(Monday, March 11th, 2013)
I knew the nostalgia would start to
come as I climbed the steps of Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center.
Mary was in surgery and with every step I took to reach the 3rd
floor she was getting closer to meeting her new little one. I
couldn't help but be brought back to the time almost two years ago
when I was in her place.
The steps I climbed were concrete,
wet in places, and accompanied by a dirty handrail. At each floor
there was an open corridor, with a slatted wall letting in the fresh,
cool breeze coming in off the mountain. Finally on the third floor
we walked the hallway and I glanced over the edge of the half-wall
next to me. Beneath was a courtyard of sorts, with several
clotheslines displaying the morning's laundry put out to dry.
Directly across were the surgery rooms, Mary was in the first on the
right.
Steve (Peter's dad) & I saw Anne (Peter's mum) waiting
for us at the corner and we all walked down to have a seat on the
bench and wait at the end of the hall that lead to the surgery rooms.
When we heard it we all looked at
each other, then down the hallway. That just had to have been
baby Street's little cry we heard! Immediately following Anne got a
text – it was from Peter: “It's a girl!!” We all got up and
walked to the end of the hallway, peaking through the birthing center
doors and down the hall in hopes of catching a glimpse of something
telling us everything was going well.
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| Kuzalia (coo-zah-LEE-uh) means "To be born" in Swahili |
We saw Peter pop out of the
room on the left (where Mary was) and go into a room on the right
(where the baby was), flashing us a thumbs-up on the way.
We waited
for what seemed like ages, but was probably only a few minutes,
hearing the sweet little girls cries here and there, and watching
Peter go back and forth checking on baby, then checking on mom.
While we waited the memories came back to me as well – watching
them pull Owen out of my stomach, then handing him off to the nurses
to be cleaned up, then handed him to Bill so we could be together as
a family before they took him away to get him started on his IV to
get rid of the infection we both caught during labor. Watching Peter
go back and forth between Mary and the baby made me wonder what it
must have been like for Bill to have to stay with me while they took
O. That wasn't an option for us, at least it wasn't presented as
one, so we didn't get to see him again until I was in post-op.
Finally they wheeled Mary out to the
hallway, just outside the door the baby was in. Peter's mum was
given the 'ok' to go see the baby (they're very strict about people
going into this area of the hospital). She had to switch out her
shoes for some flip flops that were sitting near the red
'do-not-cross' line on the floor, and put on a doctor's coat before
she could cross the threshold to see the baby. Next was Steve's turn
so Anne put the coat on him, and he tried to slip on the too-small
flip flops in place of his crocs to go see his new grandbaby. When
he returned they said it was my turn. Peter was just brining the
baby out of the room to see Mary when I got the coat and flip flops
on and got my camera ready. It was such a sweet moment to capture;
Peter holding Naomi Grace up to Mary so she could smell the sweet
new-baby smell of her daughter. So she could feel her breath on her
cheek and hear the soft coo-ing coming from her soft voice. Tears
began to fill Mary's eyes and I found myself having a hard time
seeing through my lens.
The memories came back again, so
extremely vividly, of Bill holding Owen next to my face, just as
Peter was doing for Mary. The tears that came on that day were
uncontrollable for me, and they were of pure joy, just as I imagine
they were for Mary in that moment.
I also truly enjoyed watching Peter
fawn over his new little girl. I imagine a new gun will be added to
this family's collection soon, but such is the territory with
daughters I hear. :)
As I was snapping Peter asked if I
would hold Naomi so he could change out of the scrubs – was that
even a question?! I took that sweet girl in my arms, wrapped only in
the hospital issue blue blanket and I could feel her small, warm body
through the thin linnen. I rocked her slightly and she cooed and
fidgeted around with her hands and feet. I could feel her bare
bottom beneath the blanket – the hospital doesn't provide diapers,
so she'd be bare until they were in post-op and could get to their
suitcase with all their supplies in it.
Before I knew it Peter was out of his
scrubs and they were getting ready to roll Mary down to the post-op
room. I handed Naomi back to her daddy and resumed my place behind
the lens – totally and utterly caught up in the moment the Street
family had so generously offered for me to share. Even as I type
this I can't believe the opportunity I had to be a part of such a
sacred time for this family, it was truly a blessing.
Down in the post-op room, which was
one large room with about 5 beds in it I think, Mary got transferred
to the bed while Peter & Anne went to see about getting a diaper
on Naomi and wrapping her in the blankets from home, which were much
softer and warmer.
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| (Getting a diaper on Naomi - that's a bassinet you see in the foreground) |
What an amazing morning it was, and
it wasn't even 9am yet! I am so blessed to have been a part of the
Street family welcoming this new little life, it is a moment I know
they will never forget, and I know I won't either.
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