By Sean Batura
Kerrville Daily Times
KERRVILLE, Texas — A year ago today, firefighter-paramedic Daniel FitzSimon handed a knife to Tyler Earl so the man could cut the umbilical cord of his daughter, who was delivered in an SUV on the side of the road.
On Monday, FitzSimon encountered the child a second time after Tyler and his wife, Lisa Earl, brought Hannah for a reunion at the fire station on Coronado Drive.
“She’s growing like a weed,” FitzSimon said with Hannah in his arms as she peered skeptically at him.
“Now everyone calls her ‘the SUV baby,’ Lisa said. “It took us a little while to be able to laugh about it.”
On the morning of Nov. 5, 2013, the Earls rushed from their Center Point home after Lisa began having strong contractions that were quickly escalating. As they passed the Kerrville airport in their SUV, Tyler was in communication by phone with a Peterson Regional Medical Center nurse, but realized they weren’t going to make it.
As his wife dealt with contractions using only four aspirin, Tyler pulled over near the G Street Bridge and helped deliver his daughter. Tyler wrapped the baby in a fleece jacket, drove to the nearest fire station — Central Station on Water Street — and pulled up blaring the SUV’s horn just as firefighters returned from another call. Hannah was blue and they were “freaking out,” Tyler said shortly after the incident.
“I don’t remember a lot,” Lisa said. “I just remember them being very calm and helpful. They were just wonderful. Tyler and I were both a little in shock.”
After the umbilical cord was cut, Fitzimon took the girl in his arms inspected her for medical problems using a birthing kit kept at the fire station and swaddled her in a blanket. Hannah, who was otherwise born without complications, weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 7 oz after her hasty entrance into the world.
In response to her husband’s reluctance to make a splash on Monday, Lisa smiled and said visiting the fire department could become a tradition around Hannah’s birthday
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©2014 the Kerrville Daily Times (Kerrville, Texas)