WILLIAMSBURG — Some of life’s joys are too good to wait.
Two paramedics and a Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Coordinator from the Williamsburg Fire Department helped a mom bring her baby into the world with a quick delivery earlier this month.
The mom, Sarah Caskie, said that after experiencing some contractions on Sunday, July 11, she went to the hospital, only to be sent home.
Then, at around 6:30 the next morning, she woke up to see her husband, Jonathan, off for work. She began experiencing contractions again within two to three minute intervals and called her mother to come and get her two older children.
But the little baby would be coming a lot sooner than Caskie anticipated. When her water broke and the contractions were consistent, she and her mother called 911 for help.
Ciera Fenske, an MIH Coordinator with the Williamsburg Fire Department, was one of the three first responders who answered the call. As an MIH Coordinator, Fenkse helps bridge the gap between clinic and home care. She also has experience helping with baby deliveries.
This was her second time helping in a delivery.
“We get calls like this pretty often, and usually people have enough time to get to the hospital,” Fenske said. “That was not the case here.”
Along with Fenske were paramedics Kyle Holden and Josh Goldblatt. Neither of them had helped with a live delivery before, but, according to Fenske, they were more than ready.
Just as the paramedics arrived at the house to assist, Caskie’s husband arrived back home. He sat in the front of the ambulance as his wife was put onto a stretcher.
“I was in so much pain, and I was thinking, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I was so scared,” Caskie said. “The paramedic, Josh, kept saying, ‘Just squeeze my hand if you need to.’”
Before the doors to the ambulance were shut, Fenske was holding a little baby girl in her hands.
For the paramedics and Fenske, it was a very rewarding experience. “A lot of times, we deal with a lot of heavy and sad situations,” Fenske said. “So to be a part of that was very rewarding.”
After the baby was delivered, the Caskies went to the hospital to make sure mom and baby were healthy.
“Ciera coached me through everything,” Caskie said. “I couldn’t have asked for better paramedics to help me.”
Caskie added she learned her family has a history of speedy deliveries with the third child. As a third child herself, Caskie was also born in the back of an ambulance.
Both she and her baby are doing well. A week after the baby was born, the family visited the Fire Station to say thank you and properly introduce baby Ava to her deliverers.
