Man left outside of hospital as infant hopes to see Angel Cradle in Saskatoon
John Dosman says he knows his biological mother's decision to leave him outside of a Saskatoon hospital was motivated by love.
Just as that act has come to mean more to him over time, so has the idea of an Angel Cradle for Saskatoon.
Sanctum Care Group has been looking at providing such a cradle, to allow mothers to leave their newborn babies in a safe location.
"It's a symbol," said Dosman. "It's just saying that Sanctum and Saskatoon and society, we care about moms, and we support moms in whatever decisions they make."
For some mothers, that means parenting their babies, for others, it means adoption, and in some rare circumstances, it may mean leaving a newborn in a safe place in a way where the mother's anonymity can be preserved, he said.
"It's an act of love, of walking away."
Baby Joey discovered
Dosman was discovered outside a side entrance for St. Paul's Hospital in the July of 1978, an infant wrapped in a yellow dress and left in a box.
He was dubbed Baby Joey, and his unusual introduction into the world was covered extensively by media outlets before his eventual adoption.
"It's a bit surreal because obviously I don't remember it," he said, of his fame in infancy.
Over the years, he's come to wonder more about his biological parents, which led him to a media blitz 10 years ago and subsequent DNA tests to find them.
He has never found either parent, and while those questions about who they are still linger, he doesn't bear any resentment toward them.
"It doesn't sound like I was ever unsafe," he said. "I was well taken care of, healthy and put in a place someone would find me very quickly."
Dosman said he was raised by a wonderful family. He has since become a physician, who has delivered babies himself.
But he realizes that if he was left outside on a frigid January day, rather than a warm July day, his story could have been very different.
That's why he hopes Sanctum Care Group will carry on with plans for the Angel Cradle.
Sanctum's executive director says the care group is hitting pause on the idea for now, to examine if all gaps have been addressed.
Dosman said he hopes the idea doesn't get snared up in delays and controversy, as the Angel Cradle would likely be very rarely used, if at all. But in those rare cases, a parent may see it as his or her best option, he said.
That's why Dosman has a message for his birth mother, wherever she may be.
"She didn't make the wrong decision. I could see love in her decision, and things have worked really well," he said. "I've had a great life, and I'd tell her thanks."
