A New Year’s Arrival Surprises Mother

Like thousands of others in the Washington area on New Year’s Eve, Monica Droddy was visiting friends, awaiting the arrival of 1999, when she suddenly had a different kind of arrival to contend with. Not yet eight months’ pregnant, she began experiencing labor pains just before midnight. Droddy, 33, decided she would try to drive herself to the hospital. Within five minutes, however, “the pain got so bad I couldn’t drive.” Desperate, she spotted a house with lights on, dashed as best she could from her car and banged on the door. Among those at the house was Dianne Minter, 35, of Lynchburg, Va., a nurse who sprang into action, delivering a 4-pound, 13-ounce boy at 12:46 a.m. in a hallway of the house.