Five years ago today...

[pyat]

From my April 16th, 2003 Livejournal entry:

"Elizabeth was born at 2:37 AM, April 16th, via c-section, about 20 hours after we'd arrived at the hospital. Labour was going nowhere, and the baby's heart rate was crazy-go-nuts, so they made the decision to do a c-section around 8:30 PM. Then we have to wait 6 hours for that, and the whole procedure took 30 min. We couldn't get a private room - there's a rush on babies apparently - so I got sent home at 4:50 AM. And now I'm going to bed for 4 hours, and heading back out.

Pictures later when I dig out my Chinon-3000 P.O.S. digital camera, and content when I haven't been awake 27 hours straight."

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth. We love you!

Comments

[mrs-dm.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

I remember now, when doc_mystery and I visited you and velvetpage and Elizabeth in the hospital, and WE WERE YOUR ONLY VISITORS.

Yes folks, check the date: April 16, 2003. We were in the midst of the SARS crisis here in southern Ontario and hospital wards were off limits to visitors. But doc_mystery and I figured it was ok for us to visit since we were already working in that particular hospital. But after 15 minutes of chatting with the new family in the common room (near the entrance/exit), a bitchy nurse came and kicked us out because she figured it wasn't fair to the other new mothers who didn't have any visitors.

I was 3 months pregnant at the time and I thought, "Man, I hope I don't get that bitchy nurse when I'm in here having my baby." I almost switched hospitals.

As it turned out, 6 months later, I did deliver at that hospital. And I was assigned a different bitchy nurse.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I remember it well. The only bright spot in a long and very stressful hospital stay. And we still have the candy tin!

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

That event is high on my list of reasons why I think labour and delivery should be taken out of hospitals and put in a birthing centre across the street - and then staffed by entirely different nurses from the hospital pool.

Anyway, I was so extremely grateful for your visit by that time. I was going totally crazy - not a long trip for a new mom, but even so, a visit made a world of difference.