Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SPRINGVILLE — Two babies were delivered at home in less than two weeks — a real shocker for Springville City dispatchers who took those desperate calls for help from two different fathers.
The first happened on Aug. 15 at 6:41 a.m., when little Vida Christian came into the world. Not in a hospital, but in the front room of the Christian's home.
"I tried to get (my wife) into the car and she's like, we are not going to make it into the car. So we came back inside and lied down, and we are like, 'What do we do? Are we having a baby here?'" Scott Christian told KSL-TV about the morning he made the 911 call for help. "Just did what had to be done."
"Just want to make sure that cord is not wrapped around the baby's neck," you could hear the dispatcher tell him in the 911 call.
He said the dispatcher was calm and knew just what to do, and that helped him to remain calm.
"Just in the panic of the moment it was like, 'OK do this. OK put your hand on the baby,' all the steps," he said.
"Oh good, cry. That was an amazing cry," the dispatcher said to him as the baby was heard crying in the 911 call.
Julienne Christian, Scott Christian's wife, said it was quite the experience to have the baby in the front living room.
"Kind of like an out-of-body experience where I could do hard things. All the emotions of relief. I was so grateful for (the dispatcher's) calm manner," she said.
Less than two weeks later, on Aug. 27 at 7:47 a.m., little Rilie came into this world, also born at a home.
"It was really scary. I got a text from my wife saying I needed to come home," Thomas Lewis, Rilie's father, told KSL-TV. "I got home and I could hear screaming in the back room."
He called 911. "I said my wife is having a baby and he's already coming!"
Thankfully, he too was guided by a dispatcher to deliver the baby. Rilie was eight weeks early, and Lewis had to do mouth-to-mouth to get him breathing again.
"He was making movements, he was making a little bit of noises at that point, and I was able to hear him. And he was breathing after that," he said with relief.
Rilie weighed just 4 lbs, 14 ounces and ended up having to be airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital, where he is at the neonatal intensive care unit. Lewis said Rilie is doing well and expected to make a full recovery.
Thank you for being calm and knowing what to say.
–Scott Christian
Both families thanked dispatchers for their kind and quick work to help them bring their babies into this world.
"Oh I would just thank them," Thomas Lewis said. He credits the dispatcher for helping to save the life of his son. "The dispatcher talking through how many breaths to give and the duration."
"Thank you for being calm and knowing what to say," Scott Christian said.
Brenda Butterfield, the Springville City dispatch supervisor, told KSL-TV the two dispatchers are veterans and did exactly what they were trained to do.
"The human interaction, just being kind, knowing that we are there to help. I think it's awesome. Our dispatchers are great," she said.
