INTO THIS PANDEMIC, OUR BABY WAS BORN
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was Super Tuesday, March 3. Joe Biden was going to be the Democratic candidate for president. Because of a rare genetic disorder, I have limited sight, so after Ellen, my wife, took a pregnancy test, she read me the result: It said pregnant.
We were elated, excited and nervous, all at the same time. The next day, I left for San Antonio to give a convention keynote presentation. On the f light there, I kept looking at my phone, zooming in on the photo of the pregnancy test that read pregnant. I was in awe — in disbelief — and my mind wandered to thoughts of how happy our families would be to learn she was pregnant.
There were rumblings about COVID-19 at the time, but we had no idea to what extent it would impact our lives. When Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted the shelter-in-place order, we knew that this would be a unique situation but thought it wouldn’t last long.
My wife began working from home. We were looking forward to going to her first doctor’s appointment together, but two days before the appointment, she got a call notifying her that only she could attend the appointment and I couldn’t accompany her. We were devastated. This was going to be our first baby, and we wanted to experience everything together.
After going through the stages of grief and finally reaching acceptance, we started to say, “You know what? We don’t know any different. This experience is new for us and we‘ll make the best of it. Our main priority is to keep Ellen and the baby healthy during the pandemic.”
We got to tell our parents that Ellen was pregnant in a special and meaningful way. It might not have been exactly how we would’ve wanted to have done it, and we didn’t get to hug them when we broke the news as we would have liked, but it’s what we had to do to keep everyone safe.
My little brother, Eric, found out the gender of the baby before we did. He arranged a Zoom gender reveal that relied on Lady Gaga’s song “Boys Boys Boys” so that I would hear the gender while others saw the color blue.
Months went by, and Ellen’s doctor kept telling her that the baby was big. Eventually the decision was made to induce labor on Nov. 7. Just after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris gave their acceptance speeches after a long post-election wait, my dad drove us to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla to start the induction process. After 36 hours of procedures without success, our doctor recommended that Ellen have a C-section and we agreed. Very soon thereafter, early in the morning on Nov. 9, Palmer Mario Poincenot was born.
We hope it is a sign of good fortune that Palmer was born at 5:13 a.m. while Ellen’s birthday is May 13. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
So what I will always remember about 2020 is everything surrounding the pregnancy and birth of our son, Palmer. Sure, it’s easy to focus on the pandemic and all the negatives it has wrought. But I prefer to focus on the good, and Palmer’s arrival has provided plenty of positives to focus on.
Ellen’s doctor kept telling her that the baby was big. Eventually the decision was made to induce labor on Nov. 7.
is an inspirational speaker and blind golf champion. He lives in