Fainting Macho Style

Many young men see themselves as macho types and have the general feeling of invincibility that accompanies youth. It is only when they are faced with a traumatic event that they find out what they are truly made of. For me, that event took place on August 8, 1991 with the birth of my daughter. The birth was not preceded by a frantic dash to the hospital in the middle of the night. This birth had been planned weeks in advance and all we had to do was show up.

I had no reason to worry; after all I wasn't going to have to deal with the type of experience my wife went through during the birth of her first child. According to her recollection, she was in labor for about 976 hours and went through pain that would require me to sever a couple of my limbs to understand. Her son had been born by emergency Cesarean Section and the doctor felt it best that we do a C-section to deliver our daughter. So, we were set to arrive at the hospital at the crack of dawn on August 8 and have a baby.

We showed up right on time and the maternity staff prepared my wife for the procedure. The anesthesiologist applied the epidural which numbed my wife from the hair down. I considered asking for some drugs to numb me up a little but I was afraid I would sound like a wimp or a junkie. They wheeled her out and down the hall toward the operating room. I was taken to the Expectant Father Preparatory Facility, which was basically a sink with plenty of disinfectant for me to scrub with. The appropriate attire was provided for me and, with a little help from the nurse, I managed to put on the shower cap, apron, funky booty shoes and surgical mask.