The birth of a child is a miraculous, beautiful event, but oftentimes our brave soldiers serving overseas miss out on the amazing milestone that makes them a parent. Sgt. Seth Craven of West Virginia and his wife, Julie, were anticipating the birth of their first child.
They knew they’d have to move mountains for him to make it home from where he was stationed in Afghanistan with the West Virginia National Guard for the past three months. But they didn’t know just how difficult that journey would be.
The soldier wasn’t there to rub his wife’s aching back and watch her growing belly, and he missed her deeply.
He had tried in vain to be granted leave to head home and be with his wife, but it was denied. Finally, he was given permission to be there for his baby’s birth and be by his wife’s side. Julie told TODAY she was really nervous that she would endure birth by herself.
“With all these setbacks, I really felt like he wasn’t gonna make it. I was just very scared that I would have to go through this experience alone. I know how much it meant for him. We had miscarried a few times, so this really was a life-changing moment for both of us.”
They both worried that he might not make it back home in time, so they planned ahead. Julie had a Caesarian section scheduled for 5:30 a.m. on a Friday and the 26-year-old dad-to-be had a flight booked, timed perfectly so that he could arrive Wednesday night with plenty of leeway to be there for the momentous occasion.
“It was all her. My main focus was getting home to be there for her.”
Seth was to fly out of Afghanistan to Kuwait and on to Philadelphia, then connect on another flight to Charleston. He had been plane hopping around the world to make it home in time. But when he arrived in Philadelphia, his flight to Charleston was canceled. He camped out in a hotel not far from the airport so he could board another flight the next morning and get home to his growing family.
While seated on the plane waiting for it to taxi down the runway, the passengers were informed that there was a maintenance issue with the plane. They cruised back to the airport and sat there for 30 minutes. Much to Seth’s disappointment, they were ordered off the plane and back into the terminal. He couldn’t believe it but there was another delay, then another, then another, he told Metro News.
For two days straight, his flights were canceled.
“They just kept pushing it and pushing it. If they had canceled from the beginning, I would have found a way home somehow. It would have given me more time to figure stuff out.”
Seth patiently waited for his flight to finally pan out, but that wasn’t happening. His hope was dwindling and so was the ability to make it home in time to see his baby boy’s birth. He checked on rental car availability, but they were all gone.
“Because of the storms, there were not rental vehicles at all from the airport. The next flight wasn’t until 10:30 a.m. the next day. So I would have missed all of it.”
Julie was back home fretting over her husband’s inability to make it back and the daunting idea of giving birth solo. They didn’t know what to do. Murmurs spread through the airport about the soldier’s saga until one person, Charlene Vickers, heard about Seth and knew she had to act, she told TODAY.
“He was sitting on the ground with his back up against the wall and he had his arms draped and his head down. Once I learned that he had been traveling since Monday from Afghanistan to get home for his wife’s pregnancy, I knew I had to do something. I can remember giving birth like it was yesterday. If my husband hadn’t been able to be there, it would have devastated me. And the way Seth lit up when he talked about his wife, I just knew I had to get this guy home.”
Charlene, the programs director for AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership, was attempting to fly to Charleston with some colleagues for a Health Hoops program highlighting asthma and obesity that started Friday at noon. She walked up to Seth and explained her dilemma and knew that between the two of them, they could make it to Charleston.
Because she lives in the Philadelphia area, her car actually was parked in the airport. No rental car was needed, just a few determined passengers to keep Charlene awake on the long ride ahead of them. She sprung her plan on Seth.
“I’m getting to West Virginia tonight, come hell or high water. So are you willing to join this crazy party of ours?”
Seth didn’t even grab his luggage; he hopped in the passenger seat and helped Charlene navigate the way for them and her two co-workers.
“I was glad to have somebody who knew the roads. There’s a lot of areas where you do not have cell phone service. I have lost my GPS signal many times in West Virginia.”
They spent their time in the car getting acquainted and Seth even chatted with Charlene’s father, a veteran, via phone, he told INSIDER.
“Along the way, we got to know each other pretty well, talked about my time in Afghanistan, and her family, and my soon-to-be family. We even called her dad who is veteran and spoke with him.”
Friday morning, shortly after midnight, the crew cruised up to Seth’s house. Julie was so relieved to finally lay eyes on her husband, to hug him, to hold him.
“He fell on his knees and put his head and hand on my belly. We were both in tears. He is a very strong man so for him to kind of crumble like that I know that getting here had been such a struggle for him.”
Mere hours later, his nine-pound, eight-ounce son Cooper arrived with dad present to cut the umbilical cord.
Seth could not thank the guardian angel put in his path by the name of Charlene who made sure he arrived home in time for his beautiful son’s birth.
“Luckily we had a healthy little boy and Mom’s healthy. If it wasn’t for Charlene I never would have made it. All she wanted in return was pictures of the baby.”
It may have taken a week to get home and Seth went days without sleep, but in the end, it was all worth it.
“It’s been an awesome few days. I definitely want people to realize there are nice people out there.”
What an amazing story of a stranger’s kindness reuniting a husband and wife in time for a miracle to unfold.
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Source: TODAY, Metro Voice
