A pregnant woman two weeks away from her due date is not usually disappointed to hear her pregnancy is as healthy as could be. However, Haley Lindsey was hoping for different news.
A very good reason
No, she is not a horrible person, she had reasoning behind this logic. Her husband Brooks is in the military, and at the time, he was waiting in El Paso to deploy. Meanwhile, she was almost full-term in Jackson, Mississippi.
It is not uncommon for military men to miss the birth of their child, but that doesn’t make it any easier on their wives. The Red Cross will grant men permission to come home for the birth of their child, but only if there are distress and complications with the pregnancy or labor.
Great news!
So, when her doctor called an hour after a routine prenatal appointment and said she had to be induced as soon as possible due to high blood pressure, she was actually happy. She was missing Brooks so badly, and this news meant he could come home for four days to be with her and meet his daughter.
Haley notified the Red Cross and they gave Brooks the green light to work his way home. Haley and Brooks were soon deflated when they figured out that due to conflicts with the flight schedules, there was a slim chance he would make it to the hospital in time. He still gave it a shot and scheduled the flights. Given the circumstances, Haley decided her mother-in-law and stepmom should be in the delivery room since he would probably miss it.
The journey began
Brooks left El Paso at 11 AM and landed in Dallas at 2:38 PM. Haley received a call from him as soon as he landed. He was eager to get a progress report. At this point, she was already 5 centimeters dilated. His flight was scheduled to take off in just over an hour. The couple knew that he would be cutting it close.
Come to find out, Brooks’ flight was delayed to 5:45 PM and this was the best thing that could have happened in the given situation. At 5 PM, the doctor declared it was go-time!
In the moment
Brooks’ mother Teresa knew how much it meant to her son and daughter-in-law to share the moment their daughter entered the world. She was secretly facetiming Brooks when the doctor told Haley to push. The doctor caught on quickly and encouraged Teresa to show him what was going on.
Brooks was able to comfort his wife by telling her everything was going to be okay, and that she was doing great. He gasped and winced periodically throughout the process. It truly seemed as if he were right there.
When it was time to board the plane that would take Brooks to his first child, he was torn. Should he miss the birth or miss the flight home? The doctor yelled “DO NOT LET HIM BOARD THE FLIGHT! SHE’S HERE! SHE’S HERE!” Luckily, the airport personnel listened to the doctor, and they allowed him to sit in the airport until she was all the way out.
Here is a video Haley posted on Facebook of Brooks watching the birth:
Their daughter is born
At 5:23 PM, their daughter Millie was born very healthy, weighing 7 lbs 6 oz and measuring 21 inches long. The look on Brooks face was captured by a screenshot. People at the airport were cheering and congratulating him. They had been looking on in anticipation the whole time.
Here is a FaceTime snap of him during the birth:
Brooks finally arrived at the hospital at 7:20 PM. He held Millie and stared at her in awe. He kept repeating “Wow, I can’t believe we just had a baby!” He never stopped smiling. They both knew the next four days were going to go way to fast.
Their story received over 20,000 shares on social media overnight. They had complete strangers sending flowers and gifts, thanking Brooks for his service and sacrifice. Numerous military wives and pregnant women reached out to Haley for support and advice.
Millie’s birth story was beautiful and inspiring to say the least! It is not easy being a military family, but this family’s story demonstrates the sacrifice a war hero and his family must make, and also reminds us to be grateful for every opportunity that comes our way.
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