“Mrs. Thompson, it appears that your fall revealed something unexpected,” the doctor began, his voice carefully measured. “During the scans, we discovered a condition that’s extremely rare. You have what’s known as a lithopedion, or a ‘stone baby.’ It’s an unborn child that your body calcified over time.”
The room seemed to tilt around us. Ethan’s grip on my hand tightened, his eyes widening in disbelief. Margaret stood by the door, her face a mask of shock and denial. “A… stone baby?” Ethan echoed, struggling to comprehend.
The doctor nodded. “It’s a rare phenomenon, but given the trauma, we were able to detect it. Unfortunately, it means you weren’t pregnant, at least not in the way you believed. But this discovery has possibly saved your life; the risks of carrying such a calcified mass could have been severe if left undetected.”
