The Surprise It was 8:45 AM on Thursday, December 19th. I was just getting ready to start work, when I heard Sara call down the hall, “Hey Xan, can you come here for a minute?” I walked back to our bedroom and she said “I think my water just broke.” Now, this was quite a surprise, since Sara’s due date was January 23rd. After a quick call to the OB, they confirmed “Yes, if you think your water broke, you need to go to the ER.” So now we had a decision to make. Sara and I had talked to several OB/GYNs at the beginning of this year, and had finally found this one that Sara was comfortable with. The only problem was that while their practice was in-network for our insurance, they delivered at UNC Rex Hospital, which was not in-network. No worries, we thought, Sara isn’t due until January. We get insurance through the marketplace, and when we re-up for 2025, we’ll make sure we pick a plan where UNC Rex is in-network. A flawless plan. Well, now Sara’s water has broken, and it’s not 2025 yet...