Surreal: the only word that comes to mind when I think of the whole experience. I honestly don’t think it ever sunk in...from the time I found out I was pregnant to even now as I hold this beautiful baby. It didn’t even seem real as I was lying on the table in the operating room and could feel the doctor’s hands and instruments inside of me knowing they were supposedly going in to pull out a baby. Instead, they pulled out my heart…and we named him Judah.
The weekend before September 1st we began to realize there was another name that was to make an appearance on what would have been Judah’s birthday: September 2nd. His name was Earl. A tropical depression turned hurricane that began to threaten the Outer Banks. I didn’t start to worry until the only place listed on the overview map on the Weather Channel was Cape Hatteras. My worries turned from “Where would everyone sleep?” to the fact that our families would be driving to the one place they mentioned every two minutes on every weather forecast on every channel. I went for my last appointment on Tuesday, August 31st. Dr. Winfree explained if evacuation was expected, they may have me come in the next day for the surgery, but more likely I would stay on for Thursday with the possibility they would transfer me to Raleigh (Duke) later that day. This made no sense to me. Hours after major surgery they would put me and my brand new little human in an ambulance for 4+ hours…in a storm? Stressed didn’t begin to describe my emotions as I left the office. JP and I went to get Mexican for lunch and I almost couldn’t eat. Almost. It’s Mexican people. There’s always room. Side note: JP half expected Judah to come out crying with an accent as Mexican was a staple throughout the pregnancy. He didn’t. But then again he isn’t talking yet. Olé.
So Tuesday night was the last episode of crazy, nesting/cleaning. I had asked JP to mop and typically he would oblige. However, the day was a little bit eventful and he was tired. His response: “I’ll do it tomorrow.” I broke. Response: “Tomorrow?!?! Tomorrow. Seriously. We could be having a baby tomorrow. Along with a hurricane. I need you to mop tonight.” He thought I was crazy and did not think Judah would be coming any earlier than Thursday as scheduled. Mopping never occurred. The next morning I was supposed to go to work, but decided to call the office and talk to Dr. Winfree and try to understand his logic of why it was better to not do the surgery that day and transport 24+ hours later rather than wait until Thursday and risk being transported only 4+ hours after surgery. I called the office and found out that Dr. Winfree was off that day. So I left a message for Dr. Dwyer. I paced and cleaned and formulated my argument for when he called me back. Then he called at 10am. And this is why I love Dr. Dwyer.
Katie: Hello?
Dr. D: Katie?
Katie: Yes?
Dr. D: Have you eaten today?
Katie: No. A little OJ about 7am. That’s it.
Dr. D: Come to the hospital at 11am. We will either do the surgery or send you home. We are waiting to hear whether the hospital will be evacuating patients on Thursday. If they will be, I’ll send you home. I’d rather have you as one package than be transporting a newborn and a mother hours after surgery. If not, we are having a baby today!
So I called Jacob. No answer. Of course. I swore the whole time I was pregnant that the day I made the phone call he wouldn’t answer. So I texted: Call. 911. The next text was: Wait. Don’t call 911. Call me 911. As in now. He did and I explained we might be having a baby in an hour. And followed that with “I told you to mop last night…”
For the next hour I basically ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. My half packed suit case lay in the floor and for the life of me I couldn’t think of what else I wanted to put in it. So I busied myself sweeping and making beds with clean sheets. When JP walked in at 10:45 I was running around like crazy saying “OMG we are going to be late to our own baby’s birth!” We rolled into the hospital exactly at 11am and checked in. We heard over the loud speaker “Code black” just as we got to Labor and Delivery. I looked at the nurse and she said “Are you Katie?” I replied yes and asked if code black meant we weren’t having a baby. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. She explained we were going to get ready like I would be having surgery that day until we heard differently. I changed into the hospital gown, downed shots of disgusting meds to prevent reflux during surgery, bled out all over the head nurse as she tried to stab the veins in my hand after I calmly explained there was no use and to go for the right arm. I spoke with both the anesthesiologist who would be giving me the spinal block and the one who would be monitoring me throughout surgery. Everyone kept telling me the surgery was on and scheduled for 1pm immediately following a girl who was having one at noon. When I heard they had taken her in I finally let myself believe it was actually going to happen. JP sat in the glider by my bedside anxious and rocking so hard I was afraid he might break the chair. He kept asking if I was nervous. Strangely, I wasn’t. At all. Just ready. In walked Dr. D about 1:30pm. He sat down and explained the meeting of the hospital administration was about to let out and the decision on whether or not to do any more surgeries would