I had a regular doctor’s appointment on Thursday morning. I thought they’d just set up a date to induce me next week. Brooks and I had been practicing how I would call the Red Cross because we heard it’s really hard to get military men home for the birth of a baby. We were told the only way it might work is if I was in real distress.
That really upset us because, up to that point, everything was fine with my pregnancy. I just had a little high blood pressure. At my checkup, they found that my blood pressure was much higher than normal. About an hour later, right after I told Brooks that it didn’t look like he’d be able to come home, my doctor called.
She said my blood pressure was way too high, the baby was showing signs of stress, and I had preeclampsia. She told me to be at the hospital within the hour because they were going to induce me. I was panicking and called Brooks. He was thrilled! I called the Red Cross again and told them it was an emergency. All they needed was a confirmation from my doctor.
I got to the hospital at 3 p.m. on Thursday. They confirmed I had preeclampsia and told Brooks to book a flight. He was at Fort Bliss, about to be deployed to Kuwait for 9 months, and would have to fly from El Paso to Dallas and then to Jackson. The catch was he couldn’t book the flight until after 10 a.m. the next day. I thought, “We’re definitely going to have the baby by then.” But honestly, I was just grateful he’d get to come home for at least 4 days. Early Friday morning at 7, the nurses broke my water and began giving me Pitocin to help labor start.”
When he landed in Dallas at 2:38 p.m. central time, he called me. I was 5 centimeters dilated. His next flight was supposed to leave at 3:55 p.m., but thankfully it got delayed to 5:45. That delay was a blessing, because it meant he was still on the ground and able to FaceTime me! I had to make a fast choice about who would be with me during the birth. I chose my stepmom Dee Anne and my mother-in-law Teresa.
The doctor checked me at 5:00 p.m. and said it was time. My mother-in-law secretly FaceTimed Brooks and hid her phone in her shirt. When I started pushing, the doctor asked what she was doing. She showed her the phone, and the doctor saw Brooks’ face and understood what was happening.
Millie was actually delivered by a different doctor, not my usual one, so she didn’t know about the FaceTime at first. But my doctor told her to take the phone out and let Brooks see what was going on. He kept telling me I was doing great and said, “It’s okay, you’re doing amazing.” I could hear him wincing and saying “Wow!” with each push. I also heard people in the airport cheering.
Right as I started to crown, he said they were about to make him board the plane. Then, all I remember is the doctor yelling, “Don’t let him board! She’s here! She’s here!” They let him stay and watch the whole thing on FaceTime before he had to get on the plane. Here’s a snap from FaceTime of his face during the delivery… After Millie was born at 5:23 p.m. (7 pounds 6 ounces, 21 inches long, 2 weeks early), Brooks got on the plane and landed in Jackson at 7 p.m. When he finally arrived at the hospital at 7:20, I asked everyone 17 people to leave the room. It was just me and Millie when he walked in. He picked her up, held her in his arms for five minutes, and kept saying, “Wow, I can’t believe we just had a baby.”
But even in that moment, all I could think about was how hard it would be to say goodbye again in four days. He told me people on the flight were cheering for us and watching the FaceTime. I joked and said, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if Ellen called?” The next morning, someone told us to check Facebook. Our post had over 1,000 shares and 20,000 likes.
We thought that was the end of it but it kept going viral! I’ve received the kindest messages, especially from other military wives and moms asking how I contacted the Red Cross and got him home in time. People we didn’t even know brought gifts to our hospital room. Nurses came in and thanked Brooks for his service. It’s been an overwhelming time, but full of love, emotion, and support.
