Hollister
– Sent to Iraq while his pregnant wife was at home in Hollister,
U.S. Marines Lance Cpl. Jonathon Foss was certain he would miss out
on seeing the birth of his first child.
Hollister – Sent to Iraq while his pregnant wife was at home in Hollister, U.S. Marines Lance Cpl. Jonathon Foss was certain he would miss out on seeing the birth of his first child.
But thanks to a few committed staff members at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, modern technology and a little luck, Jonathon Foss was able to watch a live streaming video of the birth of his son, Jude, from halfway across the world.
“I’m so proud of you,” Foss typed in an instant message to his wife, Jerilyn, after he caught his first glimpse of their new child.
Sitting in her sunny living room holding her 4-day-old baby Thursday, Jerilyn Foss, 21, said she and her husband were incredibly grateful to the hospital staff for their help.
“We couldn’t believe it,” she said. “We were just hoping that he could call in to the room and we got so much more.”
Last Friday, Frankie Valent-Arballo, director of public relations for Hazel Hawkins, received an e-mail from Master Sgt. Scott Martin in Iraq, asking if there was any way the hospital could arrange a teleconference so that one of his Marines could watch the birth of his first child, who was due in a week.
Valent-Arballo told Martin she would do everything in her power to make that possible, but when she contacted Jerilyn Foss on Monday morning, she found out she had already gone into labor, and would be giving birth to her child that evening.
“I kicked into gear and started making phone calls because I had no idea how to do this,” Valent-Arballo said.
Valent-Arballo held a meeting where she informed other staff members of the e-mail. She said the outpouring of support was impressive: Everyone volunteered to help in different ways.
“When you get a request like that, it’s not a matter of ‘it’s somebody’s job.’ It’s the right thing to do. I think it’s the least we could do,” Valent-Arballo said.
The hospital’s lab manager, Mark Smith, ran to Staples to buy a webcam. Dr. Antonio Meraz used his knowledge of technology to get the webcam up and running, and Anthony Mojica, director of guest relations for the hospital, and Valent-Arballo worked to get everything in order.
When Jerilyn Foss was brought into the hospital at 5:30pm Monday, she said she was aware that the staff members were working hard so her husband could watch the birth.
“I had a lot of anxiety because I wanted the video conference to work, but I was doubtful,” she said.
While she was in labor with her contractions less than two minutes apart, staff members worked to set up the technology, but met with little success. Valent-Arballo typed to Jonathon Foss through instant messenger and kept him updated as they tried to set up the camera and equipment.
Jerilyn Foss said she put off pushing for more than an hour due to glitches with the computer and camera, but her nurse finally told her she was going to have to have the baby, even if her husband could not witness it.
As Jerilyn Foss started pushing, Valent-Arballo, who was also holding the camera to film the event, got a message from the Marine that he could see his wife.
“He told them to tell me I was beautiful when I was pushing,” Jerilyn Foss said.
As she was giving birth to the couple’s first child, her husband, who is stationed in Fallujah, watched and typed words of encouragement.
When at last Jude was born, Jonathon Foss watched through the camera, and called the hospital room to tell his wife how proud he was and how beautiful their son was.
Jerilyn Foss said her husband calls nightly to talk to her and the baby.
“He always says, ‘Be good to your mom,’ and tells him soon he’ll take him to the (Monterey Bay) aquarium,” Jerilyn Foss said.
She said she was glad her Marine husband could be a part of the birth in some capacity.
“He couldn’t be there, but in a sense he could,” Jerilyn Foss said. “I’m so grateful to Hazel Hawkins Hospital for that.”
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at (831) 637-5566 ext. 336 or at aj**@fr***********.com.
