By Stephen Spiteri
My son, Robert, was born on April 18 this year, and already, even in the short time he’s been in my wife’s and my life, is our little hero. In fact, you could say that he’s a life-saver!
When my son was four days old my wife and I decided to take him home. We left just before lunch; we were contemplating whether to stick around for the free hospital lunch, but since my son had just been fed and was relatively relaxed, we didn’t want to wait around at the hospital to feed him again a couple of hours later when we could just do so at home. My son received a clean bill of health and we were given the all-clear to head home.
Checking-out of the hospital took some time: there were forms to fill out and sign and some payments to be made. This took a bit of time but we were out in a reasonable amount of time.
As we exited the hospital we noticed it was raining, and because I had parked a considerable distance from the hospital entrance, I suggested to my wife to wait near the entrance, under cover, and wait for me to bring the car around so our son wouldn’t get wet or cold. At the same time we noticed four women, approximately in their mid-30s, making eyes (good eyes) at my wife and son; a newborn is cute, let’s not deny that!
It took me a few minutes to bring the car around and as I was approaching the pick-up zone I noticed a couple of the ladies talking to my wife and looking at my son. As I parked the car and stepped out, the ladies passed on their congratulations to me and my wife on bearing such a beautiful and healthy baby boy. My wife and I placed our son in the baby capsule in the back-seat and were about to head off when I noticed a look of almost shock on my wife’s face as she sat down in the passenger seat. I know people use the expression a lot, but it did look like she had just seen a ghost.
Thinking it was a case of light-headedness, I asked my wife if she was okay. She responded, “You wouldn’t believe what just happened”. Starting the car to exit the hospital grounds, I asked, “What happened?” and my wife began to explain.
One of the women who was with the four had just finished from the hospital. On leaving, this woman noticed my wife standing, waiting with our son in arms and wanted to have a look. My wife explained to me that this woman had said, “They’re just so beautiful when they’re this small” After being so besotted by my son, this lady turned to one of her friends and said, “You know what? I’ve decided to keep it” to which the friend he had just spoken to replied with a relieved “Good.”
My wife was then told that this woman had just left the hospital finding out that she was pregnant with her fourth child and was contemplating having an abortion. The sight of my son changed this woman’s heart and mind so dramatically that at that moment any consideration of terminating the life growing inside of her had left her completely. No wonder my wife entered the car with that kind of look on her face!
My son had literally saved the life of another, an unborn! But the scenario made my wife and I think: had we stuck around for lunch (leave later) or decided to leave earlier, we would have missed this opportunity completely, and this woman who, by now would be seven months pregnant, would never have seen my wife holding our son and quite possibly never have had that change of heart and mind. We didn’t need to try to convince this lady to keep her baby, nor were we even aware of the circumstances; all we had to do was be there with our four day-old son.
I will tell this story to my son when he is old enough to understand, but it is my hope that through stories like these and the influence of truth and revelation of the miracle of life, that parents (not necessarily the woman individually) have that change or heart and mind that this woman did just over six months ago now. All life deserves a chance.
Stephen Spiteri, the back of whose head can be glimpsed above, was previously a journalist for The Record. Congratulations to the Spiteris!
Home|My son, my hero
My son, my hero
19 Nov 2008
