A suburban family got a wonderful, but frightful, post-Christmas surprise as their newborn baby came into the world Tuesday, with the help of a quick-thinking police officer.
Addison Officer Maria Reyes was the officer who responded to a dramatic 911 call from a suburban family on Tuesday morning.
"Oh God, Oh God, Oh God," a 911 caller can be heard yelling into the phone. "Can I have an ambulance please?"
As soon as Reyes walked into the door of the family’s home, she says she encountered Sondra Jackson, who was in labor and ready to give birth. Thinking quickly, she got ready to offer coaching to the expectant mother, but she barely even had time to crouch down to speak to her.
“I saw mom was sitting low by the door, and I thought ‘alright, we can get through this,’” Reyes said. “As soon as I came down to try to coach her, she spread her legs and handed me the baby.”
The birth happened so quickly in fact that the baby, named Malachi, actually hit the floor.
When the baby wasn't screaming, Reyes acted quickly and tied up the umbilical cord.
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"I just tied the umbilical cord with a latex glove, and just like that the blood just rushed into the body and the baby turned pink and started screaming and I knew we were good," she said.
He was taken to Glen Oaks Hospital in Glendale Heights, along with his mother, and both are doing well as they recover from what turned into a memorable morning.
Malachi's father Michael missed the birth because he was outside warming up the car to take his wife to the hospital.
"I came back in and her water burst and she was just in there holding the baby," he said.
Jackson's mother was grateful for Reyes' quick thinking and actions during the harrowing situation.
"She was very helpful. Thank God for her," she said.
Now, Officer Reyes is being hailed as a hero for her quick work in helping to deliver the baby, and the family is grateful for her assistance.
Sondra Jackson, now a mother of six, says that Malachi's frantic entrance into the world will be the last time that she gives birth.