be made. I looked at him like he was crazy. I thought of the all of the shots of meds, poking of the needles, fluids that had been run through my body and replied “You still might not do it today?!” Oh to have seen my face. He replied he wasn’t sure but would know shortly and left the room. I looked back at JP speechless. My phone began to ring. This was not unusual as we had sent texts saying we were having a baby. No wait. We might not. No, yes we are. No wait. Don’t get in the car yet, we still don’t know. Etc. He looked down at my phone and it was Dorothy Toolan, Public Relations officer from the County. We work closely on many projects and she was anxious to hear whether the baby was coming or not…even though she was busy putting out announcements evacuating various places on the Outer Banks due to the looming hurricane. I knew she was crazy busy and thus, I was so flattered by her call I told JP to answer. He did and he explained what was going on. Then I could tell he was talking to someone different. He explained “Yes, she is here in the bed with an IV in ready to go.” Shortly there after he hung up and explained he had been talking to Mike Johnson, one of my 8 bosses and the Commissioner of the County assigned to head up the Control Group – the group deciding whether County residents would be asked to evacuate just as they had forced visitors to evacuate earlier that day. JP stated in disbelief “He said no one was evacuating and he was calling the hospital to get you in surgery.” I laughed half thinking he actually would. 5 minutes later…no exaggeration…Dr. D came back in and said I would be heading into surgery shortly. He explained one of the top hospital administrators “who never comes to this floor” came asking what was going on with case #xxxx and asked why I wasn’t in having a c-section. Within the next 30 minutes I was in the OR getting a spinal block. As I lay back on the table, Dr. D (with a grin) says “You tell Mike Johnson when I tell him how to be a Commissioner, he can tell me how to be a doctor.” Apparently, MJ had called. The nurses and doctors readied all the instruments and my body for surgery. I got anxious for the first time just because JP hadn’t yet come into the room. I was afraid they would start without him. When he did come in, he was very careful not to look past the sheet that was at my shoulders. He had been very clear he didn’t want to see any body parts. I started to shake uncontrollably. I almost thought I could control it by deep breathing and talking myself through it. It would help for a second before I would start to shake again. I felt everything. The incision, the pulling and tugging. The vacuuming of fluid. Everything without pain. It was by far the craziest sensation I have ever felt. Then everyone told JP to get up and look. He politely refused. They exclaimed he had to look. He refused again. The pediatrician finally said “You HAVE to look at this part.” So he stood up and the next thing I heard was a baby squeal. I looked over at JP’s face so confused. The rest was such a blur. They called JP over to the bassinet and all I could remember was looking over and seeing a baby leg flailing in the air. I kept thinking that’s a leg! A real LEG! A BABY LEG! That’s him!!! I was so shocked that somehow they managed to pull a real, live baby out of that swollen belly I had been carrying around! They held him by my face and then whisked him off with Jacob to our room. I joined them after they finished putting me back together just in time to see his first bath and then feed him for the very first time. A couple of hours later, friends and family joined us in sharing the amazement of our first child.
I was in on Wednesday and home on Friday. Being at the hospital during the hurricane was actually fun. The nurses who were there were in good moods because of the change of pace. All surgeries for Thursday had been canceled so they were bored and ready to just come by and chat or take Judah for us to catch some z’s. Thursday they encouraged me to walk around. We took our first stroll that night downstairs and outside to see the hurricane up close and personal. It was humid. I didn’t expect it to be that hot. And windy! We watched the rain from our room and it simply looked as if someone was holding a water hose to our window. Friday morning as I was trying to get Judah latched to eat, Jacob got off his oh-so-comfy cot (not) to come and help. He stepped out of bed and said “Ummm we’ve got water.” I didn’t care as I was frantic to get Judah latched as he was hungry and getting frustrated. I replied “I don’t care, I have to get him latched first.” He said “Ummmmm it’s kinda a lot of water.” “I replied more frantic “I DON’T CARE. I have to get him latched first.” Like any good man, he came to the bedside and helped. As soon as Judah was on and feeding, I said “Ok, now what? Water? Where?” I looked down and saw waves of water washing across the floor and Jacob standing ever so patiently in the inches of water that had somehow found its way into our room. That was the most we saw of Earl.
The days and weeks that have followed have been amazing, trying and in a word…surreal…still. It’s just sinking in that I have a son. And he is amazing. Truly the love of my life: Judah Baylor Reid Poulsen. Born September 1, 2010 at 3:09 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 8.6 ounces.
