By L.B. Whyde
The Newark Advocate
NEWARK, Ohio — While he was a paramedic with the Newark Fire Department, Gregg Coffman helped countless people with medical emergencies through the years.
But rarely does he ever hear about or from those people again. That is, until this week.
It was 1983 when Coffman, 59, and his partner, Lori (Cass) Dixon, 52, helped deliver a baby in the back of their ambulance, never to hear anything more about the child. But, as fate would have it, Coffman and Dixon were reunited with that baby, Tammy Whitis, now 25 and a nurse’s aide at Newark Healthcare Centre.
They had a lot of laughter and a lot of reconnecting to do.
It was Dec. 29, 1983, around 1:20 a.m. when Coffman and Dixon were called to the house of Frank and Linda Whitis in Newark. Linda, 8 1/2 months pregnant, was scheduled for a Caesarian section the next week. The weather was bad, Linda’s water broke and Frank called the ambulance to make sure his wife got to the hospital on time.
As it happened, the ambulance never left, and Linda delivered her third daughter in the back of the vehicle. Frank looked through the window to find out why they weren’t leaving, only to see the baby coming.
“It was a matter of seconds, and I had a baby in my arms,” Dixon said. “I remember Gregg telling her to push and Linda saying she couldn’t push anymore; then he yelled and said, “You have to push.’”
Coffman never had helped with a birth before, but Dixon had one birth assist under her belt.
“It’s not the preferred place to have a baby born,” Coffman said. “Too many things can go wrong, and we have limited equipment. But we do get lots of training on it, although it’s much different in real life. It’s much faster.”
“And the baby is so slippery,” Dixon added. “She was such a beautiful baby.”
The reunion came about after Tammy Whitis’ sister, Gina McNaught, who also works at Newark Healthcare as a receptionist, was looking for baby pictures as part of a diversity event at the nursing facility. McNaught, who was 12 at the time of her sister’s birth, came across an Advocate article about Tammy’s birth and found Coffman’s name.
She wondered if he could be related to the new staff development coordinator, Gayle Coffman, who had started her job a few months ago. While talking with Gayle Coffman at lunch one day, McNaught was excited to learn her husband indeed was that paramedic and still was with Newark Fire Department as a fire inspector.
McNaught introduced her sister, and soon Gayle Coffman called her husband on the phone. She asked if he remembered the baby of 25 years ago, and after his positive response, she told him she was looking at that child. Coffman immediately called Dixon.
“That was a great feeling,” Coffman said.
Tammy Whitis has worked at Newark Healthcare for nine years and decided to go into the medical field when she was 16. She is going back to school in January to become a physical therapist.
Tuesday’s reunion was exciting for Tammy, if a little embarrassing.
The only one not able to attend the reunion was Tammy’s mom, Linda, who is sick. But the group was making plans to meet again.
“It’s awesome for us,” Dixon said. “We never heard from them again. We always tried to make an impact, and this one had a happy ending.”
Reprinted with permission from The Newark Advocate.