Fiegs, Friends and Freddy Freeman Fare Fine in Foul Freeze

Emily and Brian Fieg have hunkered down for an anticipated four-day wait after winter storm Leon dumped 2-3" of snow and a heavy coating of ice on the city of Atlanta.

Brian, son of Doug Fieg of California, barely made it home to suburban Acworth at 2:00 Tuesday afternoon and had to wait for a school bus to get unstuck so he could reach his own driveway.

Meanwhile, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cars were abandoned throughout the area.  A member of Dr. Ed Fieg's staff was stuck on an arterial for 26 hours.  The Georgia National Guard was helping to "extract" some motorists with medical or other needs from vehicles that were gridlocked on interstates and roads around the city, and students who were stuck on school buses.

Atlanta Braves first-baseman Freddy Freeman was trapped for 11 hours until former Braves super-star Chipper Jones arrived on a four-wheel ATV to rescue him.

"Atlanta is in no way prepared for a storm like this," Brian said.  "We have no intention whatsoever of going out unless it becomes absolutely necessary."

On the bright side,eighteen-month-old Caleb Fieg had a blast trudging through the snow in the yard until it became too cold for him to continue. 

Bob "Punchy" Powell, who flew with Lothar "Bud" Fieg during World War II and lives near Emory University in Atlanta, said that he and his wife Betty were essentially trapped in their house as they cannot negotiate the snow-covered hill where they live.

"Atlanta is shut down today," Punchy said.  "You see barely a single car or even hear one."

Bill Doyle Conquers Mt. Washington

The observatory on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire

With winds sustained at 70 miles per hour and the temperature hovering at a balmy +10 degrees Fahrenheit, the intrepid Bill Doyle, husband of Diana Fieg Doyle, recently enjoyed a two-day visit to the top of the highest mountain peak in the northeast United States.

Last fall, Diana and Bill had driven up to the observatory at the summit of Mt.Washington in New Hampshire where they went so far as to become members.  The brochure they received listed several trips and classes available and one called Winter Mountain Essentials (aka Mountaineering "What If?") appealed to Bill and so he registered to participate.

He arrived on Friday Jan. 3 at the Crummy Inn in North Conway, N.H. (a motel secured by his travel-agent wife who didn't really care about the accommodations as she didn't have to stay there and anyway, he was roughing it, wasn't he?) at about 4:00 in the afternoon, in time to rent mountain-climbing boots and crampons, which are too expensive to own outright (unless you are a St. Bernard dog whose livelihood depends upon that sort of equipment).

The party met Saturday at 8:00 in the morning at the base of Mt. Washington and, the roads being blocked with snow, took a Sno-Cat 6,288 feet up to the observatory where they were to spend the night, take the class and then, the next morning, practice the skills they had learned.  Usually very stoic, Bill (or maybe it was his spine?) had to let out a slight scream at one point as the Sno-Cat went over a particularly jarring bump in the road.

As the temperature in North Conway was -10 degrees on Friday night, Bill and his fellow mountaineers were pleased with the "warmer" conditions at the peak on Saturday when they arrived.  In fact, that night Bill found it too hot in the bunk room so he went to the lounge with the observatory cat, Marty, to sleep.

This crew not only had good luck with the outdoor temperature but also with the unusually clear weather.  Bill reports that the views of both sunrise and sunset were spectacular, and that, to the east, they could see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and, to the west, all the way to Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in New York State.

Bill Doyle is the second person from the right.

On various forays from the observatory on Saturday the attendees were drilled in ice ax use, walking with crampons and building a snow cave, and they practiced self-arresting (how to prevent a fall) and how to walk in 70 mph winds.  There were a few women among the group, one of whom almost blew off the mountain, according to Bill, and she did not come out of the observatory again after that.

Right off the bat, Bill liked the leader of the expedition, a mountaineer named Joe Lentini, who has been a professional climbing guide for over 45 years, according to his website www.climbwithJoe.com. 

On Sunday the party walked part way down the mountain to the Sno-Cat and Bill arrived back at the Crummy Inn for one night and then back home to Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.  The first weekend in February will find Bill again at the observatory to learn about the weather station there.

Corkerys Welcome New Addition

Gemma Jacqueline Corkery arrived at 1:30 a.m. on January 7, 2014 at the Bassett Birthing Center in Cooperstown, N.Y. to parents Sarah and Kevin Corkery.  Gemma and all of her seven siblings have been born at the same hospital in the home of baseball and, should there be one more child, we'll have a complete baseball team and probably a front-page headline in the Cooperstown Crier.

