Soldier witnesses daughter’s birth via Internet

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — For 25-year-old U.S. Army Sgt. Kyle Patterson of Presque Isle, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan, not being physically present for the delivery of his firstborn child was no barrier to actually taking part in the miraculous celebration of life.
Through technology and tears of joy, Patterson’s wife, Ashley, also 25, along with family members and a team of TAMC physicians and nurses in both the operating room and women’s and children’s unit, made sure Kyle was there when his baby girl, Gracelyn, was brought into the world on March 29 at 7:55 a.m.
Using an iPad and Skype, a telecommunications link app, from the moment Ashley was admitted, through the cesarean-section delivery of Gracelyn in the operating room, Kyle never missed a beat, and when the battery ran low on the computer, a TAMC nurse rushed to get her personal power cord to keep the audio/visual connection going.
“A lot of military families go through this. There are soldiers who are deployed who miss the birth of their child and mothers who deliver their baby while the baby’s father is serving our country,” said Ashley. “We were so fortunate to have Kyle be a part of it all, and I was so comforted to know that he was there. Given the circumstances, I couldn’t imagine it any better. It’s almost unbelievable! Having us all together was just perfect, and I can’t thank everyone at TAMC enough for helping to make that happen.”
Kyle, who works with the Army’s Military Police, had been present — in a one-dimensional way — at all of Ashley’s pre-natal appointments at TAMC. Flat Kyle, as the family has dubbed the cardboard cutout image of him, entered the hospital first thing in the morning with Ashley and sat in her patient room.
More Skype sessions are planned for Kyle to visit with his young family, but it is the special video connection that allowed the proud new dad to witness his daughter’s birth that has everyone in the family and on the TAMC team buzzing.
“Bringing a baby into the world is such a joyous event, and to be able to give the father a chance to see his first-born daughter brought into the world from thousands of miles away is truly uplifting,” said Dr. Joyce Hebert, who, along with Dr. Rachel Swartz, led the team that delivered Gracelyn. “When Ashley asked about having her husband there via Skype, we thought it was a great idea. Nurses worked with providers and managers to make sure that he got an all-access pass to the birth of his daughter.”
In addition to their roles in the operating room, the entire team of TAMC providers worked to ensure that Kyle would experience the next best thing to being physically present. Team members each introduced themselves to Kyle online. And when it came time to help capture the moment, and an extra pair of hands were needed to record the events, it was anesthesiologist Dr. Richard Debowsky who came to the rescue.
“I was moved to tears. To witness a father serving our country in Afghanistan see his daughter being born, and tell his wife how much he loves them and misses them was touching beyond words,” said Joann Pelkey, CRNA and manager of anesthesia services. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the operating room.”
The emotion was the same thousands of miles away.
“He told me he would not cry and he absolutely did,” said Ashley of Kyle. “I can’t wait until he returns. It will be like experiencing this day all over again when he comes home. Everyone will be on Cloud Nine.”
Gracelyn Patterson weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 20-and-a-quarter inches long. Her maternal grandparents are Bonnie Martin of Bangor and Roger Martin of Pea Ridge, Ark. Her paternal grandparents are Danny and Denise Patterson, originally of Presque Isle and now of Eastham, Mass.