1:28
- ABC News
- September 13, 2017
Mom who gave birth at home during Irma is 'amazed'
She called the experience "traumatizing."
1:28
Farrell said she knew Miami Fire-Rescue wasn’t going to be able to reach the anxious parents, so she had another operator call Jackson hospital to get Dr. Kendra Gillespie on the phone for assistance.
“It was so much teamwork and so much effort and just doing what we could,” said Farrell. “I remember at one point the dad saying, ‘Can you please stay on the phone with me?’ and I said, ‘Yes, of course.’”
Miami-Dade mom delivers baby in her boyfriend's apartment because first responders were not responding to calls during Hurricane #Irma. pic.twitter.com/128jsctyQ9
— Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) September 13, 2017
The new mother, who was due on Sept. 11, said “it sounded like a train coming” outside as the storm was hitting.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/irma-hurricane-19-gty-jc-170910_4x3t_384.jpg\")
“When the paramedics came it was raining so we had to cover her face with towels so we could get on the truck,” she said of shielding Destiny when they were finally able to get into an ambulance.
The family was safely transported to the Women’s Hospital at Jackson Memorial around 8 a.m.
“This is a good example of people who care, people who listen, people who could communicate all together for a good outcome,” said Dr. Salih Yasin, an OB-GYN with the University of Miami Health System. “It is really a good story for us to learn from and for others to copy possibly nationwide.”
\"It's a story for others to learn from.\" Thankful to all who came together to help #mom safely deliver her own #baby during #HurricaneIrma. pic.twitter.com/8vQHLXFksn
— JacksonHealthSystem (@JacksonHealth) September 13, 2017
Watkins has been already been discharged from the hospital, but baby Destiny is still being monitored at Holtz Children’s Hospital Pediatric Cardiac ICU until she’s healthy enough to go home.
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