A “No Apologies Needed” Room — Family Ties

To the east and across the narrow chasm separating the existing Children’s Hospital and the steel structure of the new hospital there is a third floor room with a window — a window with a view. When my niece and her husband were ushered into that maternity ward room earlier this week, the admitting nurse attempted to apologize for the lack of a view from the window. Before she could get her full-throated apology out, the new occupants assured her the room was PERFECT for watching the construction. The window in room 3801, that once overlooked the parking lot, and then the construction pit, now looks straight into massive steel columns, beams, and decking. From Wednesday evening until Friday afternoon, the window in that room was the go to place for the occupants and their visitors. The steel structure and the activity on the various floors turned out to be a great conversation piece for those who were waiting to hold the baby.My nephew opined: “One can’t get much closer to the construction than here. We are fascinated by all of the action.” On Thursday, my wife and I made a visit to see the new little addition to the family, and while my wife (the baby hog) was holding the little one, I had a chance to point out various aspects of the building and answer some questions. As we were about to leave, I promised the family that when I returned to the site, I’d make a special effort to photograph the baby from the new structure.

That opportunity came on Friday morning: I made my way up the stairs to the third floor where I paused to place a call to my niece. Within a few minutes the new daddy appeared at the window (yellow circle) holding baby Sophie in his arms (as seen in the enlarged photo black circle). The featured photo for this blog is an iPhone photo of the chronicler taking a photo of baby Sophie pressed up against her daddy’s chest.

Not yet three days old (born 08.14.18), Sophie became part of the Loma Linda University Campus Transformation Project’s history: The first baby (the only baby so far as I know) to have been photographed from the third floor decking (or any decking for that matter) of the new hospital complex, which is currently under construction.

~ Postscript ~

And so baby Sophie, as your great-uncle, I would like to introduce you to family members who walked the halls of the Loma Linda University campus and received degrees in the following disciplines:

Great-great-aunt, Helen M. Johnson, M.D.† (’30 School of Medicine); great-aunt Pauline (’69,  School of Nursing); maternal grandfather Daniel (’75-B School of Dentistry); aunt Kimberly  (’04 School of Dentistry, and she too was born at the Loma Linda University Medical Center); mother Julie (’10 School of Physical Therapy). As a side note, your cousin Eva was born in the same hospital fourteen years ago.

May their legacy inspire you to one day walk those halls they walked, and pursue a professional degree of your choosing.