All families have stories of real events that are told over and over again. The most dramatic story in my family happened in February 1949 in a hospital in Lima, Peru where my brother, Richard was born. This was Mother’s second child to be born abroad as she had had me in Santiago, Chile in September, 1945.
Recently while rereading letters Mother wrote home from Peru to her family in Des Moines, Iowa and I came across THE letter in which she wrote about what happened. I had only ever heard her tell the story for many years. Here I was... reading what had happened in her own words in a single spaced typed letter on onion skin paper, faded after 70 years.
The Story begins...
It was summer and Carnival time in Lima. That meant a three-day holiday of celebrations throwing water balloons, confetti and streamers. Mother stayed in the hospital for the required 8 days following the birth of my little brother on Feb. 20th. On the day she was released, my father and I were waiting for her as she came out of the hospital. A nurse held the baby wrapped up with his head covered. I sat in the taxi hugging my mother who held the baby and as I peaked under the blanket. Once home, my father carried the baby up to his crib and Mother went to her bedroom to rest.
(From the March 1, 1949 letter )
Everyone was much excited. Rich kept tiptoeing into the baby’s room and coming back with comments like, “This kid’s sure got dark hair.”
“Oh, just oil on it,” we said.
“He’s got a receding chin, ” which I denied.
“His nose is sure big,” which I thought was a joke.
About a half hour later, Kris wanted to hold the baby, so I said all right, “Come in and sit on the bed and you may.”
I went in to the crib and started to pick up the baby –“This child’s got black hair!” I exclaimed “This isn’t our baby!” I picked him up and looked and looked - -thinking at first the light in the room was bad or something.
Rich was fit to be tied – “Jesus, if you think I’m going to raise some Peruvian kid….”
I was just aghast. Could it really be that we’d brought home the wrong baby?
Rich raced next door and got our neighbor to go with him to hold the baby. Off they flew (in a taxi) to the hospital. They said my doctor was just on his way over to our house as they arrived; the hospital had discovered the mistake and the maternity ward was in an uproar! All the doctors of the hospital were there. It seems after feeding that morning, the babies had been put back in the wrong cribs, and the nurse had not looked at the identification bracelets when she’d given us this one--- She got fired for her mistake.
Everyone at the hospital was glad they were two American babies. I guess a Peruvian baby would have gotten them into all kinds of lawsuits. We didn’t care about making a fuss, we just wanted our own child! The other baby was another Panagra* child, it so happened. Half hour later, when they brought my little redhead home, I can tell you I held him close and just cried with relief! And did he ever look beautiful. We commented all day how much better he looked in every way than the other baby.
Thank heaven, I have redheaded children! After this, I’ll never have any faith in hospitals. They sent baby Richard home with his identification bracelet still on, because they wanted me to see it for myself. Well, that’s how we came home from the hospital – It’s a story, that the more you think about the more horrible complications you can imagine might have happened.—
*Panagra Airlines is the company my father worked for.
Our “case of the mixed up babies” had a happy ending. My brother has lived with this story all his life. At times when he was naughty or exasperating we would say, “we should have kept the other baby”…but we always teased him with love. Early in our lives my brothers and I were aware of being different from others around us. As redheads, growing up in Chile, Peru, and Argentina, Mother said she could never lose us in a crowd. If Richard hadn't been born a redhead who knows what might have happened...
The Sampson - Kristina, Richard, and Fred
Kris & Richie
Wow. What an amazing story. Could not imagine that every happening to anyone. So cool you found the letter!
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