Bended Roads is about a mother’s loss of her child. The story is told through the eyes of the mother, who fights to bring her child into the world. She makes numerous trips to the hospital during her pregnancy, and frequently prays about the safety of her unborn child. The narrator explains that she is purging this story as a means of offering comfort to others who may have endured a similar experience.

After a tumultuous pregnancy, Pam wakes up in recovery and is “surprised to be alive.” The nurses explain that her premature baby weighs one-pound and thirteen-ounces, and that he is going to be transferred to a neo-natal intensive-care unit at the children’s hospital. Pam recalls, “When they wheeled him into my room to see me, the nurse pushed the incubator close. His body was smaller than our family Bible. Three minutes later, he was whisked away.”

Initially after the birth, Pam is consumed with worry about her new baby, Jonathan and cannot relax herself. She loses several units of blood and she is transfused. She explains, “A group of psychiatrists visited me, and I think their unofficial diagnosis was that I was just a mess.” Eventfully, Pam musters the strength to leave the hospital and she and her husband, Kurt visit Jonathan.

Jonathan spends his young life being monitored and medicated. The tiny baby undergoes surgeries while his parents pray for his strength. A pediatric neurosurgeon refuses to replace his shunts that were needed to drain excess spinal fluid off of the brain. Shortly thereafter, Jonathan’s life began a downward spiral.

Jonathan ultimately passes away at the age of four, and his parents engage in a malpractice suit. The narrator concludes, “The events of the past six years have taught me much about a corrupt medical system. Victims of malpractice find it necessary to take legal action not out of greed but to strive for accountability.”