"Houston, We Have a Problem"
Nov 22 '06
The Bottom Line My little baby girl was born in my home, on the bedroom floor. If I can beat odds like this, why can't I win the Powerball?
For the past nine months, my wife and I have been forced to modify our lifestyle a little bit. It hasn’t been because of injury or illness. It hasn’t been because of relocation. It hasn’t been because of problems with relatives or any of the other common reasons for lifestyle modification. Our reason is because of pregnancy and it has forced us to give up some of the spontaneity and some of the recreational activities that we once enjoyed. Pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes have only added to the problems and made life more difficult to enjoy at the level we are accustomed to.
Of course, when the end of the pregnancy finally arrives, the discomfort, the inconveniences, and the other problems are quickly forgotten. A new baby makes everything worthwhile and it brings warmth and happiness to parents, grandparents, and others who are associated in any way with the new bundle of joy. But wondering when the little one will finally decide it’s time to see the world can be a source of frustration. And for my wife Lisa and me, that frustration finally came to a sudden and unexpected end at 8:45am, Tuesday, November 21.
The Time Has Come:
It was early in the morning on the twenty- first day of November, 2006. It was a day like most others the last two weeks. Lisa woke up and was forced to deal with the usual discomfort and claimed she could feel some contractions. This was nothing new for us- it has been this way for some time. I was groggy and I didn’t even wake up the first couple of times she attempted to talk to me and advise me that the big moment might very well be upon us. But then, I can recall hearing the words “you better take a shower and fast- it could be your last chance for a while”. That was all I needed to hear. I jumped up quickly and prepared myself for a long day.
To get the truck ready, I had to scrape some frost off the windows. We don’t see much frost this time of year but there was a good coating on this particular morning and I had to put some muscle into my motions to clear the windshield and windows. I then had one final task to do before I could drive to the hospital: Drive my step daughter to school. This didn’t seem like a big deal since there would probably be plenty of time to get Lisa to the hospital where they could begin the process. My first girl was born at the same hospital last year and it took about eight hours from the point we arrived at the hospital to the point she was born. I figured things would be the same or about the same this time around so we both agreed that I would go to the school first and then turn around and head back. My wife would be ready and we would immediately head straight to the labor delivery unit.
But things did not turn out the way we planned. My cell phone rang when I was at the school. It was Lisa and she was screaming in pain! She said she was going into labor and I had to hurry back as fast as possible. I told her I was on my way. I could feel the adrenaline rush through my body as I turned the corner and raced back home. At this point, I was still unaware of the traumatic situation that lied before me.
9-1-1 to the Rescue:
Arriving back at the house, I could hear those loud, chilling screams coming from the bedroom. This was more serious than I first thought. I went back to the room quickly and was ready to help get Lisa to the truck. But she could not move. She was in too much pain. I wasn’t sure what to do next and there was a glimmer of hope that she might be able to get to the truck when she got up off the bed and went to the bathroom. “Great”, I thought. “She is able to move now…we can easily make it safely to the hospital”. But in the wink of an eye, the situation changed again. She came out of the bathroom and another contraction hit, sending her straight to the floor. She was unable to move again and this time she stayed right there, on the floor, agonizing with each second of each contraction.
I quickly called her doctor who could hear her screams in the background. The doctor asked a few questions which I struggled through but answered the best I could. She finally ended by saying that I either had to get Lisa to the hospital as quickly as possible or I had to call 9-1-1. Judging by the sounds she was making and the fact that she wasn’t able to move at all, I had no other choice. I dialed 9-1-1 for the first time in my life, explaining that my wife was lying on the floor in labor. We needed an ambulance and we needed it now!
Arrival and Delivery:
When would the ambulance arrive? I asked myself that question over and over again. I was disgusted at them for taking so long. It seemed like an eternity and they were still not there. What was the holdup? Didn’t they realize the importance of the situation? Why were they taking so long to get to my house?
I went to the front door, opened it up, and locked it in place so it would stay open. I listened closely to the outside air. There was no sound. Where are these people? I was starting to grow impatient and for good reason. We needed to get Lisa to a hospital ten minutes ago and the ambulance was still not there.
Finally, I heard the sound of a siren in the distance! What joy! I never would have imagined that the sound of a siren would be something I would look forward to hearing. But it sounded oh, so sweet! A fire truck followed close behind the ambulance (standard procedure, regardless of whether or not there is a fire) and the crew of four quickly got out of the vehicle and made their way into my house, ready to help my exhausted wife and get her to the hospital so she could deliver our baby.
The four crew members went straight to work. They brought a stretcher into the house and planned to lift Lisa off the ground and onto the portable bed. But she could not be moved. She was in too much pain. Concerned, one of the medics looked at her birth canal. I looked too. He put on some gloves and checked further in. There was no time to get to the hospital. This baby was ready to see the world and she was ready right now.
