PORT HARDY—On Jan. 6, Bev Grant was in Courtenay, eagerly awaiting the birth of her newest grandchild.
But the new arrival never arrived.
Instead, Amber Wright gave birth to her second child right around the corner from her home, at Port Hardy Hospital.
“We went into (Port Hardy) hospital at 7:30 a.m. and they were going to ambulance me to Comox,” Wright said. “But when they checked me right before I was about to leave, I had progressed a lot faster then they expected. They told me there was no time to take me anywhere.”
So Camryn Boguski-Grant entered the world at 1:08 p.m., in Port Hardy, with father Kadeem, 18-month-brother Karder and grandma Erin Wright in attendance. All the family, that is, but her other grandmother.
“She was pretty bummed out that she missed it,” Amber said.
Port Hardy Hospital is not equipped with a birthing unit. To be prepared against possible complications, most expectant mothers on the North Island travel south to give birth where properly trained staff and equipment are available to deal with contingencies.
That had been the plan for Amber as well, and it might have worked had Camryn waited 24 hours to make her appearance.
“I was supposed to go down-Island Jan. 7 because we knew she was coming early,” said Amber, who was originally given a Jan. 27 due date. “She’s my second, and she came a lot faster than my first.”
Camryn was born at 37 weeks, weighing five pounds, eight ounces. Thankfully for her and her family, there were no complications and no post-natal trip to Comox was needed.
“It was nice to avoid the Island Highway altogether this time of year,” said Amber. “It was about a five-second drive home because we live on Thunderbird Way (across Granville St. from the hospital).
“It worked out pretty well; everyone got to sleep in their own beds and we got to save a lot of money on hotels and food.”
Other than the time of birth and her baby’s weight, Wright did not receive any other birth statistics.
“I didn’t get any other information because the nurses didn’t know what they were doing,” she said.