'The most amazing experience of my life': Oaklawn nurse delivers friends’ baby in car

It's an experience Jaydn Comden won't soon forget.

The Oaklawn labor and delivery nurse was about halfway home to the Jackson area shortly after 8 p.m. Dec. 7 after her shift at the hospital when she received a phone call from a friend.

Ian and Megan Fulton, friends of Comden's for nearly a decade, were on their way to Oaklawn after Megan’s contractions were just two to three minutes apart. But about 10 minutes into the drive, Megan told Comden on the phone that they weren’t going to make it to Oaklawn in time.

"Megan told me, ‘I don’t think I’m making it to the hospital,'" Comden recalled in a news release. “I called the unit at Oaklawn to let the nightshift staff know we had a labor that would be coming in fast and furious. I called Megan back and she and Ian had been on the road for 10 minutes. I had just taken the exit past the one they were trying to get to, and I could tell this was going to happen soon. She was yelling through her contractions, so I told Ian to pull over and call 911.

"I asked where they were, and that I was going to find them," she continued. "(Ian) told me the road they were on, (Concord Road) near the railroad tracks. So, I got back on the highway and took the Concord Road exit and was looking for the railroad tracks and sure enough, found their car."

A moment later the EMTs showed up and Comden told Megan that it was time to have her baby — inside of a 2009 Subaru Forester.

Megan was in the passenger seat and Comden reclined the seat all the way back. A female paramedic got in the driver's seat and Comden was on the floor in front of Megan.

“I could see the baby,” Comden said. “The interior lights were on, and we had the heat cranked up so we could stay warm… I told Megan to give a push and it didn’t take much, and she was able to push the baby out. She did amazing.”

Healthy baby girl Ellowyn was born at 8:51 p.m. Dec. 7, weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

“It brought back the miracle of childbirth for me,” Comden said. “Doing this every day at the hospital, you get caught up in your routine, but seeing that … I still get emotional. It’s so beautiful to see what women do.”

The EMTs had a bulb syringe to help suction the baby, and blankets to cover her and keep her warm.

“Megan was a true rockstar,” Comden said. The delivery in the car was unlike any she’s ever been a part of.

“I’ve delivered babies quickly here at Oaklawn with all the resources, but it’s a totally different scenario out there,” she said. She was on the phone with staff at Oaklawn during the delivery. “One co-worker said to me, ‘I listened in until the baby started crying and I knew you had it.’”

Comden came back to Oaklawn to be with her friends to help get them settled in.

“It was very scary and crazy during the delivery,” Comden said. “Now looking back, with everything going well, it was probably the most amazing experience of my life.”

'She told me she was having this baby right now'

Megan's due date was Dec. 9. She began experiencing some contractions on the evening of Dec. 6 and decided to go to Oaklawn the next day for a scheduled appointment.

“We talked with Jaydn while we were there,” Megan said of the Dec. 7 appointment. “Around 6:30 that evening I went on a short walk with a friend. I started feeling something, and I had a noticeable contraction around 7:10 p.m. I started thinking about timing them. The first two were seven minutes apart and then they were between two and three and a half minutes apart."

Megan and Ian left the house around 8:25 p.m.

“We just pulled over because she told me she was having this baby right now,” Ian said. “I pulled over and told Jaydn we were on Concord Road near the railroad tracks. I called 911 and told them they were going to have to tell me what to do because nobody else was there."

Five minutes later, Comden showed up.

“I felt so much better as soon as Jaydn got there,” Megan said. “Jaydn always said she was going to deliver my baby, so that came full circle. And here we are.”

Just as Ellowyn was born, the ambulance rolled up. Mother, baby and father rode to the hospital together.

“They asked me which hospital I wanted to go to,” Megan recalled. “I told the EMT, ‘I have gone to Oaklawn for all my appointments, so we are heading that way.’”

“We told the EMT that this was our first time in an ambulance,” Ian said. “The EMT said, ‘me too.’ We all had a laugh. … All the first responders did an amazing job.”

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: How an Oaklawn nurse delivered for her friends — in a major way