TUPELO, MISS. - Like every other new father, Specialist Chris Dixon was anxiously awaiting his wife Lindsey's due date, November fifth. But like many deliveries, things didn't go exactly as planned.
"I had toxemia and the doctor just wanted to go ahead and induce me," Lindsey explains. "He induced me but I wasn't dilating enough so he just went ahead and did a C-Section."
Under normal circumstances the early arrival may have been welcomed, but for the Dixon family there was a moment of hesitation. Chris would likely have to wait several weeks to see his daughter for the very first time.
"They told me that I couldn't come because I wasn't able to have a Red Cross message sent to me and you know, that kind of, that actually hurt a lot because it's my first child," says Chris. "I wanted to be here."
A member of the Bravo Troop, 198th Cavalry, Chris was in Tikrit, Iraq. At 2:00 am on October 21st he tuned in to Tupelo Mississippi, where it was 6:00pm on October 20, just in time to see his Bayle Marie come into the world.
"They said they had Internet and I connected to the guest sight, pulled up the Internet and I pulled up my messenger and he was there," Lindsey says with a smile.
Chris actually laid eyes on Bayle before his wife Lindsey did. He saw her first bath, her first feeding, and her first shots.
"I actually cried for the first time since I was over there," he expalins.
And while he wasn't able to hold her that night, he's spent the past two weeks making up for it and everyone is grateful that he didn't miss out.
"Just knowing that he was on the computer and I was able to connect with him," says Lindsey. "I was very grateful for it. I'm glad they had the Internet here."
Specialist Chris Dixon will return to his duties in Iraq on Sunday (Nov. 8). He expects to be stationed there for at least another five months.
North Mississippi Medical Center's Women's Hospital is planning to invest in portable computers, equipped with a web-cam, so other soldiers can take part in one of life's most exciting moments.
