Mother safely delivers during hurricane

Imagine being at home hunkered down with your three young children during Hurricane Matthew — streets flooded, winds howling, rain pounding. Being pregnant, the one thing you’d hoped wouldn’t happen for at least another two weeks does: You go into labor. And worse, the storm is so bad, an ambulance is not able to get to you to take you to the hospital.

Such was the experience of Lestlie Matthews of Charleston, who walked the dangerously flooded downtown streets in an attempt to reach MUSC.

But that’s only half the story. Twenty–seven years ago, in 1989, Lestlie’s mother, Rosalie Matthews, made her way to MUSC to deliver Lestlie during Hurricane Hugo. Lestlie had to laugh thinking of the coincidence that led to both her and her son, Messiah, being born in the middle of hurricanes.

Lestlie was one of 10 moms who delivered at MUSC during Matthew, three of whom braved the storm to get there. Her entire family had begged her to evacuate to North Carolina, calling her stubborn when she wouldn’t leave. Though she wasn’t due for two more weeks, she didn’t want to risk having a baby while on the road. Her mother said, “What do you expect — she’s a Hugo baby!”

On the morning of Oct. 8, Lestlie was at home with her children and her sister and her daughter. Rosalie was downtown stuck at her house in some of the worst flooding, unable to get to her daughter to help. Her father was in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Messiah’s father was in Lumberton. When Lestlie woke up that morning, she had butterflies in her stomach and a funny feeling this could be the day. Her intuition was right: Her water broke at 9 a.m.

She knew she needed to get to the hospital, but when her sister called the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center, she was told that ambulances were not being dispatched because of the flooding and winds. They offered to send a firetruck. Lestlie opted for her sister’s friend to come pick her up and take her. But when that seemed impossible, she set out on her own.

“I couldn’t just sit around,” she said. “I knew anything could happen quickly. I wasn’t having any contractions or pain, but I didn’t think I should wait.”

Living not far from Memminger Auditorium, Lestlie felt she could safely make it by foot. What would normally be a 15–minute walk quickly became an obstacle course for the 4–foot–11–inch mother to be, with rushing water hitting her above her knees.

It took her 30 minutes to make the walk to Calhoun Street, and during that time, her phone rang constantly: Her sister, mother across town, father in Charlotte — all were panic stricken and making sure Lestlie was OK. But the most emotional call of all was from her other half who was in tears that he couldn’t be there for the birth of their child.

With MUSC in sight, her friend finally pulled up behind her in his car. They spotted an EMS worker and flagged him down. He took her to the Horseshoe via Bee Street, as Ashley Avenue was completely impassable.

By the time they admitted her, she was already dilated three centimeters. A healthy baby Messiah was born that evening. She said she felt great and was being discharged, but the baby would spend a couple of extra days in the Level II nursery. According to Lestlie, her 6–pound, 11–ounce little one had a bit of trouble at first with his blood sugar and iron level, but he was doing well and would be coming home on Friday.

“I had a wonderful experience,” she said. “The nurses were the sweetest. They were amazing, and they treated me so well. Everything worked out for the best.”

Even though Lestlie shared the name of the storm, many suggested she name her baby Matthew. That was too much Matthew she told them. “I actually wanted to name him Josiah, but my sister suggested the name Messiah since it started with an M.” Messiah it was.