Husband Connects With Wife Through FaceTime for Delivery
June 15, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has inserted distance into even the most intimate and important human moments, but it couldn’t keep Zach Threlkeld from being present for the birth of his son, thanks to a quick-thinking nurse anesthetist at Wellington Regional Medical Center.
Restrictions kept Threlkeld from being present when his wife Amanda was delivering via caesarean section. Robert Stroud, CRNA, came up with the idea of connecting him through FaceTime. “I was very happy that he was able to actually do it and let Zach be there the entire time throughout the entire surgery,” says Amanda.
“I was able to give Amanda some encouragement through the phone and Mr. Stroud was able to point the phone at Amanda where I could speak with her,” Zach says. “We thought it was extraordinary that he would understand our feelings and emotions and be sympathetic.”
Zach appreciated the opportunity to witness the birth of their son, William Case, who weighed 9 lbs., 13 oz. “It meant a lot to us,” he said.
Stroud comes from a family of nurse anesthetists. His mother and several cousins are CRNAs, and his father worked with anesthesia machines when he was young. He is also the dad of two teen girls and wanted Amanda and Zach to be able to share their baby’s birth together.
The Threlkelds are now settling in at home with their baby boy and his big brother James Ryan (age 2). They are thankful for the staff at Wellington Regional Medical Center. “The support, thoughtfulness and consideration of everybody there was second to none,” says Zach. “It was that way when we had our first child as well, which is why it was a no-brainer we would choose Wellington Regional the second time around.”