FORT POLK, La. -- The birth of a child can be one of the most amazing, joyous and awe-inspiring events in a couple's life. It's an especially wonderful experience when everything goes like clockwork and there are no real bumps in the road during pregnancy and delivery. But the reality is that not everybody gets nine months of smooth sailing. Things happen -- little challenges pop up to make life interesting and downright stressful. So, what happens when life throws the expectant parents a curve ball right at the end of the pregnancy when the finish line is in sight?
That's when moms and dads like Spc. Jack Cook, from Fort Polk's Alpha Company, 5th Aviation Battalion, and his expectant spouse, Katherine, take a deep breath and hang on for dear life as they experience what can be one of life's scariest and most exciting feats -- one that will make smooth and calm look boring.
The Cooks' adventure began when Katherine went into labor and culminated with her giving birth to their baby boy Jan. 27 in their car on the side of the road. It was definitely their personal bump on the road to a stress-free birth. On the bright side, the following account, told in their own words, will be fodder for great stories for years to come.
The back story:
Cook's company sent him to the Basic Leader Course at the Noncommissioned Officer Academy late in Katherine's pregnancy.
Cook -- "We knew it was the last month of the pregnancy but we decided it was a good idea for me to go and we would take a chance. She was due the last week of class and my instructors decided to frontload me on the last test so that I could finish quickly and be home in case Katherine went into labor and had to go to the hospital. On the morning I had to take the second-to-last test to finish the course -- Jan. 27 -- Katherine woke me early in the morning and tells me she thinks we might need to go to the hospital soon. I begin mentally preparing," said Cook.
He made the necessary phone calls and by 7:30 a.m. they were out of the house, taking their son Jak Jak, 18 months, to the sitter's house and heading to Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital. "It was just after 8 a.m. when we got there. I had also been talking to my chain of command at the NCO Academy. I told them I didn't think I would be able to make it to the test. My first sergeant and the NCO Academy were talking back and forth. They told me if she isn't in labor right now, that I needed to try to make it over there to take this test. It's do or die. I've gone through all this hard work and if I don't take the test, I'll have to do it again. Meanwhile the hospital tells us they can't admit Katherine until she is 5 centimeters dilated," he said.
Katherine -- "I wanted a natural birth, so they told me to head home because it would be an easier birth if I got something to eat, relaxed and took a warm bath. They said it would make me dilate faster and then I could come in when I was really ready. Whereas, if they put me in a hospital bed it could take me another 12 hours before the birth took place," she Said.
Cook -- "By the time they checked her for the second time to determine if she was going to stay or go home, we had coordinated for my first sergeant to take Katherine home if she wasn't going to be admitted so that I could rush back to take my test. The hospital decided they couldn't admit her, so my first sergeant brought Katherine back to the house," said Cook.
Back home:
The Cooks thought they had plenty of time.
Katherine -- "The first sergeant gave me all of his information and said he could be back to pick me up in 10 minutes to run me back to the hospital if needed. After he left, I ate breakfast, went upstairs and ran a warm bath because I was having hard contractions and I knew the bath would help. I took a short nap but I started having really hard contractions again. By this time it was almost 11 a.m. I thought Jack would get home by 11:30 a.m. and that I could wait that long and we could go to the hospital together. My contractions were still 5 minutes apart," said Katherine. "I got in another warm bath to help with the contractions, but I started to feel them closer together. Jack called me at 11:34 a.m. and asked what's happening. I told him I'm in the bathtub and to hurry home, but I still thought everything was fine," she said.
At this point the contractions were still anywhere between 2 to 5 minutes apart. Katherine said she figured she still had time. "I started to get up from the bath to get ready to go and as soon as I stood up a contraction hit. I wasn't even out of the bathtub and I had another one and another one. I thought, "Oh, my God." The contractions are less than a minute apart now. This isn't good. I'm in active labor and Jack isn't home yet. I have to get to the hospital right now," said Katherine.
She threw a dress on and was having a huge contraction as Cook walked in the door.
The drive:
Katherine -- "We got into the car and the contractions came one right after another -- boom, boom, boom. I'm yelling for him to hurry to the hospital. He's speeding, honking and moving around vehicles with the flashers on and I'm screaming, 'Oh my God, this baby is coming right now. I can feel it. I'm having this baby, pull over. At first, he didn't believe me," she said.
Cook -- "I told her that we were almost there and to hold on, but she was screaming that the baby was coming," he said.
