Melanie was born on December 28th, 1984 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Rick was in Puerto Rico for medical school and the whole family lived down there.
Unfortunately for Pam, San Lucas Hospital where she delivered did not believe in giving epidurals to pregnant women during labor. She describes the pain as the worst in her life. They eventually gave her nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and she became quite hysterical.
Rick was on OB rotation while Pam was in labor so he became available to do the delivery, coached by the head of the OB department. Pam was under so much duress, she really would have preferred to have her husband next to her. But she survived and now Melanie can brag that she was delivered by her dad and Melanie's daughter, Gracie, can brag that her BahPa delivered her and her mama.
While in the hospital, Melanie was wrapped in a paper baby gown but didn't mind because she was described as a very mellow baby. The hospitals in Puerto have a tradition that is completely normal to them but completely foreign to my parents, at the time. In the hospital, it was just as routine for a newborn girl to get their ears pierced as it was for a newborn boy to be circumcised. My parents didn't get it done there, but after 2 weeks of my mom hearing "Oh, what cute little boy!" no matter how much pink she had her wearing, she decided to have her ears pierced.
The whole family moved when Melanie was about 6 months to Oregon and Rick finished his rotation and the rest of medical school in Puerto Rico.
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Melanie is now married to Robby McKinnon and has been since October of '04. They have a daughter, Gracie, who is 2 and a half and a son, Gus, who died of SIDS last year on August 1, 2007. As always, more info will be given as the blog goes on.
4 comments:
Hey, just curious why your dad went to med school in Puerto Rico instead of in the states. I remember reading about that on your other blog, and the question has been swimming around in my head.
Rachel M.
Mel has to be one of the cutest babies I've ever seen!!!
Rachel M.- My dad went to Puerto Rico for medical school because he had a hard time getting into any other school and it all happened pretty quickly. Plus, he could already apeak spanish from a mission to Chile. So that is the story.
You did a nice job summing up the early years. You were always a charming baby. I took care of you for awhile, while your mom was working and your dad was still I Puerto Rico. Mel, uou were always so full of energy and smiles. You did things your way from day one! That's one of the things I love about you!:0)
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