Orland Hills Soldier Surprises Wife Ahead Of Birth Of Couple's Child

OAK LAWN, IL — As Cara Rahming prepared to give birth to her first child earlier this month, the idea of her husband not being there wasn’t ideal.

But as the wife of a soldier serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, Rahming had already prepared herself for the notion that her husband Harold — an Army captain and doctor who had been deployed since June — would not be able to be present when she welcomed their child into the world.

But when a visit to Advocate Christ Hospital four days before her due date turned into some unexpected news for Cara Rahming, the fact she would deliver a new baby boy early wouldn’t turn out to be the only surprise she was in for.

As it turns out, Capt. Rahming had been planning to be in Oak Lawn in time for the Orland Hills couple to experience the birth of their newborn together. Rahming, who was scheduled to return home in mid-October, surprised his wife by showing up in her hospital room dressed in his military fatigues as she returned to her room.

On Sept. 18 — four days before he was scheduled to arrive —Harold Leroy Rahming II was born with both of his parents present and accounted for.

“There’s a lot of emotion because it’s a moment you hoped you could share together, and it was becoming more and more real that I was going to go through this alone,” Cara Rahming said, according to a hospital news release.

For Capt. Rahming, the early arrival date changed his plans along with those of his wife. Rahming had managed to get to a Texas Army base from Iraq as part of his plans for an October Illinois homecoming. But when Christ Medical officials told him that his son would be arriving earlier than expected, Rahming was able to coordinate travel plans through the army base with the help of an Orland Hills neighbor, who made sure he arrived at his wife’s side just in time.

He made it with less than a day to spare.

In video footage provided by the hospital, Cara walks into the room when her husband steps out to surprise her. She then notices people standing around the room with their cell phones out and asks, "Why are people recording," before she she quickly sees her husband.

“I told you I was coming home,” Capt. Rahming says as his wife cries into his shoulder.

The 34-year-old mother-to-be had an uneventful pregnancy, but in the final days she hadn’t felt the baby move as much, and her doctor’s appointment revealed a decelerating heart rate.

Her doctors quickly decided to send her to Advocate Christ, where she could be closely monitored, and ultimately decided it was medically necessary to induce the mother-t0-be. When things didn’t improve, Cara had to have a Cesarean to safely deliver baby Harold.

Mother, father, and son are all doing well now and have returned to their Orland Hills home, hospital officials said. But for Cara Rahming, the emotions of not only delivering a baby boy — but having a surprise visitor — is still a lot to comprehend.

“I was over the moon,” Cara said in the hospital release. “We were together for the first time in three months.”