FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2026
Contact: Reba Lean, Public Relations Manager
Phone: 907-443-9674
rlean@nshcorp.org
Nome, Alaska – Two babies born to Gambell families ushered out the old and brought in the new when they were born just hours apart on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at Norton Sound Regional Hospital.
Baby boy Owen Lynden Elton Seppilu was born at 3:16 p.m. on Dec. 31, a bit earlier than expected. Wendy Kava Seppilu said she was supposed to 
come to Nome on Dec. 18 to wait to deliver until a few weeks later, but couldn’t make it due to weather. On Dec. 30, she began to go into labor at home and had to be medevaced to Nome.
Owen, who weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and measured 21.5 inches long, was gifted two traditional St. Lawrence Island Yupik names from family members. His father Oscar Iyakitan’s own dad named him Uwaaliq after a relative. Kava Seppilu’s uncle named him Atiisqegkaq, which expresses his appreciation for the opportunity to name a baby.
“It’s my privilege to give my first name,” Kava Seppilu translated.
Next door in the labor and delivery unit, Kava Seppilu’s distant cousin Dionna Kogassagoon was a week past her due date on her own birthday, which happened to be New Year’s Eve, but her baby was in no rush.
Kogassagoon’s partner, Danny Aningayou, was betting that their baby would share her mom’s birthday. But as the 2025 hourglass ran out, the pair and their 1-year-old daughter Cyrus rang in the new year at Kogassagoon’s hospital bed. Aningayou took Cyrus back to their room at the Patient Hostel, and just minutes later, Kogassagoon gave birth to a baby girl.
Octavia Norlina Kogassagoon was born at 12:23 a.m. on Jan. 1. She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and measured 21 inches long. Her aunt named her Qukasaghun, which is an authentic spelling of her last name.
Her arrival was much celebrated, as her mom and dad had been awaiting her birth for nearly a month in Nome. Back home, older sister Serenity, 13, and brother Jamal, 9, are excited to meet their newest sister.
Kava Seppilu and Iyakitan also have two girls at home, Andrea, 9, and Kaitlin, 1, who are anxious to meet their new brother as soon as the weather allows.
Dr. Jacquelyn Serrano aided in the delivery of both healthy babies.
