Mom gives birth, sees baby and calls 911
While mothers universally describe it as the most significant day of their lives and the moment of utmost happiness, none could fathom that the happiest day could morph into a dreadful nightmare from which they only wish to awaken. Louisa Ramirez was a young and courageous 27-year-old woman whose greatest dream in life had always been to be able to raise a large family with the man she loved. It was a dream that, after many years of struggle, personal tragedies, and uncertainty, would come true, although to do so she would first have to overcome the occasional bump in the road that would test once again all her defenses.
Ramirez had grown up in a humble family on the outskirts of Dallas, North Texas. Her mother worked in the janitorial industry and spent her nights cleaning high school facilities for lousy pay, while her father was a cab driver. Their home was small, and although they would have liked to have more children and give Louisa a sibling, the couple was aware that their possibilities were limited and that the decision to increase the family would only diminish their chances of getting ahead and offering some kind of future for their daughter.
However, despite her family’s economic difficulties and having to work from a very young age to help her parents pay the bills each month, Louisa never gave up. Thanks to her intelligence and effort, she managed to build a good future for herself and aspire to everything her parents had hoped for. The young woman graduated at the top of her high school class, earning a scholarship that would allow her to attend the university of her choice without having to worry about the financial costs involved.
“You are the first Ramirez to set foot in a university, Meha. We are really proud of you, honey. You deserve it.”
All her mother told her, very excited, the day the letter of admission from several universities arrived home. Among them was the letter from Louisa’s favorite university, and the one she dreamed of going to since she was 10 years old: Columbia.
“Without you, I would have never made it, Mommy. I will study hard and make you very proud of me. My successes are also your successes. When I finish studying, I will get a good job and I will get you out of poverty. I promise you.”
Assured the young Louisa with tears in her eyes while holding the Columbia admission letter in her hands. And so she did.
Four years later, after suffering the unexpected loss of her father, Mr. Luis Ramirez, due to a massive stroke, Louisa managed to graduate with honors from Columbia Law School. Thus, at only 23 years of age, and with hardly any experience or contacts that could help her advance in her career, Louisa made her way in the complicated world of law in the United States. She had the difficult task of gaining respect in a world dominated by money and appearances, and in which women of humble origins and, above all, Latinos, did not enjoy a warm welcome.
Even so, Louisa, who had always distinguished herself for having a strong character and an unbreakable will, did not let herself be intimidated by her professional colleagues. Only a couple of years later, she would achieve the great dream of any law graduate: to become a partner in a large law firm and have her own list of clients.
“You’ll never have to worry about money again, Mom. I will take care of everything and you will live like a queen. I promise.”
Ramirez assured her elderly mother, who could not hold back tears as she listened to her daughter.
Louisa bought a beautiful ranch outside of Austin, Texas, where she and her mother could live surrounded by comforts, just as they had always wanted. The ranch would become Ramirez’s new home and the perfect place to rest and unwind for Louisa, who spent her week dealing with all kinds of problems in court. Louisa had never felt so happy, and her life and that of her family seemed to be in perfect balance. However, there was one thing that the successful lawyer had not counted on that would make all her short and long-term plans change drastically in a matter of weeks: love.
As we have already mentioned, Louisa was part of a successful law firm in New York, and her work required her to travel all over the country on numerous occasions. It would be precisely during one of those long and tedious business trips when Ramirez would fall madly in love with the man with whom she would decide to spend the rest of her life, a prestigious Boston lawyer named Oliver Taylor.
Oliver worked at another prestigious law firm in the country, and she met him during a trial in Boston in which Louisa worked for the defendant’s side while Taylor was in charge of the prosecution. Despite that and their possible differences on a professional level, their connection was instantaneous and they began dating a few weeks later, falling madly in love with each other. Their courtship was short but intense, and just a year and a half after meeting and beginning their chaotic relationship, the young couple had already married and were expecting their first child.
Louisa’s mother never objected to her daughter’s relationship, even though she thought they were moving too fast, but she refused to accept her daughter’s invitation to move in with them after the wedding. Mrs. Ramirez had been a widow for more than five years, and although she missed her daughter’s company, she preferred to stay in the beautiful ranch she had given her and let her daughter form her own family at her own pace. After getting married, Louisa and Oliver decided to buy their own home in New Mexico so they could be close to the Texas ranch and visit Louisa’s mother quickly and regularly.
“You would never be a hindrance to us, Mom. Don’t say that. Besides, now that I’m going to be a mother, I’ll need your help more than ever. In a few months, I’ll be on maternity leave and I’d love it if you could be here for the arrival of little Thomas. What do you say? You know that here you have a room prepared for you; I’ve decorated it to your liking.”
Louisa knew how difficult it was to convince her mother of something, but since she knew she was going to be a mother, she felt very insecure and missed her mother’s advice and company more than ever.
“All right, honey, you’ve convinced me, but I’ll move out when the kid is about to arrive, okay? In the meantime, I’ll still be here. Someone has to take care of the beautiful ranch you gave me, don’t you think? We have horses to take care of, honey. I can’t leave this place unsupervised for too long. But the birth of my grandson is something special; I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll be there, my love, next to you and your husband to help you in any way I can.”
