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Great Expectations Pasadena airman in Iraq sees photos of his unborn son

By ELIZABETH COE Staff Writer
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Michael Jamesson has been inIraq since November, but he just got a surprise from back home in Pasadena - the chance to see his unborn son, Benjamin Michael.

Through 3-D ultrasound imaging sent to Iraq on a DVD, the 19-year-old airman watched Benjamin moving inside his mother. He saw pictures of him yawning, sucking his toes and smiling inside the womb.

"It was pretty cool, and it made me feel closer to home seeing my son," Airman Jamesson wrote in an e-mail to the Maryland Gazette. "It was very hard for me. It was a definitely a tearjerker."

His wife, Alishia Jamesson, 20, is staying with her parents in Riviera Beach. She said seeing photos of her husband looking at pictures of their son, due March 24, brought her to tears.

"He told me they'd take pictures of him seeing the sonogram," she said. "I saw them and I started crying. I couldn't stop crying. It was the first time I'd seen a picture of (Michael) since he left."

The Jamessons grew up in Pasadena and both attended Chesapeake Bay Middle School at the same time. They went to separate high schools though - she to Northeast and he to Chesapeake. It wasn't until after high school that they began dating.

A little less than a year later, on June 23, 2006 the two were married.

In July, Airman Jamesson was ordered to report for duty at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The newlyweds moved, and on July 21 they received some big news - Airman Jamesson was off to Iraq for six months.

It was the same day Mrs. Jamesson found out she was pregnant.

"We didn't know whether to be extremely happy or sad," Mrs. Jamesson said.

Airman Jamesson left when his wife was five months pregnant, just after they learned they would be having a little boy.

"It has been really hard knowing that my wife is home and in pain, but on the other hand it is nice knowing that both of our families are there to help her with anything that she needs," Airman Jamesson wrote in his e-mail.

Mrs. Jamesson said she was glad to be able to give her husband the chance to see their unborn son, even while he is away working as a member of the "Dirt Boyz," a group of heavy equipment operators in Iraq.

The Jamessons got the chance to do the 3-D ultrasound imaging for free with help from Little Sprout Imaging, based in Towson.

The company worked with Mrs. Jamesson and her doctors at the Bethesda Naval Hospital to promote their imaging product.

Capt. Ken Hall, spokesman for the Air Force, said the Jamessons' experience was heartwarming.

"It was very uncommon and very special for this young Airman and his wife, or any service member for that matter who might be lucky enough to get the opportunity while deployed so far away from home in a place like Iraq," he said in an e-mail.

"All you had to do was see the look and the emotion on his face and in his eyes as he watched the video of the ultrasound to understand how very special it was for him and for those of us who got to see him watching."

The Jamessons have stayed in touch through e-mail every night, and they talk on the phone once a week or so.

"The only thing that's really hard is that he's always been my laughing partner," Mrs. Jamesson said. "If something goes wrong or I am upset, he'll say something to make me laugh. Now I don't have that, and it's been hard."

Airman Jamesson is due to return home from his service in May, when Benjamin will be almost 2 months old.

Mrs. Jamesson said she is excited for her husband to meet their son for the first time.

They'll stay in Pasadena with their families for a little while, then return to Montanta.

"I'm most grateful for my loving wife and my family for being there for her, for whatever she needed,"Airman Jamesson wrote.

"I just really appreciate everything that everyone has done for me in the past, and this whole experience has made me think of more than just myself."