Saved by a Voice
By Mike Peters, The Tribune
Weld County, Colo. — Ashley is healthy today and smiling like a newborn should, not knowing how many were involved in saving her life on her birthday.
Three weeks ago, as Ashley’s mother, Tammy Finger of Johnstown, went into labor, complications hit. It took a Weld County dispatcher; Ashley’s father, Brian Finger; firefighters; and paramedics to pull Ashley through the problems of her birth.
It is called a “prolapsed umbilical cord,” which means the umbilical cord came through the birth canal first. Pressure from the baby on the cord can cut off oxygen and blood flow, and the baby could die.
But on that Saturday morning, they all came to help Ashley.
This past weekend, Ashley and her parents met the rescuers again, especially Weld County dispatcher Michelle Haynes, who led Brian through the steps to save Ashley’s life.
It all began in the early morning hours of June 26, when Ashley was three days overdue.
“I started getting labor pains about 3 in the morning,” Tammy said. “At 6 a.m., they were 10 minutes apart, and then six or seven minutes. We decided it was time to get to the hospital.”
But things moved too quickly. Tammy’s water broke, and a short section of the umbilical cord came out through the birth canal.
Ashley’s parents didn’t know how serious it was, but they called 911 just to be certain.
In many cases, prolapsed umbilical cord deliveries can cause death or serious injury to the newborn.
Dispatcher Haynes knew what it meant and immediately started instructing Tammy and Brian. Tammy had to get on her hands and knees, and Brian had to keep the newborn baby’s head off the umbilical cord, so it wouldn’t cut off oxygen and blood to the baby.
“At the time, I had no idea how serious it was,” Tammy said. “I was worried about giving birth at home and what would happen to the carpet.”
But with Haynes’ directions to help the undelivered baby, the family knew it was serious.
When Johnstown firefighters arrived at their home, Tammy and Brian were still in their positions, working to save their baby. Paramedics Kimberly Wheelock and David Main arrived a few minutes later and took over the job of keeping Ashley alive. Mother and daughter were taken to Medical Center of the Rockies by ambulance.
At the hospital, the doctor and nurses delivered Ashley by Caesarian section. She was delivered healthy and well within about a minute of the Caesarian cut being made. When Brian arrived at the hospital, he was told his wife and daughter were all right.
“He collapsed and started to cry,” the paramedics wrote in their report. “He said, ‘I was worried I might have done it wrong.’ ”
Today, Brian and Tammy are still grateful to everyone who helped to save their daughter.
“Michelle (Haynes), the firefighters, the paramedics and the hospital were just fabulous,” Brian Fingers said. “They saved our baby.”
Haynes received a commendation for her work that day, for staying calm and helping the family in the crisis. The paramedics, in their report, wrote that the family was able to calmly save their child, because “(Haynes) on the other end of the phone knew what to say and how to say it during one of the most stressful times a parent could ever encounter, the threat of safety to their child.”
Dave Bressler, director of Weld County Paramedic Services, also commended Brian “for doing what had to be done to save his daughter.”
So, Ashley is at home in Johnstown now, unaware of what happened on her birth day. Some day, her parents will tell her of the day she was born and of the strangers who stepped in to save her life.
Posted with permission of the Tribune.