The baby born in holding lanes of Bainbridge ferry terminal? Little Charlie is doing just fine
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – The 911 call Pete Wetzel dials on the morning of April 6 slides through moments of worry, excitement and relief over the course of about six-and-a-half minutes. In short, it's a tense rollercoaster of emotions. Soon there's joy in the mix too.
At the outset of the call, he blurts out an urgent message to the dispatcher: “Hi, my wife’s in labor, and her water broke, and the contractions are really close. I’m in the ferry line at Bainbridge.”
Just a bit earlier, he and his wife Leanne are laughing and preparing for the day ahead as they wait for the 7:55 a.m. ferry from Bainbridge Island over to Seattle. Leanne, pregnant just shy of 36 weeks, had seen a doctor the day before, and the couple had thought the birth of their third child was still a ways off yet. But Leanne wakes up that morning and realizes that their son’s arrival is near, and the two set off on their journey to a Seattle hospital for the delivery.
When it becomes obvious that the birth is truly imminent, Pete makes a pair of calls for help, one to 911 and the other to anyone who could hear in the vehicle line. Is there a doctor?
A couple lanes over, Tara Kenneway is in her vehicle, scrolling through Facebook, sipping on her morning coffee, waiting to drive aboard the boat for her commute into the city when she hears Pete. A former EMT, she jumps up to help. Her training comes back, and she tries to project calm as she adds another set of hands and her knowledge to the situation.
In quick exchanges, Pete and the dispatcher pass information back and forth and then, two minutes after placing the call, he’s yell-narrating the child’s arrival: “Baby’s here! Baby’s here!”
And suddenly the infant is in his hands. By the end of the call, the Wetzels and Kenneway, then a total stranger, have welcomed a new life into the world in lane six at the ferry terminal. The infant’s color is good, he’s breathing normally. The little boy, who the couple would later name Charles Peter Wetzel, is healthy, and both he and Leanne are doing just fine.
Before they’re loaded up into an ambulance, Leanne laughs, acknowledging that this was not the morning they had in mind: “We were supposed to be at the hospital.”
“That’s the funny part about OB care, is we want them to be able to say exactly when and what time and how long, and they have no idea,” she says, recalling that morning a few weeks later. “Babies just come when they’re ready and on their own schedule, and he did. It all worked out.”
In the moment, Kenneway, who has been given the title “ferry godmother” by the Wetzels, sheds a few joyful tears.
“It was kind of magical,” she says now. “And then when the EMTs came, I got back in my car, and I remember looking over, and I was very much like, ‘Did that just happen?’ It was very surreal.”
Leanne waves to Kenneway – at that point the two don’t even know each other’s names – and soon the Wetzels are off again to the destination they set out for that morning: the hospital, onboard the ferry Suquamish.
Charlie measures at 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and 19 inches long. He’s held at the hospital as a precaution for a couple of days and then gets the second ferry ride of his young life, this one back home to Bainbridge Island with his family.
Friends for life
Several weeks later, Pete and Leanne sit down at a picnic table in Bainbridge Island's Waterfront Park with Charlie and Kenneway to reminisce about that day.
Pete and Leanne can laugh about the circumstances of their son’s expedited arrival now. They’ve seen and chuckled over all the jokes and puns on Facebook. Their son has become a bit of a local celebrity.
“I appreciate all that kind encouragement and just celebrating with us,” Leanne says. “That was so wonderful. Sometimes social media doesn’t always go that way. I was a little worried, but oh my gosh that was so wonderful.”
Charlie has red hair and is growing now. He’s learning the voices of his older sisters. He's figuring out his hands. During the Kraken playoff run, he showed some interest in hockey, Pete notes.
“Charlie is quite chill, especially during the day,” Leanne says. “As long as his diaper is clean, and his milk is warm, he’s good.”
The Wetzels want everyone to know that Charlie is doing great. And they’re grateful for those who offered assistance in different ways on April 6, for friends who helped with their vehicle, for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, for Washington State Ferries staff, for people in line at the ferry terminal who offered up aid, for Kenneway and her able assistance.
Thinking about that day, Kenneway recalls hearing Pete’s cry for help and jumping up to assist.
“You (Pete) just opened the door, and I was like, here’s this whole situation,” she says.
“Welcome to the delivery room,” he quips.
And now, Charlie’s family has a new friend for life, a connection he helped to forge.
“I know,” Kenneway says, “we’ll stay connected forever, because they’re those kind of people.”
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Baby born in line at Washington ferry terminal is healthy
