Born on the run: Burke EMS personnel busy with deliveries

It must have been something in the (flood) water.

That’s about all Burke County Emergency Services Director James Robinson can think of to explain the fact the county’s EMS personnel have helped deliver five babies in the two and a half months since Hurricane Helene deluged western North Carolina.

They average perhaps three a year, Robinson said.

“It’s not something that happens all that often,” a smiling Robinson said Wednesday after presenting certificates and “Stork” lapel pins to five teams of paramedics. “People will call because they’re in labor, and we’ll get all the way to the hospital with them, and things go like they’re supposed to go. So, to have this many that are outside of the hospital, that’s pretty rare.”

Whether the exceedingly rare weather event had anything to do with it or not, fall saw a serious spike in emergency births, and Burke’s EMS crews were ready.

Robinson said it’s vital to recognize EMS personnel because most of them go beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. He hoped Wednesday’s ceremony conveyed his gratitude.

“I’m very proud of them,” Robinson said after the presentation, his voice taking on a deep and serious tone. “It’s always difficult, because so often things don’t go positively, and that’s the ones that people remember. So, recognizing the positives — that all these babies were healthy, there were no complications — is important.”

OCT. 1: BABY BOY, EMS PERSONNEL JENNIFER JOHNSON AND DAVID ANGELY

It all began right after Helene hit, when Robinson, Johnson, and Angely helped bring a baby boy into the world amidst the devastation the hurricane had left the previous weekend.

There was no electricity, it was a cold, early morning, and the family was living in a shed. Angely described it as “a pretty dire situation.”

Robinson was already on the scene when the paramedics arrived, and had the newborn tucked underneath his shirt to warm him. “The baby’s core temperature was a touch cold,” Robinson said.

The child ended up spending some time in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but everything turned out fine. “The outcome the baby had was excellent,” Angely said.

While others were tending to the little guy, Johnson treated the mother. “It was my first one (delivery), so I didn’t really do a whole lot with the baby. I just stayed with the mom,” Johnson said.

OCT. 10: BABY GIRL, EMS PERSONNEL MAKAYLA CLARK AND MIKAYLA JOHNSON

Clark and Johnson arrived on the scene and encountered a pregnant lady standing over a tarp in her front yard. The child was being born breech.

The team got mom into the ambulance but barely made it down the driveway before the little girl arrived.

“We got Dad in there to help,” Clark said matter-of-factly. “He got to cut the cord. We clamped it, kicked him out, and headed on to the hospital.”

Johnson said both mom and baby are doing well. “We tried to convince her to name the baby Mikayla,” Johnson said with a smile. “But she already had a sister with that name.”

OCT. 30: BABY BOY, EMS PERSONNEL AVERY BOYLES AND THADDEUS REIDThe day before Halloween, Boyles and Reid picked up an expectant mother and rushed her to UNC Health Blue Ridge.

They made it to the hospital, but not quite to the elevator: The infant took his first breaths in a hallway.

Boyles was deeply affected.

“It was a beautiful thing,” he said. “We see so many people leave this world, it’s nice to see someone come into it for a change.”

NOV. 29: BABY GIRL, EMS PERSONNEL BENJAMIN BISE AND ASHLEY LANE

Things were quiet until the next autumn holiday rolled around.

The day after Thanksgiving, Bise and Lane had a slightly smoother experience, arriving just as first responders delivered a girl. It was Bise’s third time handling a birth.

“This was the best by far, because everything was just ready to go,” he said. “She had already given birth, and we just did what we could to care for the baby and the mother.”

Lane said the baby’s mom spoke only Spanish, and communicating with her presented a challenge.

“The biggest problem was the language barrier,” Lane said, and added she was grateful a bilingual Morganton Public Safety officer was on the scene to act as an interpreter.

DEC. 16: BABY BOY, EMS PERSONNEL JOSH HARRIS AND BRIANNA COOPERFinally, just last Monday, Harris and Cooper helped deliver a boy in the Holiday Shores community of Lake James. Once again, first responders were on the scene early and the EMTs took over when they got there.

“An easy, smooth process,” Harris said.

Easy and smooth, but no less moving.

“Usually when you get called out to active labor and you get there, and they’re not actually in labor,” Cooper said. “But to actually hear a baby’s first cries, it’s something else.”