CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A Chesterfield couple is counting their blessings after their son was born prematurely in a parking lot, delivered by first responders in an ambulance before the vehicle could even reach the hospital. Months later, the family reunited with the firefighters and medical team who helped give their baby a fighting chance.
Kate McCoy had been pregnant for nearly 25 weeks when she woke up one morning not feeling well and fell in her bedroom. She immediately knew something was happening.
"I instantly told my husband, the baby's coming, the baby's coming right now," McCoy said.
Her husband called 911, and a Chesterfield County Fire Department ambulance was quickly on the way. When Lt. Justin Gordon arrived at the apartment, the situation was immediately clear.
"It was pretty obvious we were going to be delivering a baby in the next couple of minutes," Gordon said.
Paramedics got McCoy onto a stretcher and down to the ambulance in the parking lot. As she was loaded into the back, there was no time to spare.
"All of a sudden, so much pressure just dropped," McCoy said.
Gordon said delivery had already begun the moment he climbed into the back of the ambulance.
"She had started delivering at the time I got into the back, and we transitioned directly into delivering the baby in the parking lot," Gordon said. "She delivered before we got to the stop sign on the way out of the apartment complex."
None of this was part of the couple's plan. McCoy said the experience was unlike anything she had ever imagined.
"I never once thought at 24 weeks and five days I would be giving birth in my apartment complex," McCoy said. "Terrifying, utterly terrifying. That was by far was the most terrifying moment of my whole entire life."
As the ambulance made its way to Johnston-Willis Hospital, paramedics knew both mother and her premature baby boy were in critical danger. In the emergency room, the NICU team was already waiting.
The baby weighed just one pound, one ounce. Stephanie Taylor, NICU director at Johnston-Willis Hospital, described the range of medical challenges facing a baby born at 24 weeks.
"Just your organs, and your body systems that haven't developed yet. You know, neurologically, cardiovascular ... the lungs are very immature at that age," Taylor said.
McCoy was also seriously ill and was admitted to the intensive care unit. Then came the waiting, as both mother and son began the long process of healing.
Taylor said McCoy's presence played a meaningful role in her son's recovery.
"I think her presence for the baby, along with of course the team there, helped him to have such a great outcome. I mean, 25 weeks is a medical emergency even when delivering in the hospital," Taylor said.
After 132 days in the hospital, the baby boy went home.
"It felt like a dream for the first couple of days," McCoy said.
Months later, the family reunited with the first responders and hospital staff who cared for them. McCoy said she is grateful for everyone involved, starting with the moment Gordon walked through her door.
"Chesterfield was phenomenal. I am so incredibly thankful for them. I mean, from the second Lt. Gordon entered my apartment and took immediate control of what was ultimately the most terrifying experience of my whole life and actually made me feel like I could do it," McCoy said.
For Gordon, seeing the baby at the reunion made the moment come full circle.
"It was pretty cool, especially to see a baby go from that tiny, little baby to like, we've got a full fledged carrier riding kid now. So it's really cool to see how that one turned out," Gordon said.
McCoy said her gratitude for the hospital team is equally deep.
"I'm forever thankful for the NICU. I'm forever thankful for my son's care team," McCoy said. "They did a phenomenal job."
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