care

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of medical procedures and trauma, self-harm, sexual assault, suicide, disordered eating, outdated and offensive mental health beliefs and terminology, police brutality, and the death of a child.

Charlotte O’Keefe goes into labor in the middle of a snowstorm. Her husband, Sean O’Keefe, is a police officer on duty. When she cannot get ahold of Sean, Charlotte calls her best friend and obstetrician, Piper Reece. Charlotte is scheduled for a Caesarean section (C-section) in a few days, primarily because her pregnancy is high-risk. Her daughter, Willow, will be born with OI and could die if delivered vaginally. Realizing that Charlotte needs to get to the hospital, Piper offers to drive her.

Piper, her husband Rob, and Emma, her daughter, arrive at Charlotte’s house. Rob and Emma stay at the house with Amelia, Charlotte’s older daughter. When Piper and Charlotte arrive at the hospital, the high-risk obstetrician, Dr. Gianna Del Sol, is waiting for them. Charlotte is quickly prepped for her C-section, and Sean arrives right before the procedure begins.

As Willow is removed from the womb, one of her arms breaks. The medical personnel try to calm her, but she only stops crying when her mother says her name.