MEDFORD, Ore. – A taxi driver helped to deliver a baby girl this morning with help from a dispatch phone operator. we spoke with the taxi driver about the day she’s now referring to as a miracle.
“I was the first person to touch that baby, I think there’ll be a bond there for the rest of my life,” taxi driver, Debora Smith said.
Debora Smith has been a cab driver driving her cab for about ten years, she has two kids of her own, but when she picked up a mom in labor today. She never imagined she’d be on the other side of the delivery experience.
“I called the hospital and I said we were on the way and before we could get to the hospital her contractions seemed to speed up and they seemed to be much closer than five minutes apart, and then she said she needed to push and I said… are you sure?”
After that, there was nothing else for Debora to do but pull over and spring into action.
“Actually time kind of slowed and everything superfluous kind of falls away and its just baby, mama and we just gotta make this happen,” she said.
After the birth, the dispatcher – Rio, talked Debora through keeping the baby safe until an ambulance was able to get there.
“I know I called them from the front seat and then I got in the back, it all happened so fast between the phone call and then there’s a baby,” she said.
Debora’s just thankful she could be apart of this once in a lifetime event.
“life is magical and to just be there when the baby takes its first breath it was an unexpected little miracle for me to experience today.”
She says she has one motto as a taxi driver, and that’s to get every person where they need to go going safely, and she’s glad she was able to do that today. Debora went to visit mom and baby after our interview, she let us know they are both healthy and happy.
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