Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 11 June '86 5

Riley Livingston Cooper < Bom in the Back of a Microbus In the Middle of a Traffic Light

By GREGG LAWSON CAPE MAY - Riley Livingston Cooper couldn't wait to be delivered in a hospital like any normal baby. "He was born at 9:20 in the morning (June 2) in the middle of rush hour, in the middle of a traffic light with cars whizzing by," said proud father Gordon Cooper, of 1024 Stockton Ave. He and his wife, Kathryn, were on their way to Kennedy Hospital, Washington Division, in Turnersville when the unexpected took place. "I kept telling Kati, 'don't push, breath, we're going to make it,' " Cooper recalled. "Finally I heard her screaming 'Oh my, God!' and I turned around and his head was out." AT THE TIME, Cooper's 1969 Volkswagon Microbus was sitting at a traffic light on a left hand jughandle at Route 47 and Green Tree Road, just five miles from the hospital. "I just had time to get out, run all the way to the side door, open it up and catch the baby," he said. "I almost dropped him a couple of times, he was so slippery. "They're slimy little devils when they come out," he added. "It's like trying to hold a live rainbow trout." Meanwhile, traffic continued around the bus, which was sitting in the left hand lane, and nobody stopped to offer assistance. "I don't think anybody realized what was going on," Cooper said. "The light was green and people were just driving past like nothing was going on. "But as soon as I got Target Course Taken by Ortiz WOODBINE — Marine Corps Pvt. 1st Class Jose L. Ortiz, son of Luis A. Ortiz of Philadelphia and Luz S. Simonetti of 311 Dehirsch Ave., this borough has completed the field artillery target acquisition course at Fort Sill, Okla.

Maureen Coytr 'DR. COOPER* — Gordon Cooper with son Ian Ross, 15 months, wife Kathryn, and their newborn, Riley Livingston.

back in the driver's seat, i the light turned red." i Both mother and father admitted they were afraid at first, but calmed down when the moment approached. "Yeah. I was scared at first and then ' hist pushed it out of my mind and figured if it w^going to happen, it wa:iNeoing to happen." said Kathryn. "IT WAS EASY foi-me, I really just had to catch the baby," Gordon said. Still, there were complications. Riley was bom with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and he wasn't breathing. Cooper unwrapped the cord and cleared Riley's throat of mucous. After wrapping Riley in a pillow case and reuniting him with his mother, they were back on the road. "I caught every red light from there to the hospital," Gordon said. AT THE HOSPITAL. Cooper ran to the front desk. "I said to the lady there, 'My wife just had a baby in the back of my car; do you think I could have a stretcher to bring her in,' " ; Cooper said. "She sent me to talk to a doctor, and F before I could finish my story he ran past me and i out into the parking lot." ; There, hospital staffers were attending to the i mother and newborn. Everyone there was very

really surprised and proud of Gordon and I," Kati said. "If we didn't react the way we did, he could have died." SOON THEY WERE the talk of the hospital, with patients harassing nurses for news of "the couple who had a baby in their car." Cooper returned to work , as the head chief at Harry Hirsch's Promendae Restaurant on Beach Avenue the following day, and Kathryn and Riley were home Wednesday afternoon. There, Riley met his brother Ian Ross. 15 months. At work. Cooper has a new nickname. "They call me Dr. Gordon." hie said. Cooper said he and Kathryn chose KennedyMemorial because it had a midwiffery staff and said he wasn't worried about the long drive from Cape May to Turnersville. about 80 miles. "ITS ABOUT an hour and a half drive, and an average labor takes four to 24 hours," he said. Kathryn who was eight days overdue, went into labor at 5: :30 a.m. and the couple left their house at 7 : 15. Two hours later, Riley "popped out." According to Kennedy's staff, it was the first time a baby was delivered off the grounds. "They had one close call," Cooper said. "One

couple just made it to the parking lot and a doctor delivered it there." COOPER ADVISES any fathers-to-be to attend their babv's birth. "I would highly recommend it," he said. "If you just get a chance to actually be there and see it, it's a miracle." Gordon, 22, and Kathryn, 20, met in Cape May while both were working at the Montreal (now Promenade) restaurant. Gordon is the son of David and Dot Cooper of Aston, Pa. ; Kathryn is the daughter of Mrs. Mary Leo of Ocean City. The name Riley came from Kathryn's grandmother's maiden name; Livingston came from Gordon's mother's maiden name. He weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces and was 23-inches-long.

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