Down Goes Auntie Mandy

One of the funniest things to happen during the Anders Delivery Adventure occurred on Sunday the 26th, or his 2nd day.
Anna's sister Mandy was at a Bachelorette Party in the north woods of Wisconsin that weekend. Despite the spotty cell reception, she was notified the same day of Anders' birth. She hurried home to see him the next day.
My friend Bill from Northern Wisconsin assures me that most of Northern Wisconsin is dehydrated on Sunday Morning after Saturday Night in Northern Wisconsin and so it was with Mandy.
Right after Mandy showed up to Anna's 5th floor room, Anna and I took her down to the NICU on the 4th floor to see Anders. Little did we know, Mandy has a history of fainting when giving blood. Medically, there is a lot going on in the NICU. Many tubes, beeps, machines, tubes, etc...
When we arrived, the glass door to the Nursery 4, the next Nursery over, was closed, and there was a five person consultation going on at the incubator next to us. We also had to wear earphones so as to not hear the classified medical information next door.
After admiring Anders for a while, Mandy said she was feeling faint and wanted to go. She took a couple steps and then stopped. I was sort of frustrated that she decided to stop. I remember thinking "If you feel faint, why did you stop walking?!" She then leaned against the wall. The next thing I knew, here knees had hit the floor and she was falling backward into me. I caught her body and Anna caught her head as Mandy's eyes rolled back into her head. Nurses descended on her straightening her legs and yelling at Anna to get away from Mandy. Obviously, the medical staff didn't want a hospital patient who had just delivered to lift anything heavy. Once we laid Mandy out flat, she came to pretty quickly asking "How long was I out? Did I hit the baby?" She was only out about 20 seconds and came closer to hitting the sink in front of her than Anders behind her. Mandy said she was dreaming during this time.
She was quite embarrassed and wanted to slink out of their, but the nurses wouldn't let her. The commandeered a wheel chair from a new mom and ordered her to be wheeled out of the NICU. Anna walked ahead and I wheeled her out of the NICU. Her parents and my mom, back in the room, got a big laugh out of the tableau.
We decided that Mandy would not go quietly into the night as the baby of the Carlson family. She needed one last hurrah where all the attention focused on her.
Her husband Matt, however, had the line of the day: "How does it feel to know that a 2 lb. baby is tougher than you are?"