February 21, 2008

Darin here. Let me tell you a little bit about the day that Brooks was born. Brooke had been put on home rest by her doctor a couple weeks earlier and her mother (Mary Tom) had come into town to help get things ready. I went to work and had a normal day (at least as normal as any day can be as a middle school administrator) up until about 3:20 PM. Brooke called and told me that her OB-GYN had decided to put her in the hospital. After telling my division head about this development, I headed home immediately and put a bag together for my wife and me, arriving at the hospital about 5:00. After kissing my wife and comforting her, two anestheologists walked in to let us know that they were going to perform an emergency c-section to take the baby. I called our church and they sent a minister out to the hospital immediately. After a quick prayer, staff arrived to wheel Brooke into the operating room. After Brooke went into the ER, Mary Tom and her sister (Martha) went to get a quick snack and drink from the vending machine. Very shortly after that, a nurse came out to tell me that at 6:38 PM, Brooks came into this world crying. No more than a minute or two after Mary Tom and Martha came back, the nurses brought Brooks out for me to carry him into the nursery. Since Brooks was five weeks early, the neonatal doctor made the decision to put Brooks into the NICU as a precautionary measure to allow his lungs to develop more fully before allowing him to breathe normal air.

Suffice it to say that when I went to work that morning, I had no idea that I was going to become a father only twelve hours later. The three hours before Brooks was born was just an emotional whirlwind of concern, fear, and ultimately, anticipation and joy. I cannot think of another time in my life where I was prouder of anything than when my son was brought into this world. Carrying him into the nursery felt like I was presenting him to the world (the window nearest his bed looked out into the hall), and I began to think of all the things that I am looking forward to introducing him to in the years to come.

I have included a couple of pictures from when Brooks was first brought out -- at this point he is maybe 10 or 15 minutes old.