Gemma weighed in at 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Sarah had the baby delivered under the prescribed terms of an elaborate birthing plan (reproduced below) which was dictated to the doctors, nurses and midwives in attendance.  Asked by her father, Greg Fieg, where she found this plan, Sarah said she was inspired by an article in "The Troublemaker's Guide to Making Trouble."  

Our congratulations and well wishes for for the baby are on the way, attached to a 90-mile-per-hour fastball.

Birth Plan for Sarah Fieg-Corkery and Baby Girl- 

Due date: 1/2/14

Birthing Partner: Kevin Corkery, husband and father

December 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

As I prepare for the birth of our eighth child I wanted to write a basic birth plan for those that will be supporting my labor and attending the birth as nurses, doctors and midwives.  

Background:  All my children have been born at Bassett Birthing Center.  My last birth was twin boys delivered by Dr. Graham through induction at 39 weeks.  It was, physically speaking, my worst birth experience due to the induction.  However all other labors and births, except my first in 1998 were natural and without the use of drugs of any kind.  Outside the twins’ birth all babies were delivered by midwives.  My babies tend to be larger with most weighing in between 8 lbs 13oz to 9 lbs 14oz.  The twins were nearly 8 lbs each and my smallest was 5 lbs 14. I have never had any emergency situations, excessive blood loss or perineal tearing of any significance.  Overall my experiences at Bassett Birthing Center have been very positive and I am content to be returning. 

General Birthing Philosophy:  In a nutshell, I believe in the body’s ability to give birth and prefer outside intervention to be kept to a minimum if used at all.  I ask for as quiet an environment as possible, low lights, and hushed voices.  I prefer to not use drugs for pain relief, my husband is my advocate, I am open to suggestions for comfort during labor, and I do not want the presence of any students at any point. 

Delivery:  Assuming all is progressing normally, I would like to deliver in whatever position I feel comfortable.  I appreciate encouragement and suggestions but ultimately would like to be able to push naturally when my body is ready.  When the baby is born I would like the cord to remain intact for at least one minute and my husband to be encouraged to be involved as much he is up to doing.  He will cut the cord when the time comes.  I would like a quiet, low lit environment with as few people present as possible. 

Baby care:  Upon delivery we would like our baby to be given to me to hold skin to skin as long as I am able and up for it.  If not my husband will hold her until I can.  If possible, within the first hour or thereabouts, we would love our daughter to experience a warm LeBoyer bath when she is ready and prefer to not have any standard bath with soaps of any kind given.  I do plan to breastfeed so our daughter will not require the use of pacifiers, bottles or any other artificiality for soothing or feeding.  I have used an S&S as needed in the past due to my milk tending to come in late but am always hopeful that I won’t need to.  We prefer our baby girl to be in our presence at all times.  We do not want any immunizations, eye ointments, and/or Vitamin K shot.  We want no heal sticks of any sort or any other such procedural, routine events taking place.  Alternatively to the Vit. K shot we would like oral vitamin K given.  It is our understanding that Bassett does not provide that option; however we plan to administer our own liquid vitamin K1.  Please understand this is our conscientious objection and not a frivolous, uninformed decision.  We believe the best transition into the outside world is to be born naturally, brought to mother skin to skin, and put to breast as soon as baby desires.  We want the healthiest, most comfortable, pain-free transition into the world we can give our child and painful poking and prodding interferes with this.  We understand some of our philosophy goes against state mandates.  Nonetheless we maintain our position knowing that parents make the best decisions for their children’s health, not States.  We are fully aware and respectful of Bassett’s responsibility to report as required by NYS law.  

In Case of Emergency:  If anything begins to not go according to plan and unforeseen events begin to unfold we just ask that we be informed at every step of all options and risks to maximize the safest delivery possible.  If for some reason I cannot be awake to receive information and voice my wishes my husband will make all necessary decisions for me.  The baby is to stay with him at all times until I can be with them.  In the event of a life threatening emergency please be certain to call a priest as we are Roman Catholic.  This is very important to us.

In conclusion, I want to reiterate how much we like the Bassett Birthing Center and its staff.  Everyone in the past has been very professional, helpful, and accommodating and we look forward to the same care this time as well.  I always recommend the Bassett Birthing Center to anyone looking for a good, reliable place to give birth.  Thank you for reading our birth plan and respecting our position and philosophy for bringing a child into the world.  See you soon!

Sincerely,

Sarah and Kevin Corkery