MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- A brisk Dec. 3 evening found him lying on his couch half-asleep after a hard day's work. Through the twilight haze of the television, he heard the phone ring. Slightly annoyed, he broke away from his slumber and picked up the phone.
Staff Sgt. Dustin Kazmar expected to hear one of his fellow drill instructors from Company K on the other end, but what he heard surprised him.
"Dustin, there's something wrong with your wife," the voice said. "Please come to the hospital. She needs you."
Concerned, the 24-year-old jumped into his car and raced to the University of California San Diego Medical Center in the Hillcrest area.
An hour before the call, Naomi Kazmar, his pregnant wife who is a nurse in the labor and delivery unit, had just finished helping to deliver a baby at the hospital. After the baby was born, she began to feel strange.
"I felt really funny," said Naomi, who was 29 weeks pregnant. "Once I started bleeding, I knew something was very wrong."
Conveniently for her, she was already in the delivery unit of a hospital, and her coworkers immediately tended to her.
It seemed something had suddenly gone terribly wrong with her pregnancy, which had been perfectly healthy the previous seven months. The baby needed to be delivered nearly two months premature.
Dustin arrived at the hospital to find his wife in a hospital bed hooked up to all kinds of machines.
Once the doctor told Dustin what was happening, it took a while for the news to sink in.
"I was really calm about it," said Dustin. "It just didn't seem real and I felt like it was just something that would pass."
Naomi was stabilized and everything seemed to be under control. Suddenly, the baby's heart rate dropped dramatically from 120 beats per minute to under 30.
"Being a nurse there, I was terrified," said Naomi. "I knew what all those beeps from the machines meant."
Also alarmed was William Simpson, the doctor who made the final decision that the baby had to come out.
A nurse told Dustin, who was in the waiting room, they were having the baby that night. Still in a state of disbelief, Dustin prepared to don a set of scrubs and witness his son's birth.
Minutes later, the nurse returned and told Dustin he had to remain where he was because they needed to do an emergency cesarean section.
"For some reason, I was never scared," said Dustin. "I knew she was in good hands and it still seemed surreal to me."
Naomi had to be put under with a general anesthetic because of the hasty nature of the operation. In most deliveries, a local or spinal anesthetic is applied to keep the mother awake.
Simpson understood the possible consequences and waited only until Naomi was unconscious before he made the incision.
Other complications ensued during the operation, however.
"The breathing tube wouldn't fit in my throat," said Naomi. "That's how they keep people breathing usually, but for some reason, it wouldn't fit."
That was even more reason to remove the baby as fast as possible. By the time Naomi was breathing again from an alternative method, Zakary Adam Kazmar was in the doctor's arms.
"It was amazing," said Dustin, still awestruck. "I waited for about 10 minutes, and at 12:04 a.m., I was a father."
Little Zakary was born quite healthy, considering his circumstances. At birth, he weighed three pounds, seven ounces. A full term baby weighs between eight and nine pounds on average.
Heart rate, breathing, temperature and anything else regarding a newborn is normal, according to Naomi.
"He has all 10 fingers and toes," chuckled Naomi.
The only real problem is that Zakary is premature, both physically and mentally. He didn't get a whole term to develop, so he lacks some basic instincts.
"His brain and eyes aren't fully developed yet, but they are normal for his age," said Dustin. "He sometimes 'forgets' to breathe or his heart rate will drop a little bit. We have to train him how to do some natural things like breast-feeding. It's kind of like baby boot camp."
Dustin graduated his platoon in early December and starts a new training cycle today. During his off time, he and Naomi visit the hospital for about six hours every day, he said.
"All we do at home is eat and sleep," said Naomi. "We spend the rest of our time with the baby. It's like we're part-time parents. When we're at the hospital, we bathe him and change his diapers and feed him, but we don't fully feel like parents yet."
Zakary is expected home in mid-February, which is close to his original due date.
"It's going to be hard starting a new cycle and having a new baby at the house," said Dustin. "My mind will be in two places at once. I do have faith in my company though. Throughout the entire pregnancy, they've been 100 percent supportive. They let me off early several times, sent Naomi flowers and even came to the hospital to see Zakary."
Naomi and Dustin both want their son home as soon as possible, but they also believe Zakary is in good hands.
"I'm just thankful that he's okay," said Naomi of her possibly fatal emergency.
"I'm thankful she's okay too," chimed in Dustin of his 24-year-old bride of nearly five years.
Zakary has now eclipsed four pounds and continues to grow at the hospital. Dustin and Naomi carry on each day waiting for their son to come home.
"This situation could've been a lot worse," said Dustin. "But my wife is still here with me and I have a beautiful, new son. He's really just a miniature baby."