Stryker Brigade News

They knew Brooks was in breech position, but the position would not be a concern until the last month of her pregnancy.

With the news a cesarean section was going to be scheduled, the couple decided to try to have Tim make it home from Iraq for the birth.

“At first everything looked good, and we thought Tim would make it for the scheduled C-section,” Ashley said. “Then he called the week before saying he would not make it home and did not know when he would be able to come.”

Four days before the scheduled operation, her husband called again and said he was on his way and should be back in Alaska on Monday morning. The C-section was scheduled for Tuesday morning, so the plan seemed to be coming together.

However, just two-and-one-half hours after he landed in Fairbanks, the couple was in emergency mode.

“I traveled over all of Iraq and the U.S. for 60 hours straight, stopping for only a couple of hours at a time to get back at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 3. Ashley’s water broke at 4 a.m.,” he said.

“Soon after my water broke, I realized that something was not right,” Ashley said, picking up the story. “The umbilical cord had started coming out. My husband was on the phone with Labor and Delivery and they said we needed to hang up with them and call 911.

“We called 911, and an ambulance rushed me to the hospital. When we arrived there was a team of surgeons waiting on me,” she continued. “They performed a emergency C-section, and Brooks was born at 5:31 a.m. on Oct. 3. Daddy made it just in time!”

The new dad says he was in shock and definitely in crisis reaction mode.

“Knowing how dangerous the situation was, I was just amazed and dazed to be back home and holding him,” he said. “It was very surreal.

“The whole experience was a miracle,” he continued. “From the timing of my return to the delivery, I will never forget it.”

As for advice for other Soldiers in a similar situation, Tim says to enjoy your time with your family.