Mrs. Ramirez assured her daughter tenderly, seeing the insistence with which Louisa was asking her to stay by her side before the imminent arrival of her first grandchild.
“Of course, Mom, we’ll do it as you wish. Thomas’s birth is not due until the end of September, so we still have five more months to plan everything. There’s no rush, Mommy.”
What Louisa could not have imagined was that her baby would be born much earlier than expected, and that it would be born without medical assistance and in a car on the way to New Mexico. It was impossible to predict what happened, as Louisa’s pregnancy had been completely normal. But as fate would have it, it all happened on a beautiful, quiet day in June.
Louisa had just taken maternity leave to spend more time at home preparing for the baby’s arrival and had spent a week visiting the Texas ranch with her mother. Oliver joined them for the weekend, as he was still working in full swing at the law firm, and on Sunday afternoon they headed back to their New Mexico home by car. However, with just over an hour to go, Louisa felt a sharp pain in her belly. A prick went through her from top to bottom and made her scream in pain. Oliver was very frightened and lost control of the car for a few seconds.
“What’s wrong? What hurts, Louisa? Is it the baby?”
He asked, alarmed, to his wife, who seemed unable to recover.
“I don’t know, honey. It was a prick in my belly. It felt like a contraction, but I’m not sure. Now it seems to be going away.”
Answered Louisa, slowly recovering her breath. It seemed that the pain had stopped, but it had not, because only a few minutes after the first prick, Louisa felt it again, and this time it was much more intense. In addition, with the second prick, Louisa also realized that her pants were soaked and that the carpet of her passenger seat was also wet and full of water. That’s when she knew she had gone into labor and her son was coming into the world three months earlier than expected.
Realizing the situation, Oliver hurried to park on a shoulder of the road and tried to call 911 to report her situation but was unable to. Neither of them had coverage. They were in an elevated area and far from town, so emergency services would not reach her in time to deliver her baby.
“What are we going to do? I can’t call an ambulance from here and it looks like the baby is going to be born any minute now. I don’t know what to do!”
Exclaimed Oliver, very upset, when he realized that they were all alone and that he would have to welcome his child in the middle of the road and without medical supervision.
“You can do it, honey. We both can. I trust you. Now I need you to help me because our son is going to be born and I’m going to need a steady hand to give me the strength to bring him into this world, okay?”
Louisa was as terrified as her husband, but she took control of the situation and prepared to give birth to her child no matter what. And they did. Neither of them can explain it, but they did it.
Little Thomas was born in the back seat of a Land Rover, and although at first the child seemed healthy and cried loudly, when Louisa and her husband were about to arrive at New Mexico General Hospital, something happened that would make her heart stop again. Just as she arrived at the hospital, Louisa, who was in the back seat with her baby in her arms, noticed that Thomas had stopped breathing. She had been watching him the whole time and he was fine, but suddenly something was wrong and the baby was not breathing properly.
Panicked, the new father got out of the car and made a desperate call for help.
“Help! Help, please! It’s our baby, he’s not breathing!”
Oliver shouted in desperation, all his clothes covered in blood from the childbirth. Luckily, his plea for help was answered by Officer Perez, who was just meters away from the car and ready to respond. His quick response and first responder training would prove invaluable in this life-or-death situation.
“What’s going on, sir? What’s wrong with your baby?”
Asked the alarmed officer, looking for the mother and baby inside the car. Upon entering the vehicle, he saw that the mother and baby were in the back seat and the umbilical cord was still attached. Officer Perez quickly grabbed the baby and ordered someone to get help.
“Go get the nurse! Go get the nurse! Tell him to hurry!”
The agent picked up the baby and gently removed the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. He then began tapping the baby on his back repeatedly, trying to get him to cry. While doing this, he spoke to the baby, saying:
“Come on, Miho, breathe. Breathe, Miho, breathe.”
A few moments later, everyone was relieved when the baby began to cry. Soon after, hospital staff rushed out and assisted the mother and baby. Both made a full recovery after a couple of days in the hospital.
“I will never forget what you have done for my wife and child, Officer. I will be indebted to you all my life.”
Oliver told the policeman after checking his wife and son were out of danger.
“I’ve done my duty, Mr. Taylor. I’m happy to know that I’ve contributed to a new life coming into this world. For me, knowing that is enough. This is my job; you owe me nothing. I tell you from my heart, be very happy and take good care of your family.”
The agent said kindly as he held out his hand and shook it gently.
Perez refused to receive any compensation, but he was very happy to have helped that family at such a distressing time in their lives. Undoubtedly, Agent Perez’s actions left an indelible mark on the lives of Louisa and her husband, and his heroism will be remembered. Without his professionalism and commitment, the end of this story would probably have been another, and Louisa and her husband would not have a child to welcome. The world is full of silent heroes who make our lives safer and happier. This beautiful story serves to honor them and remind us how important it is to value their work.
