INNISFAIL - Bobby-Jo Nesterchuk somehow kept it all together on a “crazy” autumn day when all the universe’s tumbling and out of control “crazy” moments seemingly collided but ultimately melded into an unforgettable day of joy and relief for her family.
“It was crazy. Put it that way, OK. It was just constant driving to the hospital, back to the hospital, picking up something for someone,” said Nesterchuk of the frantic experience she and husband Barry went through on Nov. 13. “It just seemed like a week of just travelling to the hospital and back.
“Thank God we were close.”
On that day the 51-year-old mother of three from Innisfail was travelling back and forth to the Red Deer Regional Hospital to ensure the welfare of her vulnerable loved ones, who represented four generations of her family, were safe and protected.
Her father-in-law Jim, the 84-year-old family patriarch who is also an Innisfail resident, underwent life saving cancer surgery on Nov. 4 and was still recovering at the hospital.
Bobby-Jo’s 61-year-old brother-in-law Doug, who lives in Gull Lake, was at the hospital on Nov. 13 for a hernia operation, a month after his original surgery date was cancelled.
Her son Taylor, 31, and his wife Jessica, residents of Penhold, were there the same day to welcome their new child to the world; a birth with an original due date of Nov. 19 but moved up for Jessica’s afternoon emergency caesarean section.
And the birth of Maximillian Octavius, weighing seven pounds and seven ounces, occurred shortly after 3 p.m., putting a glorious exclamation mark on an unforgettable family day at the hospital.
“Everybody is fine, out of the hospital and doing good,” said Bobby-Jo. “We had to take Jim to the hospital and get him settled in, and when he was OK, bring him all his stuff and do all the visits.
“And then we had to get Doug to the hospital, and we had to take care of Taylor's three-year-old daughter Aurora while they were going through having a baby.
“I actually had my granddaughter Aurora for a week in between all this, and then all of a sudden Maximillian was born.”
And there was more family care to come.
Doug’s hernia operation was successfully completed and he was ready to be picked up.
Bobby-Jo, Barry and Aurora, who were at home in Innisfail at the time of Maximillian’s birth, went back to the Red Deer hospital as Doug was being released in a wheelchair.
Once there, they wheeled Doug over to see Jessica and welcomed Maximillian to the family.
“Doug met the baby and we then wheeled him in to see his dad (Jim),” said Bobby-Jo.
Five weeks later the family’s world has been restored to a more normal pace.
It’s the holiday season, and the four generations of family members met again on Boxing Day to share Christmas spirit and new memories, including recent special ones from Nov. 13 when each bravely faced family health issues together, and the pending arrival of baby Maximillian Octavius.
“Yes, because now we're going to have four grandbabies under the age of three,” said Bobby-Jo, emphasizing their special day was pulled together by the entire family, including husband Barry. “We did all this together. It wasn’t just all me.”
