BEAVER DAM, Utah — When Cade Walker heard his wife, Katie, was about to give birth while stuck in traffic during a Utah snow storm this week, he used his medical knowledge to spring into action to help her deliver their daughter in the car.
“Me wife is having a baby. We are in active labor,” Walker told 911 dispatchers over the phone.
Walker is a student at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and plans to graduate this May. He and his family have lived in Lewisburg for the past three years, but have temporarily relocated to northern Utah to fulfill some 4th-year clinical rotations closer to his hometown.
The couple was in for the surprise of their lives when Katie’s water broke at 9:40 p.m. on Jan. 20. She gave birth an hour later, but it wasn’t in the hospital. They didn’t make it.
“Don’t keep going. Pull off here,” Katie told Cade on their way to the hospital. She was in the passenger seat and noticed contractions getting worse with a line of cars stalled on a snowy road.
The Walkers recorded their experience and shared the video with MetroNews.
Their daughter, Kennedy Lou, was born smiling and eyes wide open. The birth happened a day before Katie was scheduled to be induced.
Cade stayed on the phone with dispatchers as they helped walk him through the process of delivering their baby.
“She’s beautiful!,” Cade said. “Baby’s eyes are open and she’s staring at us as if this is was normalist thing in the world.”
While searching for a shoe lace or some thin material to cut the baby’s umbilical cord, Cade decided to use the elastic string from a disposable face mask.
In these times of COVID-19, Cade said in the video, it came in handy.
“I just tied off the umbilical cord with the elastic of a mask, so thank goodness for masks in this situation,” he laughed.
Katie told Cade she was shocked it all happened so fast.
“How are you feeling, babe?” Cade asked his wife.
“I don’t even know! That was so weird! I feel great,” she said. “I guess you can just have a baby whenever.”
The couple was transported to the hospital and are said to be in good spirits.