BRALIE Wilson had two very special guests at her 10th birthday party on Sunday. She came face-to-face with the two paramedics who helped with her unexpected home birth at the family's Heddon Greta home 10 years earlier.
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On the morning of October 11, 2010, just after midnight ,Gavin and Kristy Wilson knew they had run out of time to make the dash to the hospital.
"It didn't go one bit to plan," Kristy laughed.
"I said we are not going to make it, if we get in the car we will only get to the pub up the road."
Gavin called an ambulance and the team based at Kurri - Erin Laughton and Mark Wilson - jumped into action.
"I can remember it clearly," Erin said. "It was my very first delivery and I was pretty nervous. I remember we kept getting the updates; mother in labour, baby is coming and then as we pulled into the driveway we found out she had been born. I was definitely relieved to hear that."
Meanwhile dad Gavin had one of the most remarkable experiences of his life. He had no choice but to deliver his daughter, act as support person and doctor to his wife, all while his 22-month-old son Kayden slept soundly in the next bedroom.
"I was really worried something would go wrong," he said.
"I thought there was something around her neck as she was being born, then she reached and grabbed around my finger. Everything went really good from there."
When the parents were reminiscing about Bralie's entrance into the world they both realised that in the whirlwind of the birth they had never properly thanked the paramedics who raced in and took charge of the situation, ensuring everyone was healthy and safely getting them to Maitland Hospital.
"We just really wanted to thank them," Kristy said. They got in touch with NSW Ambulance and were happy to find out that Erin and Mark were still both working for the service. They immediately invited them to Bralie's birthday party.
"We rolled in and made sure everyone was okay, brought dad back from outer space, bundled them up and took them to the hospital," Mark said. "It is awesome for us to be invited here and to know they remembered us. In our job you don't often get that recognition, or get to see people again."
The Wilson family thanked the paramedics and introduced them to all of the party guests. Newcastle Herald was also invited to join, as the family had shared their birth story with the paper 10 years prior. At the time Gavin said the 'experience would make a great story for when Bralie grows up'.
So what does Bralie think of the whole unexpected home birth story? "It's a bit weird," she said.
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
