Baby Born In Van En Route to Hospital
Posted December 14, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Gao and her husband were planning to give their newborn son a traditional Chinese name, but considering his interesting and early entrance, the proud parents decided to go with Michael because it sounds like ‘miracle’.
“He is a miracle to me, yeah, because what happened to me today is just like a dream and a miracle,” the beaming new mother explained.
Little Michael, weighing in at 7lbs., 2 ounces, was born at a gas station at Bayview and Cummer at 7am.
Delivering a child can be an uncomfortable experience in a hospital to say the least, but Gao put on a brave face and brought her child into the world in the front seat of a minivan.
While Gao and Michael get most of the credit for the incredible entrance, there were some other people who played an important role in the event. Gao’s neighbour Mary Marcoccia drove and eventually delivered the baby.
“Mom and baby did all the work. I just stood there and caught the baby as he came out,” Marcoccia said.
The new mom had nothing but praise for her friend’s efforts.
“Mary was so good,” Gao recalled. “So brave.”
Marcoccia received some important help from 911 dispatcher Elizabeth Maxwell, who talked her through the exciting and nerve-wracking situation.
“I didn’t think she realized that the baby was going to come while she was on the phone with me,” she said.
And then there were the paramedics who arrived to find a very tired mom and baby and a beaming granddad.
“There was a grandfather waving us down frantically and there was a mom there with baby in her arms,” EMS worker Paul Klaehn said.
Gao’s husband Hong Xu was in Ottawa when the big moment arrived, but hopped in a rented car and scooted back to Toronto to meet his new son.
Everyone’s doing just fine now.
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