THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 7, 1995 TAG: 9510070250
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Norman Smith approached the large half-open bag lying in the Sentara Leigh Hospital's parking lot with caution. He shined a flashlight and saw a tiny arm poke skyward.
``Basically I was shocked at first,'' said the hospital security guard Friday afternoon. ``You know, you hear about these things, but you don't know what it feels like to find an infant. . . ''
Smith found the hours-old baby boy abandoned behind the hospital about 12:26 a.m. Friday. The bag was in a well-lighted section of the lot next to a van.
``The baby was laying there on its back with its eyes closed and moving its hand about,'' Smith said. ``He was responsive.''
Smith, a Sentara security officer for nearly five years, said his shock subsided while he focused on getting the baby to the emergency room. He then called police.
Police on Friday were searching for the mother of the baby, who was only three or four hours old when Smith found him.
Deborah Myers, a spokeswoman for Sentara, said the light-skinned black baby appeared to be full term. He weighed 6 pounds and 15 ounces, and was in stable condition Friday.
``We've never had something like this happen at Sentara Leigh,'' she said. ``We're just grateful the baby is alive and that he was able to get medical care right away.''
A maternity ward nurse named him Matthew, which, in Hebrew, means ``a gift from God,'' Myers said.
``The nurse told him he's having a rough time coming into the world and wanted to give him a nice name,'' Myers said.
Smith said he later visited the maternity ward. ``I felt really proud that I'd found him,'' he said. ``It had a happy ending to it. The baby could have been dead.''
Jeanette Cooper, an intake worker at Child Protective Services, said her agency will be working with the police.
``Our first concern is that the children are healthy,'' Cooper said. ``We try to find the families . . . while our emphasis is that the child is safe.''
Larry Hill, a spokesman for the Norfolk Police Department, said Friday's case was the first such incident since a newborn baby was deserted at Norfolk Community Hospital on Christmas Eve 1993.
``They're difficult cases to solve without witnesses,'' Hill said. ``Eventually someone calls.''
Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Line at 664-4040 or the Child Protective Services Hotline at 664-6022. MEMO: For Infoline updates, dial 640-5555, category 4900.
ILLUSTRATION: The child, who appeared to be hours old, was in stable condition
on Friday.
KEYWORDS: ABANDONED BABY ABANDONED INFANT by CNB