A tiny reminder.. Life IS beautiful..

Every now and again, things happen to me that restore my optimism... things that remind me that life is, after all, beautiful.. Very few can rival this one..

Thursday was my last day at work before my long-awaited Holiday.. As I was going to be away for two weeks, I decided to get in much earlier than I normally do, in order to try and make some impact on the mountain of paperwork that I simply must finish before I go away.. (Oooh, how I hate paperwork!!..).. I knew I had a full day ahead, and once the rat race starts, any chance of tackling that pile would simply evaporate..

As I drove in towards the Department, I could not help but notice something very odd... What on Earth is that car doing, parked right in the middle of the Ambulance Bay.. doors open, and a screen around it!!???..

As I opened my car door, I heard some muffled screams.. coming from that car!.. I ran to the car to find a young woman, in the final stages of labour!!... I noticed that her husband, along with two Nurses from the Department, were running back to the car with a trolley, to carry the mother into the Department.. However, to my horror, I realised that the baby had other plans.. It was not going to wait!.. Thankfully, the Nurses brought with them some sterile gloves and blankets, along with a pack of some basic instruments... and before I know it, I was in action, helping the young mother deliver her first child, on the backseat of her car!..

I don't know how long the whole thing took, but it felt like eternity!.. "OK.. Push, sweetheart.. you're doing fine..".. The baby is out.. the cold air sends it screaming!.. So far, so good.. Cord clamped and cut, baby (a healthy, bouncy little boy) wrapped in warm towel, handed to Nurse, who rushes him into the warmth of the Resuscitair and the awaiting Paediatricians... Mother crying with emotion, I am trying to control mine!.. Despite the freezing morning air, I was sweating buckets!.. My clothes, by now, were soaked through.. The relief of knowing that the baby was well, and hear him cry, was simply indescribable..

I am delighted to report that both Mother and Baby are doing fine... As for me, I am still recovering!...

But what about that mountain of paperwork??... Well.. After all that excitement, do you really think I was going to be bothered??... I mean, I was not even supposed to be there!.. I only went in at 07:15 to do some paperwork, and I get the unbelievable good fortune to be part of something so amazing!.. And people still ask me why I love this job so much!!...

In the end, I stayed till after 9pm to finish all the administrative rubbish.. and you know what?.. I really did not mind.. Even by the time I eventually got home after 10, I was still buzzing from my experience over 14 hours earlier...

I really should sign off.. I have a flight to catch in a few hours...

Photograph by Jennifer Loomis