Wednesday 10th July 2013 – 9.00am – Claire Brown.
A new born baby girl from the Black Country has been named Ella Nicola after she was delivered in a broken elevator by a paramedic called Nicola last week.
Ambulance crews were called to a pregnancy case on the 9th floor of a block of flats in Reservoir Road, Rowley Regis on Friday 5th July just before 1.00pm.
Paramedic Steve Millward responded in his rapid response vehicle and was first on scene. He said: “When I arrived, Melissa was in the early stages of labour so I called for an ambulance crew as she needed to go to hospital but, given her contractions were still quite far apart, it looked like we had quite a bit of time so there was no real panic.”
With the ambulance parked up outside, Melissa, her boyfriend Paul, the ambulance crew and Steve got in the lift as, being nine floors up and with a woman in labour, the stairs weren’t really an option. Sadly, the lift broke down, trapping the five inside.
Paramedic, Nikki Wildman, said: “When the lift stopped we didn’t think anything of it initially. We called up the ambulance control room to request the fire services assistance and waited. About 20 minutes later, we were all still in the lift when Melissa’s contractions started to get a lot closer together. We all looked at each other because we knew the baby wasn’t going to wait for the lift to be repaired.
“Despite it being cramped and hot, we all worked as a team to help Melissa deliver a healthy baby girl. During the delivery we could hear the fire service desperately trying to get to us and after about 45 minutes of being trapped, the firefighters managed to prise open the doors and we were able to take Melissa, Paul and their new bouncing baby girl to hospital.”
Emergency Care Assistant (ECA) Nigel Goodman, who was working with Nikki added: “When it was all over, I remember saying to Melissa and Paul that they should call her Ella, short for elevator….and they have!”
On Tuesday, 23-year-old Melissa Cavanagh and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Paul Yeomans, met up with the ambulance crew that delivered their baby girl. Melissa, a proud mum of three, said: “Neither of us like lifts at the best of times so when it got stuck we panicked. The staff from West Midlands Ambulance Service were really great, they kept me calm and helped me through it.
“It’s all thanks to Nicola, Steve and Nigel as we couldn’t have done it without them. We thought it only appropriate to make Ella’s middle name Nicola, after all the work that her namesake did to deliver her. Thank you so much to all three for their help.”
Nikki, who has been a paramedic with the Trust for 15 years, said: “We really appreciate the family taking the trouble to say thank you and I’m humbled that they’ve decided to use my name. It was a team effort on the day and Melissa definitely did all the hard work. It was lovely to see them again and I wish them all the best for their future.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Pictured outside the lift (left to right): ECA Nigel Goodman, Paramedic Nikki Wildman, baby Ella Nicola, Mum Melissa Cavanagh and Dad Paul Yeomans.
- The family and ambulance crews have requested not to be contacted by the media.
- Ella Nicola weighed 6lbs 1oz when she was born.
- Nikki Wildman is 39 from Penkridge in Staffordshire and is based in Willenhall.
- Steve Millwall is 32 from Malvern in Worcestershire and is based in Oldbury.
- Nigel Goodman is 56 from Brierley Hill in the Black Country and is based in Willenhall.
- Please credit West Midlands Ambulance Service for the photographs.