'Firehall Baby' has chance reunion with the Cochrane man who delivered her
A Calgary woman is calling a chance reunion with the man who delivered her "fate."
Kristi Perrault was born in a Cochrane firehall in 1982.
That was long before the city had in-town ambulance service, which meant residents sometimes faced lengthy waits if an emergency arose.
And that's exactly what happened to Perrault's mother, Chris Garbus, one September night.
"We were told the EMS weren't going to make it before I popped," she said. "So we flagged an RCMP officer, and he directed us to the firehall."
Fire crews ushered the pregnant Garbus into the kitchen, where a massive table was set up for cooking.
That evening, it served a different purpose.
"I had an agreement that if (the firefighters) couldn't do it, I'd help out," retired Cochrane physician Dr. Dennis Fundytus said. "And so I came over to the firehall and Perrault's mom was on the kitchen table, just about ready to deliver."
"They made me feel comfortable and not so scared," Garbus said of the experience. "But after (Perrault) was born, I had a tough decision."
Garbus tells CTV News at the time, she was "young and unemployed."
She figured putting Perrault up for adoption might give her daughter a chance for "a better life," and so that's what she did.
2004 REUNION
Alberta opened up adoption records in 2004, and Garbus said she was waiting for a call.
"Of course I wanted to meet (Perrault)," she said, "but there's always that possibility that the call would never come."
But Perrault felt the same way about a reunion.
And after a quick search through Garbus' family, she was eventually put in contact with her biological mother.
"It was incredible," she said. "We had that connection and I was so happy we could come into each other's lives again."
2022 FATE
But that was the first of two significant reunions for Perrault.
Earlier this summer, as she did her rounds as a nurse, a co-worker mentioned a familiar name.
"When my charge nurse said the last name, your ears perk up," she said. "But I didn't know for sure. So I didn't seek it out: I just grabbed the chart."
Lo and behold, that chart belonged to one Dennis Fundytus, at Foothills for outpatient support.
"Kristi will struggle with whether she should or shouldn't have reached out to me," he told CTV News Saturday, "but fortunately, she did. And the rest is a feel good story."
"I was like, 'oh my gosh, this is crazy,'" Perrault added. "The first thing he said was, 'you're the firehall baby? How is that possible?'"
Perrault called her biological mother, and Garbus eventually set up a three-person meeting.
"It was fate," Garbus said. "And it worked out perfectly."
The three Albertans now stay in contact and consider themselves friends, 40 years after a random encounter.
"Those relationships that we all started will be forever ongoing, because of the appreciation each one has for the other," Perrault said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Accused of burglary at stepmother's home, U.S. senator says she wanted her father's ashes: charges
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
LGBTQ2S+ rallies to be held across Canada, billed as largest since marriage equality
Organizations across the country are gearing up for what they describe as the largest LGBTQ2S+ mobilization since the push for marriage equality.
Toronto Catholic school board trustees vote against flying 'pro-life' flag
Catholic public schools across Toronto will not be flying the "pro-life" flag in the month of May after school board trustees voted against it.