Monday, September 09, 2002
Sept. 11 baby reason for joy
A day of happiness amid sorrow
By Randy Tucker rtucker@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The date Sept. 11 has inherited an ironic double meaning for Shelly Roseberry.
On one hand, the 22-year-old Forest Park woman, like many Americans, sees the date as the ubiquitous label for the most devastating day in modern U.S. history, when nearly 3,100 people died in terror attacks in Washington, D.C. and New York City.
But on a day that so many lives were lost, Ms. Roseberry was overcome with joy after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl with chubby cheeks, brown eyes and a head full of curly black hair.
The 6 pound, 8 ounce Jariah Roseberry was the only baby born at University Hospital on the day of the attacks. She was among 77 babies born Sept. 11 at Tristate hospitals.
“I was overjoyed that my child had come into the world,” said the Southern Ohio College student. “When they brought her in the room, I picked her up and haven't put her down since. But at the same time, I was sad for all of the people who died.”
As she was in labor that morning, Ms. Roseberry watched in horror the live TV coverage of suicide terrorists slamming hijacked planes into the World Trade Center, toppling its twin towers.
Joy, pain.
Love, hate.
Ecstasy, deep depression.
Ms. Roseberry struggled to reconcile the roller coaster of opposite emotions she was feeling as she completed more than 25 hours of hard labor, delivering her baby daughter, Jariah Roseberry, by C-section at 6:14 p.m.
“I was having contractions, and then all of a sudden my mom said, "Did you just see that plane hit the (World) Trade Center?”' she said. “I'm like, "Oh, my God. What is going on?”'
As the days rolled by, it became abundantly clear what had happened as continuous media coverage forced the nation and the world, to relive the tragic events of Sept. 11, over and over again. The approaching anniversary of Sept. 11 has revived the media onslaught.
But for infant Jariah, the Sunday before the anniversary of Sept. 11 was a day to laugh and play with the balloons that had been inflated for her afternoon birthday party at her grandparents' Forest Park home.
Jariah's wide grin and wide-eyed expression made it clear that she was oblivious to the tragedy forever etched in the memory of so many mournful adults, who attended solemn church services and other memorials on the same day as her birthday party.
And that, Ms. Roseberry said, could be the best gift her daughter could receive on her first birthday.
Ms. Roseberry said she thanks God that she doesn't have to worry about the psychological impact of the terrorist attacks on her daughter yet. But she is also well aware that just because her daughter has been shielded from the emotional drama of Sept. 11, she is likely to grow up in a very different world than the one in which she was reared.
“Everything seems to be getting worse,” she said. “When I was growing up, we didn't have to worry about terrorism and all that stuff. But now it's like anybody is capable of doing anything.”
Ms. Roseberry's mother, Teresa Roseberry, shares her daughter's concerns for her own personal safety and the safety of her family.
“Everybody I know is on pins and needles about Sept. 11,” the grandmother said. “A lot of people I know at work are taking the day off or just not going to work that day. Things have changed, and I don't think they'll ever be the same.”
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