Macklin Makes Dramatic Debut

by Bob Sparrow

Wednesday, Feb 26,2020

The Borrelli Family pre-Macklin

5:45 a.m.  Daughter, Dana Borrelli, 39 months pregnant, checks into Huntington Hospital in Pasadena to be induced

7:35 a.m.  Linda and I call Dana to see how she’s doing.  She says not much going on, she feels fine, contractions are still far apart

8:30 a.m.  We ‘Face Time’ Dana; she’s resting comfortably, still no urgent contractions.  We tell her we’ll be coming up to check in on her later this morning

10:45 a.m.  Linda and I, along with Addison, Joe & Dana’s two-and-a-half year old daughter, whom we’ve had for the evening, depart Orange on our way to hospital in Pasadena

10:57 a.m. We get a call from Dana’s phone, but it’s not Dana, it’s husband, Joe.  He says he’ll call us right back, that there is “Something’s going on”

We’re now in panic mode, not knowing what this ‘something going on’ is

11:05 a.m.  Joe calls us back to tell us that 10-12 hospital personnel just rushed in and quickly wheeled Dana into surgery, with one nurse holding in the umbilical cord that was ‘presenting itself’ first.  The umbilical cord coming out first is not good – it is a condition called ‘umbilical cord prolapse’ and can cause significant complications during a delivery if the cord is pressed and collapsed by the baby’s head, thus compromising the oxygen supply to the baby.  Joe is not allowed into surgery, he tells us, “This is not good”.

We are now past panic mode and are still about 30 minutes away from the hospital.  We tell Joe to give us an up-date as soon as he gets one.  He nervously agrees

Macklin Carmine Borrelli

11:37 a.m. Joe calls to tell us that Macklin is here; born at 11:11 a.m. and that both he and Dana are fine, that an emergency C-section was performed.  We were told later that because of the speed with which the surgery had to be done, that Dana lost about 2 liters of blood.  As a point of reference, an average adult has a total of about 5 liters total in their body, although pregnant women can have around 7.5 liters.  Still a lot of blood loss made Mama Dana look a bit pale.

11:45 a.m.  Linda, Addison and I arrive at the hospital and wait in the waiting room about 30 more minutes before Joe comes to get us to see Dana and Macklin.  Dana, always the warrior, says, with a smile, that all is good, and Macklin, while smaller than anticipated at 6 lbs 7 oz, is healthy.

Linda and I give a big collective sigh of relief that mother and baby are healthy and happy.  The birth of a child, I have always believed, is one of the most special miracles ever, even though it sometimes come with a little too much drama.

A special thank you to the amazing staff at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, who sprung into action immediately to save the day.

Whew!!!!  All’s well that ends well!

11 comments on “Macklin Makes Dramatic Debut

  1. I am so happy things turned out so well. We have had our share of birth dramas too.

    We got a phone call from our daughter screaming “Where you been? Dylan was born last night and only weighed 2.2 pounds. My OBGYN came to my room and woke me up at 1am and said Dylan was on a life flight to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.” The next few weeks were kind of a blur but he survived though he still has some residual health issues.

    I was staying with my daughter-in-law while my son was on a company retreat in Bermuda. Her doctor assured her that the baby would not be born before my son returned. Ha! At 4am I was driving 90 MPH trying to get to the Houston hospital before Michelle was born. We made it with 30 minutes to spare and my DIL asked me to cut the cord. One of the most happy moments of my life!!!

  2. Wow, Alot to be grateful for. A beautiful healthly baby after such a scare. Congratulations to you and your family. I’m sure the baby brings lots of joy.

  3. Welcome Macklin to a very special family!
    Congratulations to Mommy, Daddy and Addison!
    So happy for Mo-Pa and Grandma!

    Dana…… I am in awe of you

  4. Wow that is always scary when there are complications! So happy to read a happy ending!!! Sweet Macklin and the Borelli family have a beautiful life ahead of them!
    Love, Sharon & Cap

  5. Wow. Quite a scare I’m sure. Congrats to everyone.
    Also, Bob, would you text me a brief “hello?” My old phone went kaput, and I lost all my contacts. Thanks,
    Bill

  6. Now that is a scary time!!! So very pleased that all is well now. Can’t wait to see everyone. Love from U. J andAunt Sharon🥰

  7. Such a blessing that we live in a time when medical innovations and a wonderful staff probably saved Macklin!
    Congratulations to Mom, Dad and the entire family!💛🙏💛

Leave a Reply

Name and email are required. Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.