By the time she arrived at Holy Name Medical Center for a scheduled c-section, Mabel Acevedo had accepted the fact that her husband, United States Army Staff Sergeant, Emilio Acevedo,III, could not be with her, because he was deployed to Ghazni in Afghanistan. With her dad and mother-in-law at her side, Mabel settled in to her private room at Holy Name's BirthPlace to await the birth of her twin boys.
Following protocol, anesthesiologist, Robert Gross, MD, checked on Mabel prior to her surgery. While interviewing her, Dr. Gross learned that her husband was deployed and would not be able to witness the birth of the twins. Since Mabel could not Skype on her phone, Dr. Gross offered his own iPhone without hesitation. "As a husband and a father," explains Dr. Gross. "I believe that it is so very important for Dad to 'be there' for the birth of his children."
With an RN nursing student, Leoville Olanda, LPN, serving as the iPhone Skype "camera crew," Staff Sergeant Acevedo was able to witness the birth of his twin boys. "Dr. Gross should be up for every award possible," says Mabel. "He really went above and beyond his job description-he gave us that family moment."
Thanks to Dr. Gross, Mabel and Emilio were able to share the birth of their twin boys and Emilio was able to follow them into the nursery and Mabel into recovery. "It was so amazing," explains Staff Sergeant Acevedo. "I saw everything–it was as if I was there except I was behind a camera."
"In an operating room filled with skilled and caring people, we literally brought together from across the world, a husband and his wife and their newborn twins," explains Dr. Gross. "That moment will go down as one of the most meaningful of my career."
