January 2010

Swedish’s first baby of the new year and the first baby born in the medical center’s centennial year was born at 6:41 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2010. Grace Weber, the new daughter of Courtney and Dave Weber of West Seattle made her early morning arrival at Swedish’s First Hill Campus, weighing in at 6 pounds, 15.6 ounces and 18.5 inches long.

Having their first baby so early in the new year was an unexpected blessing, according to the Webers.

Recognizing the new year’s baby is an annual tradition at Swedish, but it is even more special this year since 2010 represents the medical center’s 100th anniversary.

Swedish was founded in 1910 by Dr. Nils Johanson, a Swedish immigrant, surgeon and the father of Kitty Nordstrom. In a memoir about her father, Kitty recalled the first baby born at Swedish in 1910. Being one of the few to have a car at the time, her father picked up a laboring mother on Queen Anne Hill and drove her to Swedish to deliver the baby.

Thomas Jefferson captured second place and Decatur third at the 2009 Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic tournament hosted by Decatur in the Gator Dome last Tuesday and Wednesday.

The TJ Raiders pulled off a stunning upset as the action opened Tuesday, Dec. 29 -- defeating Decatur, 54-53, in the opening game for both teams. That advanced the Raiders into the Wednesday, Dec. 30 championship, where they were turned back by the Gig Harbor Tides, 55-52. The Gators dropped into the third place game, where they prevailed against Stanwood, 58-54.

Thomas Jefferson had to come back from an 18-point deficit to come close to the Tides in the final.

"It was a wild comeback," said Raiders head coach Kyle Templeton. "We responded well. We did not do well on shots in the third quarter, but we did not fold up the tent. "

The Tides proved to be a tenacious foe, taking as much as a 48-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter and then having to hold on for dear life.

A basket and a free throw by Eric Radford closed the gap to 48-33 to get the comeback under way ahead of two points by Justin Lanier.