A doctor who dressed up as the Heath Ledger version of The Joker for Halloween was about to take off his outfit to deliver a baby—until the parents insisted he stayed in costume!
Dr. Paul Locus, an obstetrician at the Henry County Medical Center in Paris, Tennessee, was dressed as Batman’s archnemesis on Halloween night but was fully prepared to remove his costume in time to deliver Brittany Selph’s daughter, Oaklyn.
“My wife’s due date was Nov. 5, but that obviously didn’t happen. She woke up Halloween morning to her water leaking,” Brittany’s husband, Justin Selph, tells PEOPLE, adding that the couple went to see Dr. Locus a few hours later. “That’s when we found out he was dressed for Halloween that day, as The Joker. We found it very humorous and a little excited that we would have a baby delivered by The Joker.”
Since the baby wasn’t due for a few more hours, Dr. Locus told the couple he was going to go back home to pass out candy, and then return in his normal medical attire. But because Dr. Locus had helped the couple through their pregnancy and this wasn’t their first rodeo (Oaklyn is their third child), they felt comfortable enough to let him know if he returned as The Joker, they were more than okay with it. So, that’s exactly what Dr. Locus did.
“There my wife is, staring the Joker straight in the eyes while delivering our baby, what a sight!” Justin says. “I was holding her leg up, and snapping pictures! I was going to go Facebook Live, but the nurse cut me off!”
“He was a great sport about the whole situation, and took photos with our family,” Justin adds.
Better yet, Dr. Locus even kept the joke going the next day.
“The next morning, he came in to check on Brittany, and he said ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it in last night, glad to see the delivery went well,’ Joking of course,’ ” Justin says. “He also gave her a card of congratulations, and he signed it ‘Dr. Joker.’ “