Christmas Eve Baby Born In Back Of LI Ambulance 'A Fighter': Mom

MIDDLE ISLAND, NY — Expectant mother Chelsea Anderson got up Christmas Eve and went to Southampton Hospital for a COVID-19 swab required before her cesarean section scheduled for Monday. Her family had already exchanged gifts, celebrating the holiday early in anticipation that they would be tied up taking care of the new baby.

That night, Anderson, a cook by trade, planned to make a nice big dinner to mark the holiday.

But about 7 p.m., baby Avion had his own plans. And in his first act of childlike defiance, he decided he could not wait another two days to make his big debut into the world, so Anderson went into labor.

"It was very unexpected," recalled Anderson, a Middle Island resident. She was joined Wednesday by her partner, Richard Hammonds, and their son, Asher, 1, as well as their families at a special reunion at Suffolk police headquarters with the first responders who helped deliver Avion in the back of an ambulance on the way to Stony Brook University Hospital.

She realized there was not enough time to get to Southampton, and when 911 was called, the dispatcher gave her five minutes.

"In the blink of an eye, he was ready and I was ready," she said.

She recalled how it's almost as if Avion was in sync with that time frame and waited just enough time for first responders — including Suffolk police Officer Kyle Negrin, who works out of the 7th Precinct in Shirley, and paramedic Eric Ramirez — to load her into the back of a Ridge Fire Department ambulance where Chief Brian Brooks was waiting to take her to Stony Brook Hospital.

Anderson's delivery was considered high-risk because Avion's umbilical cord had become wrapped around his neck three times — his fetal position had been monitored for the proceeding weeks and that is why the C-section was scheduled.

She recalled being "a wreck" and "very scared," repeatedly asking how long it would be until they made it to the hospital, but she said the pair comforted her during the ordeal.

"They made me feel very safe," she said.

Officer Negrin, an emergency medical technician 14 years, said that having been present for the births of his children helped him be more confident in the delivery.

He said that he knew he had to "step up."

During the ride to the hospital, Avion was born, and Negrin and Ramirez then had to get to work swiftly, yet delicately, to unwrap the umbilical cord that still linked him to his mother's womb.

Negrin called it his proudest moment as a police officer considering all of the negativity he has been exposed to "whether it be a fatal car crash or a shooting," and "such sad news."

"Seeing something like this was nice and a good feeling to deal with, bringing life into the world, rather than having to stand there and tell a parent that they just lost their child," he added.

Anderson and her son are now both in good health, and she said she feels blessed for the work that the first responders did to care for her and save her son.

She is glad Avion was delivered on Christmas Eve and that her family had taken the time to allow their children to open their presents "because we knew we would not be home for Christmas."

Negrin said he was "very appreciative to get to meet Avion in this setting as opposed to the scary setting that we had on Christmas Eve."

Policr Commissioner Rodeny Harrison lauded the first responders' efforts.

"It ended up being a Merry Christmas for Chelsea, Richard, and their children," he said.

Chelsea did end up making the big dinner she had planned, only after she returned with her son from the hospital.

And as for him, she says he's “definitely a fighter” who has done a lot of growing in the last month going from 7 pounds and 5 ounces to 11 pounds and 3 ounces.

"He is ready for the world. He is ready to take it on," she said. "So here we are."

This article originally appeared on the Shirley-Mastic Patch