Mom meets 911 operator who helped deliver her baby at home
A woman who called 911 when she went into labor at her home got a chance to meet the operator who talked her through the delivery.
Last month, Samantha Lockhart of Union City, North Carolina, woke up early one morning to find that her water had broke. Lockhart, then a mother of three, was at home with her kids while her fiance was at work. She immediately called 911.
But it wouldn't be long until Lockhart delivered her 8-pound, 5-ounce baby boy, Avonte.
Helping her through it all was 911 dispatcher Keri Michaels.
"It was about 3:30 in the morning, and she called and was very out of breath," Michaels told "Good Morning America." "I got the address out of her after a couple of tries because she was having such a hard time speaking. And then she said she was pregnant. And then she proceeded to let out this loud wail. And I knew that she was already in labor, and the child was coming. And a few seconds later, I heard the baby crying."
In a recording of the 911 call, Michaels can be heard talking Lockhart through keeping the baby warm and dry and offering comfort until help arrived.
"She kept me calm because you know, I was starting to freak and panic and she's like, 'OK, like calm down,'" said Lockhart. "She was definitely amazing. I wouldn't have had it any other way."
As a 911 operator, Michaels usually doesn't get to meet the people she helps on the other end of the line, but she recently met Lockhart and her baby boy face-to-face. Lockhart thanked Michaels for helping her that morning and both women said it is a moment they'll never forget.
"It's like God sent her honestly, for me, for this situation," said Lockhart. "She kept me calm. She walked me through everything."
