-Edition
Font Resize
Giving birth in a hurricane wasn't something Kerri Bedard ever thought she would do.
But on Monday her son, Owen Bedard Loveland, was born at 8:32 a.m. at Memorial Hospital while the winds and rains from Sandy were starting to rage.
"I left the house at 5:30 a.m. yesterday, and it was raining really bad," said Bedard, who lives in York City.
"I was worried that we wouldn't be able to make it in," she said.
Bedard was scheduled to have a Caesarean section delivery Monday morning.
"I knew it wouldn't be canceled because there are generators and stuff at the hospital," Bedard said.
Getting there: But she was also concerned about getting her daughter, Olivia, who is 10 months old, out of the house safely.
Bedard's mother was able to pick up Olivia and Owen's father, Jason Loveland, who drove Bedard to the hospital.
"He was a little bit worried. He was taking it pretty slow compared to his normal driving," Bedard laughed.
Once Bedard was taken to the operating room, her doctor kept hearing noises.
"He didn't know if it was the generators kicking in or other stuff, but it was the wind," she said. "I could hear it faintly, but I was more interested in what was going on."
Arrival: Baby Owen arrived without any problems, weighing in at 9 pounds, 2 ounces.
"It went well," Bedard said. "And normally with a newborn they're not really wanting to sleep, but I guess the rain is great sleeping weather, so he is sleeping really great. He just woke up when he needed to eat and he's doing well."
His big sister already loves him and says "Hi baby," said Bedard.
Hospitals: Memorial Hospital's emergency management committee began meeting last week and over the weekend to stay up to date on the weather forecast and make sure supplies were well stocked for when the storm arrived, said Josette Myers, spokeswoman.
Surgeries scheduled at Memorial for Monday were moved to earlier in the day, she said.
Nonessential services, such as off-site imaging centers like Greenbriar Medical Center, were closed Monday.
"We started doing things last week like contacting our supply vendors and asking for early shipments this week," she said.
Things went smoothly at both Memorial Hospital and York Hospital.
"We had no unusual occurrences," said Barry Sparks, spokesman for WellSpan Health.
Staffing was adequate and there were 56 staff members who stayed overnight at York Hospital, said Sparks.
All elective surgeries at WellSpan Health were canceled for Monday and Tuesday.
The weather alert feature on WellSpan's homepage lists closings and changes of schedule of any WellSpan facilities has also been activated.
- Reach Chelsea Shank at 505-5432 or cshank@yorkdispatch.com
