Yvonnie Webb-Phillips had a particularly bizarre case of deja vu Sunday morning while witnessing Aurora firefighters help her daughter give birth in the back of an ambulance, just as she had done 22 years earlier.
Her daughter, 22-year-old Nicole Webb-Phillips, first began experiencing intense contractions at her Aurora home around 1:25 a.m. Sunday, but because of two previous false alarms and wasted hospital visits, Nicole said she was hesitant to jump the gun again. It wasn’t until contractions were just a minute apart, lasting a minute each, that it became clear this was not a false alarm.
“By that point, as we were driving, I turned to my mom and said, ‘I need to start pushing.’ We knew we weren’t going to make it, so we called 911 and told them we were going to pull over somewhere and for an ambulance to meet us,” Nicole said. “So my mom got out and started banging on the garage and front door of the fire station.”
Zac Varela, one of the firefighters awakened that morning, said he and the others were shocked, and relieved, to find the cause of the frantic banging on the door of the firehouse at 4 a.m., considering the nature of most calls they receive at that hour.”It seems like we’re always there for the end of someone’s life, so it was nice to be there for the beginning of someone’s life instead,” Varela said.
The firefighters decided to put a blanket on a grassy area of the firehouse lawn to deliver the baby. An ambulance arrived just in time, but not soon enough to get Nicole to a hospital. Instead, she gave birth to her second child, daughter Endiya, around 4:20 a.m. in the back of the ambulance, parked in the driveway of the fire station.
“I was definitely scared — how awkward to be giving birth in the outdoor elements. And you don’t know what she could have caught,” Nicole said. “But the crew was very soothing, and everything was done professionally. It goes to show you, they don’t just fight fires.”
Distracted by ensuring the well-being of her daughter, Yvonnie said it wasn’t until she was standing on the lawn, looking into the back of the parked ambulance that she made the connection to her own delivery of Nicole 22 years ago.
“It dawned on me when I saw my granddaughter coming through for the first time — it was like deja vu,” Yvonnie said.
When Yvonnie was pregnant with Nicole, she also found she was unable to make it to a hospital in time for delivery. Her husband called for assistance, and she gave birth in the back of an ambulance with help from Aurora firefighters and paramedics.
“I still can’t believe it; it’s like it’s come full circle,” Yvonnie said.
Mother and baby are healthy and recovering at the Medical Center of Aurora. Despite the circumstances, and not getting the epidural she had planned for, Nicole said she’s grateful for the help from the crew at Station 7. She also cautions never to rely on things panning out as expected when it comes to childbirth but to “always have a Plan C” — and maybe directions to a local fire station, as well.
