LIFENEWS NOTE: This story occurred in 2016. We apologize for the error.
It’s amazing the length that some people will go to help a mother and her unborn child.
Several days ago, midwife Cathy Rude braved the floodwaters in Katy, Texas and rode an inflatable swan to help a mother in labor with her unborn child, Today reports.
Rude, 63, has been a midwife for 24 years, but this probably was her most unusual delivery yet. Several feet of floodwater made it nearly impossible for Rude to make it to her patient Andrea Haley, who was showing early signs of labor.
“I was concerned, as she was, that if her water were to break, things would happen very quickly,” Rude told Today. “So, we started asking how I was going to get out of the house if that happened.”
The midwife said she also was concerned about getting her birthing supplies wet in the floodwaters, which came up to her waist outside her front door.
Here’s more from the report:
As Haley’s labor progressed, she drove with her mother and her husband, Daniel, to attempt to pick Rude up in their truck. When they arrived in Rude’s neighborhood, however, they learned that it would be impossible to get down the street due to the floodwaters. After being unable to get in touch with friends who owned a kayak, Haley spotted a woman on a large, white [inflatable] swan drifting down the flooded street.
SUPPORT PRO-LIFE NEWS! Please help LifeNews.com with a donation
“Andrea yelled out the window of the truck and said, ‘Hey, would you be willing to give my midwife a ride so she can deliver my baby?’” said Rude.
The swan’s owner was a neighbor of Rude’s, who quickly obliged, taking off down the street with her swan to collect Rude and her birthing supplies and deliver them back to the waiting pick-up truck.
Rude said she laughed when she saw the inflatable swan at her door, but she hopped on board and made it to the birthing center where she helped Haley deliver her baby boy, Bennett.
The midwife did not expect to receive any praise for her brave and unusual deed. She said it was just part of her job.
“… as midwives, that’s just what we do,” she said.
Rude may not think much of her efforts to help the mother and child, but others have been hurt and killed helping people escape Hurricane Harvey and the resulting floodwaters. The storm has claimed at least three dozen lives in Texas, CNN reports.
Earlier this week, a mother died while trying to save her 3-year-old daughter from the floodwaters. The little girl survived by clinging to her mother’s body. Many have described the toddler’s life as a miracle and her mother a heroine.
