When Belinda was in labour she asked me to go get something from the car or somewhere. It was during that time that she told the nurse I am not a fan of blood and consequently I had no real interest in cutting the cord. I never saw the big deal. I figured cutting the cord was more important when the child turns 18 and you take back the credit cards and start asking them how they intend to pay for the rent on their room.
Well Belinda was induced at 5am and Stella arrived at 4:16pm. I would have to say that her doctor was present for maybe an hour of that time. Here is the thing about her doctor, he has the presence of that guy from those Dos Equis commercials. The guy they call The Most Interesting Man. In case you have not seen the commercials you should know that this guy swims with sharks, climbs snow capped mountains and always has four woman around him. The narrator from the commercials make comments about him like:
"His blood smells like cologne"
"His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards."
"His charm is so contagious, vaccines were created for it."
Dr. Ruiz walks into the room and just takes control of the situation. He told Belinda that if she did not start to push he was going to stop her epidural and see if she would push then. When Belinda asked about the epidural during her prior visits with him he told her, (insert strong Spanish accent)"that his wife wanted to do it natural, puro Mexicana."
The baby finally made it out and she gave her first cry. It was wonderful. All my thoughts that blood would make me pass out were gone. I was so excited about the birth and taking care of my wife that any anxieties were gone. So we finally get to the point where the cord is to be cut.
The doctor says to me, "Gilbert, cut the cord."
The doctor and I had already had many conversations before. I would try to attend as many appointments as possible making sure to ask questions and learn more about him. After all, he is the most interesting man. He knew I liked to joke but when I threatened Stella in utero that if she did not work with mama to come out that she would not have a birthday party the doctor looked straight at me and said, "you want to come here and do this then." The doctor had said from our first visit with him that his mother-in-law never had a party because she was born so close to Christmas and that he would not deliver this baby unless we promised to always give her a birthday party. Apparently, he did not appreciate my humor. I took it back. She will always have a birthday party.
So back to the cord. Nurse Donna without missing a beat says, "The dad is going to opt out of cutting the cord Dr. Ruiz." With blood on his hands and baby in one hand and surgical equipment in another he was able tend to the baby and Belinda and call his office about the next birth he needed to perform. I looked up from Belinda's face to see what he was doing and he took some mystery hand and thrusted a pair of scissors into mine. Like a fly to a light I did not stop. It was like he controlled my mind and made my hand reach out for those scissors. It was what he said when he passed the scissors.
Everyone who was there agreed that he said, "Andale Gilbert, que no eres homber." I heard that but I also heard him say, "Andale guey, corterlo."
Well, he was right. It was the right thing to do and it was nothing like I thought it would be. Dr. Ruiz is a good man. "His reputation is expanding faster than the universe."Even is he did call me a guey.
Just a couple photos:
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