Father of Six

The evening of June 17, 1992 was muggy and wet. Janice has spent the day cleaning the house and once again getting the baby clothes out of storage. There were final preparations to be made for a new member of the Kjelstrom family. Eighteen months prior, Allan had secured a good job working for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, a healthcare company based in Syracuse, New York. Janice’s sister Catherine and her family were well established in Ilion, a little town 65 miles east of Syracuse. Allan and Janice had decided to settle nearby in Herkimer. It was nice to be close to extended family, and at this time, it was nice to have a secure job.

The week before this rainy night, Catherine had been over to help paint the master bedroom. Although Janice had been sick during this pregnancy, she still found time to finish projects. Just earlier in the evening, she had insisted that Allan install the handles on a dresser she had recently refinished. With Allan at age 43 and Janice at 38, they knew this was going to be their last child and were intent on making it a special experience. The due date was still 16 days away and even with a bout of giardia that Janice had contracted from some unclean water in Richfield Springs, things were moving along nicely.

Later in the evening, just before the kids were to be put to bed, Janice decided to take a bath to sooth her aching back. She had had contractions all day, but being her sixth child, didn’t worry because they were relatively far apart. But when her water broke, it was time to go. Catherine was called over to tend for the kids while Allan and Janice got in the car and began the 28 mile journey to the Cooperstown Hospital. It had now begun to pour and driving south on State Highway 28 had become precarious. The trepidation must have been thick for Allan. On a good day it took 45 minutes to get to the hospital and nearly all of Janice’s other births were very quick. But he had a knack for keeping his cool.

To their relief, they arrived at the hospital at around 11:30 in the evening. Not to anyone’s surprise, the maternity ward was full. There were no rooms available to give birth. The nurse’s aide asked that Janice have a seat in a wheelchair for half an hour. This wasn’t a unique experience to either of the anxious parents. The birth stories of almost all of the other children were similar. Surely Allan must have thought this was just how it happens.

They did finally find a bed for Janice in the nearby medical/surgery ward. Not more than an hour passed before the child was ready to be born. When they wheeled Janice to the maternity ward for the final stages of labor, to their angst a maintenance worker was still cleaning up from the previous delivery. The request to again wait from the nurse went unheeded and as the story is told, Janice jumped from the wheelchair and Spencer was born with load roar. But there he was, his third son, Spencer Axel, named after Allan’s father, the balanced compliment to his three daughters.

Catherine and her daughter had fallen asleep on the waterbed when Allan finally arrived home very early in the morning. After thanking her and sending them home, a smile surely must have come. It had been a long day, but a boy, another son, a father of six.