The birth of your child should be one of the most important moments in your life.
If not, THE most important moment.
That’s why the law in the U.S. allows parents to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and more companies are offering paid time off to mothers and fathers for the birth of a child.
But when Pvt. 2nd Class Tyrell Hicks’ baby was born, he was undergoing military training.
So, when he got the call that his wife Alanna was having labor pains, he started to get nervous.
That went double when she informed him that her contractions were only a minute apart.
He wasn’t quite ready to leave training yet, however, his drill sergeant made an exception and made sure that Tyrell was headed to see his child, if not be present for the actual birth.
Sgt. Christopher Reyes was able to secure him a flight and travel accommodations to get to the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center where Alanna was in labor.
In typical nurse fashion, the nurses at St. Joseph’s were going above and beyond their duties to accommodate this family. They were both monitoring Alanna’s progress and coordinating Tyrell’s arrival.
“Typically, for first-time mamas, it takes a while to deliver. It’s the first time your body is doing it. But it was not her first baby. So the body knows. It almost takes over muscle memory and it’s like ‘Okay, I know how to get a baby out. I’m gonna go ahead and do that.’ So, we were like we have to keep her pregnant,” Senior Clinical Nurse Cristina Aquia told Militarykind.
Thankfully, Tyrell arrived before the birth of his son. But just barely.
“I went in the wrong entrance. I was supposed to go in the main entrance. So, I had to run around the whole hospital, and I’m just jetting with my full gear on,” Tyrell explained.
By the time Tyrell arrived, hospital staff lined each side of the hallway and cheered Tyrell on and congratulated him as he raced to his wife’s hospital room.
Tyrell made it just 10 minutes before his son Kannon was born.
“He was there for the most important part for his son to come out and everything, the support from him vs. the support from other people is different,” Alanna said.
“So, it really meant a lot and it made the moment even more special to be surprised.”
Tyrell got to spend a few days with his wife and newborn before he had to go back to training.
Tyrell and Alanna’s story ended up going viral. A video about their story was shared on YouTube where it was viewed over 842,500 times.
One commenter wrote:
“Beautiful story. My husband was deployed and on his way back when our baby was about to be born. He made it to the hospital and 2 hours later our daughter was born. I’m glad they all worked together to give my husband the chance to not miss out on his baby’s birth. I am thankful and I’m happy for this family. Much love to all.”
“Daddy may be a Soldier, but Mamma is a Trooper! Holding at 9 centimeters for 6 hours. Woman, I salute you!” said another.
Check out the video below to learn more details about this touching story!
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