The overhead heater hummed against the tiled ceiling of Delivery Room 3B as Dr.

Marcus Thorne lifted my son from the sterile sheet at six minutes past six in the morning.

His gloved hands were steady as he cleared the baby’s airway with a small rubber suction bulb.

“He has strong lungs, Vivian,” Dr.

Thorne said, his raspy voice flat and deliberate over the steady beep of the wall monitor.

He turned the baby onto his stomach under the warming lamp to clean his skin with a warm cotton towel.

When he wiped the damp skin behind the baby’s left shoulder blade, his hands stopped moving completely.