A Birth Story...

(REVISED EDITION)
Naomi Rose Norquist

On a cold Alaskan morning, Becky pulled herself into the truck for the 100-mile journey to the nearest hospital for her 38-week check-up. Her husband Jim was in the driver's seat next to her. They had come to Alaska three months earlier to serve for one year at a Bible camp that was located in the middle of nowhere (so remote in fact that the address read: Mile 95 of the Glen Hwy). The hospital to which they were now headed was a tiny, six-room hospital used mainly for workers building the Trans-Alaskan pipeline. It was nestled in a small town called Glennallen. Shortly after arriving in Alaska, their doctor found out that Becky had given birth to twin boys almost two years previously. He immediately ordered a sonogram to make sure that her large belly did not contain two babies again, as they were not equipped to deal with a high risk pregnancy. During that ultrasound, they found only one beautiful baby girl. They gave her the name Naomi Rose. During those last few months of the pregnancy, Jim would often talk to and sing to his little developing daughter in-utero.

After two hours of bumping along, they arrived at the hospital. The check-up was normal, and the couple was told she had another week or two at least before the baby would come, as she was not at all dilated nor effaced. Jim and Becky piled back into the truck and made the long trip home.

Later that day...

It was getting cold enough now, especially in the Alaskan climate, to start preparing for winter. Jim and Becky started splitting and piling wood for the long, cold winter. After throwing wood for awhile, Becky started to have some fairly painful contractions. She sat down to rest. When the contractions got worse, they decided it may be time to jump back into the truck. They hurried their 22-month-old boys, Andy and Ben, over to the neighbors, and once again set off toward the small hospital. Meanwhile, a snowstorm had been brewing, and now hit them with full force. With a pregnant bladder, and a two-hour drive through the mountains, a stop was inevitable. As they crept along the mountainside, Jim looked for a good spot to pull over for a quick pit stop. Becky carefully climbed out of the truck and emptied her full bladder with the snow swirling around her. A gust of frigid, snow-laden wind sent her back into the truck with a shiver.

When they finally arrived, they were told to wait in the clinic's waiting area, because all of the six hospital rooms were occupied. While they sat there, Becky's labor stopped. The contractions were becoming less consistent. By this time, it was the middle of the night. As you can imagine, this was the perfect recipe for misery. Becky broke into tears. They drove six hours to and from this hospital today, and now the labor had subsided. When dawn started to peek over the horizon, the doctor came in and told the weary couple to go home. Once again, Becky was in tears. Just as they were getting up to leave, SPLOSH! Her water broke.

Since all of the hospital rooms were still full, the staff cleared out the hospital waiting area and turned it into a make-shift room for the laboring mother. There was a pull-out couch that they directed Becky to, and there she laid for most of the day.



After almost sixteen hours of enduring contractions in that hide-a-bed, Becky was moved to the delivery room, where she gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Jim turned shining eyes on his new daughter.



The excited couple made phone calls to the anxious grandparents waiting in the "Lower 48."



Naomi Rose Norquist
October 23, 1983
5:45pm
7lbs. 12 oz.
19 3/4 inches long
Faith Hospital


Naomi's ID wristband


Baby Naomi