The 9-1-1 crew worked diligently to make sure everything was ok. They brought in all sorts of equipment, fluids, and other things and prepared for delivery. With a few hard pushes, my little girl’s head started to appear. Then the rest of her slowly made way until her entire body was released completely. One of the guys gave me a sharp medical instrument and I cut the umbilical cord. One of the women asked for towels and I quickly grabbed some and brought to her. She wrapped the infant in swaddling fashion and presented her to me. She wasn’t crying, like newborns often do. She was just looking around, like she wasn’t sure what to think about this strange new world she had entered. She was breathing normally and appeared to be okay.
After the delivery was over, there was still a need, of course, for more medical work so the medics put Lisa on the portable bed and wheeled her to ambulance. The placenta was still in place and needed to be removed. The baby had to be checked quickly to make sure she was in good health. Our little girl was carried into the ambulance by one of the workers and I followed behind in my car all the way to the hospital, anxiously awaiting the news about everything (length, weight, etc) and still full of anxiety about the health and well- being of my new daughter and my wife.
Final Thoughts:
Whew! What an experience! This is something I never dreamed would happen to me. I have heard stories told by grandparents and others about what it was like to give birth au naturale, but I never would have dreamed it would happen to me. Unless one is stuck on an airplane, drives far away from home against her doctor’s wishes, or is an actress in a movie, things like this just aren’t supposed to happen.
One thing that I was very impressed by was how well the ambulance personnel handled the situation. There were some critical moments where they had to make split decisions and they made the right one each time. They were calm and collected, yet they also realized the severity of the situation. They handled things with care and successfully delivered a baby girl on our bedroom floor.
Since I have very limited knowledge of the medical industry I was unaware that ambulances and the people who operate them were capable of delivering a newborn child. I guess I just never thought about it. When I see an ambulance race past me on the street, I always imagine a person inside who is very ill or who has just been seriously injured. I don’t even think about babies and birthing. It never crossed my mind that the people inside would have any knowledge about childbirth but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Situations like mine, even though they are rare, do occur. Because the possibility exists, it makes sense that the people who operate these vehicles have to have an understanding of childbirth. They have to be able to take control and deliver a baby if the time and place call for it. And in this instance, the ambulance crew performed their jobs in spectacular fashion; successfully delivering a baby in the home with only a limited number of tools and with no drugs to give my wife to ease her pain.
Another surprise was the speed of the whole incident. With my first child, it took eight hours from the time of arrival to the time of the time of delivery. Who would have thought that this time, the little one would be completely out of mommy’s tummy in only about thirty minutes? It seemed like much longer than that but a quick check of the time showed that the entire ordeal was over in only half an hour. This was a determined child. She had been making us wait and wait, leading us to believe that inducing would be required to get her to come out. But she had other ideas in mind. The warmth, the endless food supply, and the other advantages of living in the womb were nice but once our little girl made up her mind to see the real world, she made her exit in a hurry.
My anxiety level was pretty high during all of this and I did some things and said some things that didn’t make any sense. Like the way I dressed that morning. I knew I would be spending the entire day in the hospital yet I got dressed and put on a dress shirt and tie! I don’t know what I was thinking. I can laugh at it now, but it just shows the level of anxiety I was under at the time. I also stammered my speech a few times when I was on the phone, first with the doctor and then with the 9-1-1 operator. I knew what I wanted to say, but the words were not flowing the way they normally do.
One of our greatest concerns was, of course, the health of the baby. Not only because she was delivered on our bedroom floor, but also because of the exposure to the elevated sugar levels caused by the gestational diabetes. The nurses checked her sugar level (and performed other standard tests) over the next few hours. Fortunately, there was no problem at all. Our little girl survived the trauma without a scratch and without any adverse effects on her health. She emerged stronger than ever, ready to face the world that she so quickly wanted to become part of early on Tuesday morning.
I rested a little bit yesterday and today and collected my thoughts on this experience. First, I think my days of baby making are probably over. I would not want to see Lisa go through something like this again. Even if I was one- hundred percent certain she would make it to the hospital, I still would not want her to take further health risks and face possible pregnancy complications a second time. Second, I have a newfound respect for ambulance workers and the 9-1-1 service. They all performed their job in a commendable manner and the ambulance arrived in good time (I said before that it took a long time, but it really didn’t. It just seemed like forever). And third, I have a new outlook on experiencing the impossible. Unplanned births in the home are rare and I never thought it would happen to me. But I beat the odds and experienced something that will provide hours of great storytelling far into the future when my little girls are grown up.
As for now, it’s time to get some more rest and think about the newest addition to my home. Here are the vital statistics:
Name: Grace Nicole Carey
Length: 20.5 inches
Weight: 8 pounds, 9 ounces.
We had several names in mind but Grace seemed befitting. She was born close to Thanksgiving and the way she handled things was so elegant and beautiful that Grace seemed like the obvious choice.
I now have a wife and two baby daughters to share my home. Surrounded by women on all sides could make some men feel a little intimidated and even a little threatened. But life couldn’t be better with my girls. And this little one, little Grace, has given me plenty of reasons to feel strong, secure, and happy.
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