By Scott Williams
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
Copyright 2007 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
Class was dismissed for the day, but a trio of EMT students found another learning experience waiting for them right in the hospital parking lot.
A woman unable to reach the emergency room was having a baby in a minivan while her husband frantically searched for help.
The couple spoke little English, so the Waukesha County Technical College students were confused at first.
But when they looked in the minivan and saw Xee Thao about to give birth, the students knew just what to do.
“The training kicks in,” said Brandon Bergner, 21, of Menomonee Falls. “It was a great experience. There’s nothing like real life.”
The students had been inside Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-St. Joseph’s only minutes earlier in an advanced course for emergency medical technicians.
With Bergner were fellow students Joe Giver, 49, of Dousman and Mark Holehouse, 33, of West Allis.
Within minutes, Thao’s baby arrived and was on the carpeted floor of the minivan. Acting quickly, one of the students made sure the newborn was breathing normally, while the others ran into the hospital to get some supplies and alert staff members. The students then cut the umbilical cord, wrapped the baby in a blanket and helped Thao onto a stretcher.
“It was a thrill,” Holehouse said of the first delivery in which he’d been involved. “I was just glad we were able to help.”
Thao, 31, said through a Hmong interpreter that she was grateful the students helped keep her baby safe.
“I’m very happy and very grateful,” she said. “I would like to thank them a lot.”
Early arrival
The drama began shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday when Thao and her husband, Nhiazong Yang, raced to the Milwaukee hospital for delivery of their fifth child, two weeks earlier than expected. The couple moved here from their native Laos in 1996.
About the same time that the minivan pulled into the hospital parking lot, the three students were heading outdoors after a day of classes with their instructor. The students all work for fire departments in Waukesha County.
Yang approached them briefly in the parking lot before dashing into the hospital and getting a wheelchair. The students said he was heard saying: “My wife, my wife. Help me.”
When the students realized what was happening, Giver said, he pulled a pair of sterile gloves from his pocket. Within a few minutes, both mother and baby girl were being helped into the hospital, where they were admitted.
Hospital spokeswoman Cathleen Callen said the mother and baby were in good condition, and the father had recovered from the trauma, as well.
“This is an excited, grateful and very happy family,” Callen said.
The couple named the girl Kalia.
WCTC instructor James Case, who emerged from the hospital in time to watch his students in action, said, “They did exactly as they were trained.”