Co-Founder/Co-Host

 

What is my why?  How do you measure the heart of the hero?  How do you show appreciation to someone who changed your life forever?  

 

Imagine the anticipation I had when I was about to become a dad for the first time.  My wife and I followed every necessary step, I had read every baby book imaginable, and I even went to a lamaze class to prove I was all in.  Little did I know, that lamaze class would come full circle, and trust me, we are not talking breathing techniques!  We were ready, or so I thought.  

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For a first time parent when the doctor says your wife may go into labor early, you basically shut down life as you know it.  You arm yourself with every device capable of someone contacting you; cell phone, landline, walkie-talkie, beeper, pigeon, raven or any method that will deliver you the message that the baby is coming. Here is where my WHY came to life, literally.  My wife was now a week late and the doctor discussed inducing the labor.  We arrived at the hospital, thinking this would be a slam dunk and by the morning we would be holding our new bundle of joy, which we had already affectionately named, Brayden.  

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Things were going well, the nurse came in and said it was time to push.  “Go time” as I liked to call it. With that, in walks a new nurse, with a familiar face.  A veteran nurse, named Carolynn.  Full circle, she was the lamaze nurse!  She had been in the hospital for over 25 years and there was just something about her demeanor that almost calmed my new dad nerves.  With that, the delivery began and trouble began to unravel, what seemed to be a routine procedure became anything but.  As my wife began to push, I could see the doctors cheery attitude turn to grave concern.  A room, full of jokes and joy, quickly became full of panic.  They must have sounded some type of alarm, the room immediately filled with nurses and assistants.  The doctor pulled Brayden from my wife and quickly passed him to Carolynn.  She grabbed him and whisked him away.  Brayden wasn’t breathing.  In that split second, I couldn’t breathe either.  My wife looked at me with a look I had never seen before, the plea for me to do something.  I felt helpless, more helpless than I had ever felt in my life.  I was supposed to be the one to take care of everyone, the one who, “holds down the fort.”  This dad froze, I just kept repeating everything was going to be alright.  The doctor began yelling, “Give me numbers!”  Carolynn stayed focused, and began using every aspiration technique she knew to clear Brayden’s airway.  His body was blue, this dad wanted to rush over and scream!  I wanted to say, “You bring back my son, you need to fix this!”   No one in the room spoke, they just worked, there were only concerned faces on all of these professionals.  I still don’t think I took a breath.  The umbilical cord had been wrapped around Brayden’s chest and neck, cutting off his oxygen.  It was a full fledged race to bring him back to us.   Carolynn began performing every method of aspiration techniques she knew, turning him and manipulating him, determined to get Brayden to breathe.  So many things rushed through my mind, could this really be happening?  What do I do, this is my son, I have to do something.  We were on the second floor of the hospital, I can vividly remember imagining myself diving out the window if I lost my son.

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Then, our miracle happened, not that screaming sound of a baby being born on TV, this coo, a sound that will stay with me for the rest of my life.  Brayden’s first breath, the breath that brings me to my WHY.  The packed room began to file out, calmness was restored and before I knew it I was cutting the umbilical cord and posing for pictures.  My WHY is that nurse, Carolynn.  A sweet and kind, labor and delivery nurse, brought me to a new life purpose.  I want to find others who have amazing stories like mine, a tale of something heroic.  Carolynn is my hero, all of her countless deliveries, and training over her career brought her to be with us, and she was able to save my son.  What was probably just another Monday at work for her, changed my life forever.

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I want to find these true, SALT OF THE EARTH people.  Highlight them, hear them, and let others hear their story.  I would like to talk to them and understand the heart of the hero.  Carolynn who was just doing her job, saved my son, without her I don’t know where I would be.  I will forever be in debt to her.  This moment in my life has changed my outlook and I think I found a way to show the appreciation of people doing extraordinary things.  Let’s go find these true, SOTE guests!