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Oct 6, 2008 4:40 pm US/Central
Arlington 911 Dispatcher Helps With Early Delivery
By Arezow Doost
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 News) ―
An Arlington mother, nine months pregnant, was eager a few days ago to deliver her baby.
But what she got was a little more than she had hoped for.
Susan Duran-Aparicio was in her bathroom at home, getting ready to go to the birthing center, when she went into labor.
The 911 call that Susan's mother made tells the story: "We are having a baby born unexpectedly," Ellen Boyd told the dispatcher. "We were on the way to the birthing center but we haven't left the house yet."
Just seven minutes later, with help from 911 dispatcher Julie Torres, little Luis Jr. arrived.
Susan says her contractions were so intense that there was no time to get to the birthing center—or even the car. "I felt something else," she told us. "I said, 'Is that his head?' I said, 'Okay, got to get him out right now.'"
Her husband, Luis, was helping. "She was squatting," said Luis. "And I was kneeling with some towels in my hand."
"I was on the phone with 911 from the time his head was out," said Susan's mom, Ellen. She took instructions from dispatcher Torres and relayed them to the couple.
On the recording of the 911 call, you can hear Torres' calm directions. "Without pulling on the cord," she said, "tie a string, like a shoe lace, tightly around the umbilical cord, about 6 inches away from the baby. Do not cut it."
Luis' hands were full with his new son, so he followed Torres' instructions to the letter. "I have a baby in my hand and I grabbed my shoe lace and tied it up," he said, referring to the umbilical cord. "That (shoelace) was all I had."
Torres has earned her calm demeanor. She has worked for the City of Arlington for more than 20 years. "She's a very seasoned call taker," said fellow Arlington worker Regina Hendrix. "It's probably not her first baby she's delivered."
Little Luis is back home now. He weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces at birth, and he's doing fine. "He's perfect," says his mom.
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