Paul Brandt’s Birth in a Dodge Minivan

This might sound crazy, but I didn’t have a normal birth… A few years back, after an interest arose from the people I knew, I researched into the details of my birth…

Paul Brandt’s Birth

On April 9th many years ago, my parents had an uneventful night at their home, or so it seemed…

I was just chilling, because that’s all I could do, when suddenly I woke to a clatter. I tried to find out what was the matter. Both my parents were making a commotion, for I awoke, and my mom either jogged, ran, walked, or wobbled; we are still not sure which happened. So, my parents rushed into their 1985 Dodge Caravan with a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder, 99-horsepower engine, and headed off from the house onto RT 45.

Okay, so we all headed down 45 with my dad speeding and made a left onto 60.

Around this time an ambulance, going the other way, spotted my dad driving like a lunatic. The ambulance turned around, and followed thinking that either we, or someone else, or both would need help. My dad realized at some point that neither my mom nor I could make it another 10 minutes, so he pulled into Condell Immediate care in Vernon Hills.

He parked near the clinic entrance and ran into the clinic to seek help. “We don’t deliver babies here” they said. “You don’t have a choice,” my dad replied. So dad and a young “physician” ran back to the van and opened the door. “You ever done this before?” My dad asked the young man. “Not really,” he replied. My mom never gave up, never surrendered, and in humor (and probably insistently) stated, “Well, today you will!” My dad later stated on Tuesday, March 10, 2009, “He (the “physician”) did nothing but watch, and didn’t help at all.” I guess my dad was right, as he (and mom) did all the work. Dad was the one who “caught” me, but I don’t remember much about this experience as a newborn. Actually, it’s all a little blurry for me. (On a side note: my mom will later tell me that besides being born in a minivan, I was an easy birth.) About a minute later, the ambulance that spotted my dad speeding down the road arrived. “What were you all doing in the Car?” “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you, sir.” “Try me.” Then they transported us to Lake Forest Hospital.

The Hospital

There we arrived in perfect health and beauty. I wanted to run, crawl, or roll the mile because of my freedom! But unfortunately, the doctors had different plans, and the umbilical cord stood in my way. I had to stay at the hospital. I came in weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces. My mom remarked jokingly, at the time, we should have stopped at a 7-Eleven because of my weight. The doctors and nurses separated my Mom and me from everyone else because we were considered “unclean” (their word), since my birth wasn’t in the hospital. My impatience was granted by God as an interesting way to begin life.

So, there’s my delivery story. I would gather that it’s more than you ever wanted to know, and even more than I knew until my college years. Oh, in case you wanted to see a couple more details, here is the seat I was born on, the car, and the person who caught me so that I did not meet my demise on the asphalt.

Does anyone else have a crazy birth story? If so, I’d love to discover your story!