Jeff and Maribeth got in the car and drove to Good Samaritan’s Hospital around 8:30 P.M. Maribeth checked into the triage and was examined by a nurse. Even though this day, August 23, was Maribeth’s due date, the nurse said Maribeth was only 1-2 centimeters dilated. She asked Maribeth to stick out her tongue. “Your tongue looks white. You’re probably just dehydrated which is causing the contractions.” So, we decided to go home if it was only false labor.

We got home around 10 P.M. and Maribeth slipped into the tub to relax and help make the contractions go away. She abruptly woke up Jeff around 11:20 P.M. and said, “We need to go back to the hospital.” Maribeth woke up Grandma to tell here we we’re going to the hospital while Jeff gathered popsicles and a muffin from the kitchen. Apparently, Jeff wasn’t moving fast enough as Maribeth yelled, “Hurry up, Jeff!”

Once in the car, Maribeth told Jeff to run every stop sign and red light between the house and the hospital. “I don’t care, just run the stop lights!” she pleaded. “Go as fast as you can!” Jeff did his best to heed Maribeth’s demands while getting safely to the hospital. Fortunately, the Sunday traffic was light so the stop signs and red lights looked more like suggestions than the rule of law. Unfortunately, the speed cameras on Interstate-17 were less sympathetic and didn’t know that Jeff was rushing his laboring wife to the hospital. Later the next week, Jeff received a speeding ticket in the mail for driving 73 mph in a 55 mph zone. (The black and white photo above was actually taken by the speed cameras. You can barely see the white figure in the passenger seat, who is Maribeth in a fully reclined position trying her best to cope.)

Maribeth and Jeff arrived at the hospital shortly after midnight on August 24. After reaching the maternity ward, Jeff wondered if he should move the car into long-term parking, to which Maribeth replied, “Do not leave me.” A nurse brought a wheelchair to take Maribeth into triage, where several nurses immediately began to examine Maribeth. “I want an epidural!” she insisted almost immediately, but there was no time. The nurse finished checking Maribeth and declared that she was fully dilated. Just like that, the baby was ready to be born!

They moved Maribeth to an emergency delivery room in the triage. Maribeth told the nurses she was ready to deliver right here, right now. One nurse said to wait because the doctor hadn’t arrived yet. Maribeth replied that she didn’t care who delivered the baby and that it was coming now. The nurse joked that she could get the cleaning lady, but the humor was lost on Maribeth. Maribeth had just moved onto the delivery bed when things really started to escalate. An interning doctor quickly stepped into the room and was getting a mask on when Maribeth started to push. One push … two push … three push … done! A healthy, crying baby came flying out into the world!

Maribeth and Jeff were so stunned by the whirlwind of activity that they forgot at first to ask the baby’s gender. To their shock and wonder, it was a girl!

Evelyn Lea Klein was born at 12:24 A.M. on August 24, 2009 (7 lbs 10.2 oz, 19 ½”). She emerged less than 20 minutes after Mom and Dad arrived at the hospital. Jeff’s speeding ticket, captured at 11:52 P.M. at 15th Ave and Interstate-17, confirms how close Evelyn was to being born on the road. Dad and Mom hope Evelyn doesn’t continue to push us into breaking the law, but we’re sure glad she came flying into the world when she did. Evelyn’s race to the hospital was an exciting and unforgettable trip for us all.