Long Island Couple Thanks First Responders Who Helped Deliver Baby Boy On Their Kitchen Floor
YAPHANK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A frightening baby delivery on Long Island had a happy ending thanks to a team effort by volunteer paramedics, police officers and a brave new mom.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Thursday, the baby boy is now thriving after the kitchen floor deliver was fraught with complications.
How do you thank someone for saving a life that had just begun?
Parents Heather Warren and Christian Budiarjo did it publicly at Suffolk Police headquarters, reuniting with the paramedics and officers who saved their newborn baby, Kendall, last month.
"It's so nice to have everyone back together again, and we just can't thank you enough for everything," said Warren.
Kendall made an unexpectedly early, speedy and stressful entry.
Budiarjo said, "She was on the ground, saying 'call 911, call 911,'" five minutes after her water broke at their Bellport home.
"Officers walked in and the EMS walked in and I said, 'I want to go to Stony Brook, you're going to take me there, right?' And then within the same breath I said, 'He's coming now,'" said Warren.
Heather could tell something was wrong. The baby wasn't crying.
"It felt like it was an eternity before he started crying," Budiarjo said.
"The baby was literally not moving, airway was a problem, wasn't breathing correctly. Very gray, ashy, pale," said EMT Louis Salinas.
The umbilical cord was wrapped around Kendall's neck. After tense minutes of life-saving measures, he finally cried.
"Total sense of relief and we don't take a cry for granted now, that's for sure," Warren said.
"She was a true champion that morning. Her family, her husband, everybody was involved to make sure that Kendall lives to be 100, we hope," said South Country Ambulance Chief Greg Miglino.
South Country Ambulance paramedics and EMTs are all volunteers.
"Without them, we don't know what would have happened and we don't like to think about it," said Warren. "I can be a loud person and I have a lot of wishes in life and I was certainly calling them out on the kitchen floor. But everyone kept me calm and focused on my baby after he was delivered to keep him healthy, and for that I'm grateful," said Warren.
The paramedics and officers will forever be part of Kendall's life story and family.