Two Tulsa police officers who resuscitated a baby after it was born prematurely Monday said the baby was blue and gray until they tied its umbilical cord with a shoestring.
Officers Brad Hill and Josh Goldstein said during a Wednesday evening press conference that the call that sent them to a home in the 5900 block of West Eighth Street about 1:45 a.m. Monday is one they'll never forget.
"We received a call to assist EMSA. We get those calls all the time," Goldstein said. "Usually we show up and EMSA is there and they're having a problem with a family member."
Instead, Hill and Goldstein -- each a father who partnered together that night for the first time in their careers -- arrived at the residence before other emergency crews and were instructed by a dispatcher to enter the residence. Inside, they found a frantic man in the living room and a woman on a bloody bathroom floor cradling a 3-pound baby.
The officers said the baby was lifeless, and they didn't know it was even alive. The man, who was on the phone with dispatchers but was not able to assist in the delivery, brought the phone into the bathroom.
That's when the dispatcher told the officers to stimulate the baby and to tie off the umbilical cord. About 15 seconds after doing so, the baby began making noises.
"It was an amazing moment," Hill said. "We weren't, until that point, sure the baby was even still alive.
"To see life come to something that you didn't know was alive is amazing."
Goldstein said his sergeant had been to the hospital to check on mom and baby, and said both are expected to be OK.
Both officers said that though they received basic first-aid training, assisting with the birth wasn't something either was prepared for.
"It feels great. I'm very proud, very humbled," Goldstein said about the officers' live-saving work.
Said Hill: "It's one of those things you don't want to do every day. But you're just glad that, you know, you got to be a part of it ... it all ended up for the best. You can't really hope for a better outcome."
Copyright 2013 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
