A woman and her newborn daughter are healthy and doing well thanks to the quick-thinking actions of a police officer and EMT.
Shahira Patterson, 26, told the Bucks County Times she was at her home on Fieldcrest Drive in Westampton Township on Saturday when she began to experience contractions about 15 minutes apart.
The Times reports that Patterson, who wasn’t due until April 21, called the doctor to see if she should come in. Patterson claims the doctor told her to wait until the contractions were stronger and closer together before going to the hospital.
While Patterson’s mother, Olga Patterson, told her that they should still go, Patterson claimed she didn’t think she had to go just yet, according to the Times.
Patterson says her mother then went to Wawa to pick up a few items. That’s when the contractions suddenly grew stronger. The next thing she knew, Patterson was in the bathroom, about to give birth to her second child.
Patterson’s mother arrived back home from her Wawa trip and heard her daughter screaming upstairs that the baby was coming out.
In a panic, Patterson’s mother dialed 911. That’s when Westampton Township Police Officer Marc Scherzer received the call that he’ll never forget.
After being alerted of a woman in labor, Scherzer arrived at Patterson’s home and heard screaming inside. He rushed into the home where he found the mother-to-be.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Scherzer said. “My first reaction was to reach down and grab the baby’s head because I was afraid it was gonna hit the floor.”
Scherzer, a 10-year veteran of the force, jumped into action and calmed Patterson and her mother down, assuring them that everything would be okay,
“He was amazing,” Patterson said. “He really settled my mom down and got us both calm, feeling secure and safe.”
Scherzer stayed with Patterson until firefighter/EMT Julian Vallery arrived. Neither men have any children and had never delivered a baby before. Despite this, they successfully delivered the baby girl.
Vallery told the Bucks County Times that the baby’s first cries were “the most beautiful thing you could ever hear.”
Patterson and her baby girl, named “Issa” were taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Willingboro. The mother and her 5-pound, 11-ounce daughter are both doing well.
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