A Thanksgiving tale: Woman in labor insists on being served

[Dark Knight]

ANCHORAGE — On a day when hundreds flocked to the Central Lutheran Church in Fairview for all the Thanksgiving fixings, one woman in line stood out in more ways than one: She was pregnant, in labor, and wasn't leaving without her turkey.


A neighbor had brought her Monday evening to the annual Thanksgiving Blessing, as the big pre-holiday giveaway organized by the Food Bank of Alaska and area churches is known. People line up at churches all over town for yams, cranberry sauce, potatoes, apples, stuffing, gravy mix, pie, rolls, vegetables, and a turkey and roaster -- everything they need for a feast at home.


Alan Budahl, the incoming executive director of Lutheran Social Services, was in his first day on his new job when a flustered man came up to him.


"Hey I have my neighbor," the man told Budahl. "She's in labor, and she's in the line and she won't go to the hospital until she gets her food because she needs her Thanksgiving basket."


"I said, 'Well, what do you mean in labor?' "


"Literally. She's in labor. You'll see it," the neighbor answered.


Budahl told the neighbor to bring the pregnant woman inside.


Once she got to the front, Budahl saw she was breathing through contractions. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Budahl asked.


"She said 'I need this Thanksgiving basket. I do. I do. I do. If you don't get it today, you don't get it.' "


http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/79579.html

 

[WhyaDuck?]

Sad testament to the hard times we're all facing. I pray for better times for that woman and her baby.

PS> When I was in labour, I stopped at a Tim Horton's for a (decaf) coffee and a roll - they don't feed you while in labour, in case they need to give you anesthetic, and I didn't know how long I'd be without food. I wasn't taking any chances. End result: I got my coffee, but I didn't get through the line up any faster.