Bryant Travis Scruggs was born just over a month ago, on Valentine’s Day.
Soon-to-be parents Heather and Harlie Scruggs of Summit were excited about Bryant’s impending birth later that day — Heather was scheduled to be induced at 5 p.m. that day — but they did have worries.
“I went to the hospital at 12:30 p.m. ... It had just begun sleeting when we were driving to the hospital,” Heather Scruggs said. “We were so relieved that I would already be at the hospital when the bad weather was supposed to hit.”
It almost didn’t happen that way.
Scruggs said she was packing for the hospital trip that Sunday morning when the hospital called to reschedule to Tuesday because of the incoming winter weather.
She feared going into labor before Tuesday, so the hospital personnel agreed to have her come in for an evaluation. If she had dilated since her last visit, they would proceed; if not, they would reschedule.
“To my relief, I was admitted at 2:30 and they started Pitocin at 3:30,” Scruggs said, referring to a hormone used to induce labor.
Bryant was born at 9:15 that night, at 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and 22 inches long.
Hospital services were largely normal for Scruggs, other patients and doctors.
“Things weren’t bad at the hospital” during the winter weather, obstetrician Dr. James Nobles said. “It was an average couple of days. We had three deliveries, and the only unusual thing was arranging transportation.
“My daughter lives in Green Bay, Wis.,” Nobles said. “They’re used to it, and they know how to deal with that. It was only a couple of days for us.”
Nobles said the hospital arranged places for employees to sleep during the worst of that week’s winter weather.
“We all had to deal with the weather, but the hospital handled it well,” Nobles said. “They made accommodations the best way possible, for staff and the patients, too.”
He said the only glitches were with getting water for bathrooms and cleaning, since the city water system was plagued by line breaks and boil notices.
The hospital has a well that custodial workers used to help distribute water around the hospital.
None of the well water, however, had any part in medical procedures.
“We have bottles of sterile water that we use for deliveries,” said Dr. Kevin Richardson, the hospital’s chief medical officer and also in the obstetrics and gynecology specialty. “No tap or well water is ever used during delivery of babies.”
As Nobles said, Richardson confirmed that getting to the hospital was a bigger problem than anything that happened at the hospital.
“The freeze presented quite a challenge for our patients in labor in terms of getting to the hospital,” Richardson said. “Some came in by ambulance, others in vehicles that could handle the icy roads.”
Richardson himself had problems getting to the hospital to help his patients. With a frozen driveway and a car completely stuck, he prevailed on his neighbor, Fulton Brewer, and his large work truck to get to the hospital.
“Motherhood and Mother Nature do not always cooperate when it comes to our patients going into labor,” he said. “From hurricanes to tornadoes, power outages to water shortages, over the years, our labor and delivery team has seen it all.”
Due to the weather and the road conditions early in the week, Scruggs had to stay at the hospital an extra day. She didn’t mind much, though.
“We were blessed to have the best nurses and doctors in labor and delivery!’ Scruggs said. “I can’t thank them enough for making it the best birthing experience.”
While road conditions were still bad on Tuesday, Scruggs, her husband and infant were able to leave with her parents in their four-wheel-drive truck.
“I am so thankful I was admitted (Sunday), or I would not have been able to get to the hospital,” she said.
Richardson said that even with a challenging week, “I reminded several of our new moms that they would have memorable stories to tell their children about everything they went through on the day of their birth.”
Scruggs has no argument with that.
“Ours is definitely a unique birthing story,” she said. “It’s been a fun story to share with friends and family, and I know Bryant will hear it often.
“It’s kind of wild that our sweet little man was born in the middle of a pandemic when our part of the world was covered in ice.
“It certainly changed how we imagined the experience, but now we wouldn’t want it any other way. We are having so much fun being Bryant’s parents.”
