The chances of being born on a Leap Day are 1:1,500.
Gottlieb Memorial Hospital welcomed the first baby born on Leap Day at 9:45 a.m. The six-pound, ten-ounce baby boy is the third son for Bridget Savas, who recently moved from Melrose Park to Plano. “I scheduled a C-section with Dr. Ardakani and didn’t even think that it was Leap Day,” said Savas, who ended up delivering the baby naturally. “He won’t have a birthday for another four years!” Savas was waiting to name the little ‘Leapling’ until the baby’s father was able to leave work and come to the hospital. Savas said she will celebrate her son’s birthday on February 28 “so that at least it is in the right month.”
Kristi White, R.N., Birth Center was reminded that it was Leap Day while listening to the radio during her drive to the hospital. “A caller said she liked having a Leap Day birthday because she would always be young,” said the nurse who assisted with Savas’ birth. Two baby girls were also born later on Leap Day at Gottlieb; the second ‘Leapling’ at 11:55 a.m. and the third at 1:36 p.m.
Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, a not-for-profit community hospital founded in 1961, has more than 350 physicians on staff, approximately 1,400 employees and 150 volunteers. Gottlieb is best-known for emergency care as a Level II Trauma Center; comprehensive heart care, including open-heart surgery; a full range of cancer care services; advanced neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery; comprehensive obstetrics and gynecology services; and advanced diagnostics that include digital mammography. The Gottlieb Health & Fitness Center is the Midwest’s first medically based health and fitness center, offering innovative exercise programs, two pools, an indoor running track, a vast array of cardiovascular equipment, strength and weight training, and much more. Go to gottliebhospital.org for more information.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
