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A pregnant obstetrician delivered another woman’s baby before going into labor herself.
Dr. Amanda Hess was preparing to give birth at Frankfort Regional Hospital in Kentucky when she overheard the nurses talking about a patient having delivery complications. Dr. Hess immediately sprang into action and went to the patient’s room.
The patient is Leah Halliday Johnson, a woman Dr. Hess has previously examined. The on-call doctor was on the way back to attend to Johnson after a short break. However, Dr. Hess, a doctor in practice for seven years, knew that the baby had to be delivered immediately because it was already showing signs of distress.
Wearing only a hospital gown and boots, Dr. Hess delivered Johnson’s baby daughter. An hour later, Dr. Hess went back to her room and gave birth to her baby girl named Ellen Joyce.
Johnson did not know until after her delivery that Dr. Hess was about to go into labor herself. Nonetheless, she appreciated Dr. Hess’ quick action even when she was off duty, saying that the obstetrician is an amazing person, mother, and doctor.
Dr. Hess is one of the examples of doctors going beyond their regular work hours to help those in medical need. Living up to this is Dr. Gayatri Patankar, an anesthesiologist returning to India from a family vacation in Dubai. The Indian doctor immediately came to the aid of an unconscious man at the airport, giving him first aid to revive his heartbeat. After 15 minutes, the man came back to life and was sent to the hospital. Dr. Patankar emphasized the importance of being prepared for emergencies like this.