story4102.xml

story4102.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I will never forget the first events of September 1, 2001. I was in the hospital where I worked as a labor and delivery nurse. The only difference was that this time I was a patient--a pregnant patient. I had just turned 36 weeks pregnant and was getting back into my bed after my shower, when I started contracting. I had been in the hospital for 3 weeks on bedrest, for blood pressure problems caused by the pregnancy. My doctor decided to induce my labor that morning, so I was getting my belongings together to move to a labor room down the hall. I had the television set on, watching the Today show with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, and I looked up in time to see the first plane hit one of the towers and hear Matt say that they thought it had been a air traffic controller related accident. My nurse came into my room, with a wheelchair to transport me down the hall, and we commented to one another and also to my husband, that we didn't believe that to be the case. I arrived in my new room and was getting out of the wheelchair and into my new bed, and my husband turned on the television set in time to see the second plane hit the tower, and without missing a beat, I looked at my spouse and my nurse and told them that was NOT a air traffic control error, that was terrorism, and we had just been attacked. Several minutes later, the news was in and I had been right. It was on the news for the rest of my hospitalization and for days after.

My doctor and midwife induced my labor on September 11, 2001, and my beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed baby girl was born on September 12, 2001 at 2pm. To this day, I refer to her birth as my "good news after a really bad day".

Her birth renewed my hope for our nation and helped me to stay focused on the future of our country and the direction that it is going in. God willing there will still be a United States of America for my daughter and her generation to enjoy as generations have before her.

Thank you for the chance to share my story. My heart goes out to the women who lost spouses in that tragedy, and then delivered babies later on by themselves--without their mates by their sides. I also feel saddened especially for pregnant women who lost their lives and their spouses left behind. There is a double loss in those cases. Finally, I grieve for all the lives lost in that days awful string of events. I pray that we, as a nation, can continue to heal and move forward in a positive light, led by God, and guided by His wisdom and shielded by His might.

--Dona Sabine