Katherine -- "At this point, I could feel the baby's head. I told Jack to pull over and help me. I had another contraction and felt his head come out," said Katherine.
Cook -- "I looked over, saw the head and pulled over on the side of the road before the railroad tracks heading to South Fort," said Cook.
What went through their heads when they realized they weren't going to make it?
Katherine -- "I was in pain and kept screaming 'no, no, no, not in the car.' I'm trying to hold back as much as possible, but I knew the baby was coming. I was sad and upset because I would have preferred having an unplanned at-home birth rather than having him on the side of the road," she said.
Cook -- "I was just in Army training go mode. I had a 'get mission done' attitude.
Katherine -- "I grabbed the baby's leg and held on. If it weren't for that and my underwear holding him in place as Jack swerved to the side of the road, he would have been born with the next contraction," she said.
Cook -- "By the time I stopped and ran to the other side of the car, the baby was almost completely out. I noticed that he was really blue. I handed Katherine the phone and told her to call 911. It was kind of cold that day, so Katherine grabbed a blanket to wrap the baby in and called 911," he said. "I pulled the baby the rest of the way out and assessed that he didn't have the cord around his neck. I thought he might have because he was so blue. I smacked his butt to get him crying and breathing. Once I saw that he was breathing, I put him on his mom's chest.
Once I had him in my hands my thought process was, 'Wow, I just helped birth my own baby!' That's what I can remember most from the whole ordeal. It feels really good. It's awesome. If we ever want to have another baby, I have confidence to go with a home birth and know that we could do it," said Cook.
At that point, he said he took the phone to try to talk to the 911 operator, but couldn't hear. "I don't know why. Maybe it was a combination of adrenalin and the sound of cars driving by at lunchtime. I just hung up, ran back to the driver's side of the car and drove the rest of the way to the hospital. I didn't know if there was anything wrong with Katherine or the baby, so I wanted to get there as soon as possible. When we got there I ran inside the emergency entrance to get help and told the lady that my wife had just given birth in the car. Her face was priceless. She went white, dropped what she had in her hands and went to get help. A doctor came out and started checking the baby. They cut the cord and ran the baby upstairs, put her on a gurney and took her up," said Cook.
The end is the beginning:
Katherine -- "The good news is that everything was perfectly fine and there were no problems. Our new baby boy, Connor Edward Cook, was born at noon, weighs 7 pounds, 13 ounces and is 20 inches long," she said.
Now that things have calmed down, Cook said that some of the responses they've gotten when they tell the story of Connor's birth are hilarious.
Disbelief his been one of the biggest reactions, said Cook. "My brother thought I was lying to him. Even Katherine's mom said, 'no, that can't be. You're joking with me.' I said, 'No, this is for real.' Once people got past that, they thought it was cool. My first sergeant said I was a hero. I said, 'No, I just did what needed to be done. Katherine did most of it,'" said Cook.
Nevertheless, Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Suri, Commandant, NCOA, said Cook proved to be a highly intelligent individual who continuously impressed academy instructors and staff. "He was a true team player, full of enthusiasm and willing to volunteer for anything. He received a 100 on both the LANDNAV and training exams. I believe Cook will not only be a great future leader in the Army, but an incredible husband and awesome father. I wish the young Family great happiness," said Suri.
Suri lauds NCOA training in preparing Soldiers, like Cook, for anything when it happens. "One of our goals as an academy is not to throw training from a check list at the newest members entering our corps, but to inspire them at every opportunity possible. The instructors are the best examples of professional leaders and human beings, not to mention the model of Army values. Students are saturated with instructors who display stewardship of the Army profession. The NCOA provides a lot of training, but our ultimate goal is to inspire to a point where the Soldier wants to be engaged and involved," he said.
The students are faced with many challenges throughout the course, according to Suri. "They are placed in leadership roles where the student leader is faced with an ever changing field environment. They are evaluated on their ability to react and make quick decisions on their feet that are crucial to the mission and to their team's survival in a real world scenario. Cook not only displayed this talent in the course, but obviously in real life when he pulled over his car to deliver his own baby," said Suri.
You have to wonder what Connor will think of all the hoopla when he gets old enough to understand how he came into the world. "He may be embarrassed. I don't know. It depends on how we tell the story. But he might think it's cool," said Katherine.
In spite of being worried about his son being born that day and his rocky welcome into the world, Cook passed his test with flying colors and will graduate with his NCOA class. Now that's a happy ending.
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