Cape firefighters make a special home delivery

By CHRIS PAGANO

Southeast Missourian

Richard and Christa Francis of Cape Girardeau did not plan for their baby to be delivered at home. The couple had already been through hospital births of their two girls, Cameron, 7, and Ann'a, 5, and expected nothing out of the ordinary.

When Christa Francis awakened with sharp pains at 3 a.m. July 27, she figured a bath and a cup of tea would remedy the situation. Her baby was not due for a couple of weeks. It soon became clear that the pains were not going to disappear and then Cameron, the heaviest sleepe, in the household, appeared at her mother's side. "Get daddy," was the answer to Cameron's question when she asked if her mother needed anything.

Richard Francis summoned Cape Girardeau firefighters to his home around 4 a.m. He expected they would get an ambulance that would safely transport his wife to the hospital. Wrong. When he heard the words, "Birth is imminent," spoken by one of the firefighters, it was time for a reality check.

What surprised him was the calm direction they gave Christa Francis during the birth -- also reassuring for him. Even when the three firefighters, Bill VanDe Van, Larry Hagan and David Johnson, realized the newborn's umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, their steady composure was not shaken. Within 20 seconds, the newborn let out his first cry, announcing Jonathan Richard Francis, weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces and 21 inches long.

Christa Francis said, "There is no way of explaining how thankful we are to the men at Fire Station No. 3."

The new mother said the miracle that touched the lives of everyone in Jonathan's birth was one that changed all them. "There's not one doubt that Christ Jesus was there," she said. "Miracles take our minds off ourselves."

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133