SUBLETTE – Cheyenne Edwards was just about to go to sleep on a normal Monday, April 28 night.

However, the 24-year-old woman who was 39 weeks pregnant had to wait for rest.

“It was unexpected. I was getting ready for bed. I had to use the bathroom. I heard a pop but went back to bed,” said Edwards, who was ironically supposed to be induced on April 28 but was pushed back. “The pop was my water broke. I told Ryan (husband) it had broke and called my mom to come stay with our other two children. It felt way longer than an hour. My water broke at 10:45 and we had him at 11:45. We called a few times and waited for them to get there. I started to feel the urge to push.

“I told Ryan, ‘I think I need to push,’ and he looked at me with wide eyes and said, ‘No, you don’t.’ At first, I didn’t want him to call 9-1-1, but after he looked and saw the baby’s head, he called 9-1-1.”

When Ryan called 9-1-1, Lee County Dispatcher Kelly Boos was on the call.

Boos wasn’t waiting for the call to happen, but when Ryan told her the baby’s umbilical cord was wrapped around Wilder’s neck, she was prepared.

“I was not expecting that kind of call. I was happy to help him through it and happy to have a healthy baby here now,” said Boos, 33, from Dixon, who has been dispatching for five years with the last wo being for Lee County. “We have a protocol system called PowerPhone. It has different protocols and there is one in there for childbirth. I pulled it up on our computer and walked him through step by step of what was going on. Knowing the umbilical cord was wrapped, there were certain instructions to give him at that point.

“It was quick. The baby was already coming when he called. It went fast. The father was awesome. He was super cool. He did everything I asked of him when I asked him to do something. It was a great outcome.”

The instruction from Boos to Ryan Edwards, 28, lasted 7 minutes, 36 seconds.

However, to Ryan, it seemed longer.

“The seven minutes definitely felt like seven years. It was a lifetime. It was something to experience,” said Ryan, who along with Cheyenne also have River (4) and Atley (2). “It was definitely a new angle on childbirth. Never in my life would I think I’d be the one delivering. I would do it again, honestly. I think a lot more dads need to at least have the option to be a little more hands on. The bond afterward was surreal, just holding him with the umbilical cord still attached. It was magical. 

“With Kelly, I couldn’t have asked for a better dispatcher at the time.”

For their efforts in helping the Edwards give birth, Boos and the Lee County Dispatch team as well as the Sublette Fire Department crew who arrived on the scene, received “Stork Pins” from Mercyhealth Associate EMS Medical Director John Pakiela on Thursday, May 15 at the Sublette fire station.

“As a fire chief, it makes me very, very proud to have our EMTs and first responders be able to step up and support our community like they do,” said Sublette Fire Chief Kevin Schultz. “It is an important piece for everyone to be able to have rural community health. Our first responders and our EMTs are the first line in the community health program.”

Shelley Dallas, director of Lee County 911 Emergency Telephone System Board said this is the first infield delivery for Lee County Dispatch. Sublette Assistant Fire Chief Nick Dinges, who has been in EMS for 28 years, said (and Schultz nodded in agreement) it’s the first time there has been one in Sublette as well.

“I want to thank the chain of survival we have in rural America. It starts with our dispatchers,” Dinges said. “They did a phenomenal job and we want to thank them for that. It went on to our responders at the Sublette Fire Department. The crew was Sublette EMS Captain Mary Ehlers, paramedic Jen Stampfler and Roger Wittenauer.

“Within 4-6 minutes, our team arrived on scene. The baby was out and the color was pretty good. Roger helped stimulate the baby’s breathing and dry him off. They were able to cut the umbilical cord and finish the delivery in the ambulance on the route to CGH Hospital.

“On behalf of the Sublette Fire Department, we thank everybody for the teamwork and professionalism.”