7-Billion Club: Meet two of Sumter’s very own, delivered at Tuomey on Oct. 31
11/1/2011
Jodie Hoyt interacts with her son, Ryker, who was born on October 31 at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Ryker was one of 13 babies born at Tuomey on Monday – the same day that the United Nations announced the birth of the world’s symbolic seven billionth baby, a girl in the Philippines.
7-Billion Club: Meet two of Sumter’s very own, delivered at Tuomey on Oct. 31
by TRACI QUINN, Tuomey Public Relations
Jodie Hoyt wants her youngest son to know that he can make a difference, that “it matters what he thinks and does.”
“I hope he’s involved in some sort of positive change in the world,” she said, “and I want him to know that he’s part of the whole world, part of an explosion of life.”
Jodie’s second son, Ryker, was part of a population explosion of sorts, both globally and locally. He was one of 13 babies born at Tuomey on Monday – the same day that the United Nations announced the birth of the world’s symbolic seven billionth baby, a girl in the Philippines.
Jodie is from Manning but came to Sumter to have her baby because she had friends who told her they had “great experiences” here. She said she “loved” her nurse anesthetist, Mike Sands, and her favorite nurse, Maggie Lauver. “Maggie was there throughout the delivery and she rooted me on in such a positive way!” Jodie said. “She’s so confident that she makes YOU confident, makes you feel like you really can do it!”
Ryker -- whose middle name is now Collin in honor of the man who delivered him, Dr. Cecil Collins – weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. His mom said he had an “old man look on his face when he was born, like an old soul.”
Jodie said it was “amazing” to ponder what the world is going to be like when Ryker grows up. She says all she really wants is for both of her children to be good global citizens.
Her mom, Janet O’Connor, said, “I just want him to be good and thoughtful and kind, like his brother.”
More than 1,000 babies have been born at Tuomey so far this year, 123 of them in October alone. Globally, 900 people are born every three minutes; 360 people die, and the world gains another 540 people.
The world didn’t reach its first billion people until 1804, according to demographers. It only took another century to hit the 2 billion mark, but the numbers increased rapidly after that. We hit 3 billion in 1959, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1987 and 6 billion in 1998. The U.N. estimates the world population will reach 8 billion by 2025.
Tiffany Reaves, a radiology assistant at Tuomey, has her eyes on only one of those billions right now: her fourth child, a daughter named Morgan, was born at Tuomey on Monday.
“I will tell her to always follow her dreams,” Tiffany said of her youngest daughter. “I’ll tell her to go after what she wants and never give up on trying.”
Tiffany Reaves smiles as she stands over her daughter, Morgan, on Tuesday afternoon in the nursery at Tuomey. “I will tell her to always follow her dreams,” Reaves said. Morgan was one of 13 babies born at Tuomey on Monday – the same day that the United Nations announced the birth of the world’s symbolic seven billionth baby, a girl in the Philippines.