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SPECIAL FEATURE
Marathon Man
JOSH NEWFIELD RUNS WITH SON IN MIND
Jason Klaiber
W
hile out for an afternoon run early last June, Josh Newfield of Liverpool received a phone call that stopped him in his tracks and forever altered his course. He immediately rushed over to the Crouse Hospital delivery room where his then-pregnant wife Amy had been admitted for observation after her blood pressure rose considerably. What followed was a threeday waiting game, culminating in the moment Newfield refers to as “the kicker”: the instant a nurse suggested he retrieve some spare clothing and any other necessities, implying that he and his wife would be in for a long night. At around 5:45 the next morning, after a 15-minutelong emergency C-section, the couple welcomed their first child, Benjamin Aaron, into the world. Though the Newfields had an inkling that their son would be born at least slightly early, his arrival two months before the 40-week mark came as something of a surprise. “It’s a nerve-wracking situation,” Josh Newfield said. “When you’re at that point in time, there’s nothing you can do to control the immediate situation in any way except for just being there as best as possible.” Benjamin remained in the Walter R.G. Baker Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 32 days, a “middle-of-theroad” length of time relative to
other babies born just as prematurely, according to information his parents gathered. Considering what could have been, Josh Newfield said he and his wife felt fortunate that they were able to conduct the anticipated car seat test for Benjamin after tallying not much more than a one-month hospital stay. “When you find out that other families have come in literally every day for 120 days, it really just puts it in perspective and puts you in a different place mentally,” he said. His excitement and thankfulness at the time were, however, offset by the feeling that the COVID regulations in place last summer were not the easiest to work around. In the weeks after Benjamin’s birth, Josh and Amy Newfield were allowed only a fourhour visiting window in total. Also, if either of them signed out at any point and left the hospital grounds, their return was not permitted until the following day. On top of this, only one parent was allowed into the NICU at a time, so they often ended up taking turns checking on Benjamin while the other wandered the University Hill area. Despite any frustrations that stemmed from these regulations, Josh Newfield retains nothing but praise for the level of care administered at the Baker Regional NICU during that month-long
Newfield prefers to go out for a run in the summer heat and the colorful fall, while his favorite distance to cover is 6.25 miles. He also doesn’t mind “precarious” situations, like the time he sprained his ankle but continued on with a race until the finish. June 2021
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