Mothers-to-be always have lists; diapers, bottles, crib, the usual.
But Amanda Hess had one extra item on her list other mothers usually don’t. She had to deliver a baby.
Dr. Amanda Hess is an OBGYN and as she arrived at the Frankfort KY Regional Medical Center, she heard another woman’s voice call out in distress. The distressed woman was Leah Halliday Johnson and she was fully dilated. Johnson was not Hess’ patient, but the doctor scheduled to deliver Johnson’s baby was returning to the hospital after leaving on a break and Hess knew there was no time to wait.
She described “You know I love doing what I do. I love taking care of mothers and babies and you really a lot of doctors are always thinking of their patients even when they’re a patient themselves.” So as Johnson’s screams echoed in the hospital hallway, Hess jumped into action. “I just put on another gown to cover up my backside and put on some boots over my shoes, to keep from getting any fluid and all that stuff on me, and went down to her room and I knew her,” Hess described. She has preformed a routine checkup on Johsnon a few days prior to the birth.
Hess had to laugh at the situation, as she mentioned “I had actually taken a call the day before, so I thought really that I was working up to the last minute. But this was literally ’til the last second.”
Johnson gave birth to a healthy baby girl just as Hess’s contractions began to start. Not long after, Dr. Hess welcomed her own baby girl, Ellen Joyce, into the world.
Leah Halliday holding her new daughter:
Dr. Amanda Hess with Ellen Joyce:
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