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Jodie had called me at work at 4:45. She felt strange, but didn't know why. Her arms and legs had spasms, but she did not feel pain. I went home immediately.
Jodie's sister came over to the house and she drove us the the hospital in Oregon City. We figured it was a false alarm, but it wasn't. Jodie was hooked up to the monitors and they went bonkers. The nurses were amazed. The kept asking Jodie "You can't feel that?" They were amazed.
Nancy, Jodie's doctor, just happened to be on call that night. A C-section had been scheduled for Friday. On Monday Nancy was mulling over whether Friday was too soon. This was Wednesday, two days early.
Nancy came in and told us "We are having this baby tonight!"
There was a roomful of us in the operating room when E was born. Besides Dr. Nancy, there was another doctor or two, some interns and some nurses. Extra hands, in case they were needed, and a learning experience.
I remember one of the other doctor's protesting having me in the operating room. He said, "Why don't we invite people on the street corner to be in here? Everyone else is!"
"He is the baby's father. He stays!" Nancy insisted.
I sat at Jodie's head in the operating room. It did not take long for E to be brought out. The umbelical cord was cut. The clearing of his lungs, that first cry.
Thirteen years later it is a birthday party at Laser Planet with eight buddies from school. Laser tag, pizza, more laser tag, cake, then a few video games. A perfect birthday for a newly branded teen.
A strange coincidence, thirteen years ago on the eve of E's birth, OJ Simpson was acquited in the murder of his wife. I remember the verdict being cheered at my office. Everybody cared and everybody had an opinion. I wasn't cheering. The night of E's birth I stayed in the hospital with Jodie and E. Watching Nightline, I remember the pundits all weighing in on the OJ verdict.
Forward 13 years. Another OJ verdict. Kidnapping and robbery. Guilty. The difference now? Few people care.
Thirteen years...
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