By Daily Mail (World News) | Created at 2024-10-29 18:16:19 | Updated at 2024-11-02 08:40:04
1 decade ago
- The 35 week pregnant Christine Schleppy started to get contractions just as the Hurricane hit land on the New Jersey coastline
- Emergency services braved flooded roads and horrendous weather conditions to get the mother to hospital
Published: 00:59 BST, 31 October 2012 | Updated: 10:39 BST, 31 October 2012
Amidst the destruction and damage of Hurricane Sandy, a New Jersey couple is celebrating the miracle of life after they endured a terrifying ordeal to bring their baby boy into the world.
A pregnant mother went into labour as the superstorm pounded the northeast on Monday night, forcing the expectant mother out in dangerous conditions to seek medical help.
Though only 35 weeks pregnant, Christine Schleppy, 34, began having contractions at her home in Skillman, New Jersey just as the hurricane wreaked havoc on the Garden State and all residents were warned to seek shelter and stay indoors.
Christine and David Schleppy get a happy ending after suffering the worst of Superstorm Sandy
Desperate for medical help as her contractions increased in frequency, her husband, David, called 911 and emergency personnel braved the horrendous weather conditions just as the storm made land.
'We knew there were many trees down and roads getting closed left and right,' her husband David told ABC News.
First responders tried to transport the couple via ambulance to a hospital in Princeton but flooding and dangerous road conditions made that impossible.
Aftermath: Scenes of desolation on the New Jersey coastline
Then the ambulance became trapped in the mud and as the mother was in agonizing pain, she was moved to a fire ambulance to take her the rest of the way.
'It was definitely stressful,' her husband said.
The ambulance was finally able to reach a mobile medical unit set up by the Hackensack University Medical Center, that had temporarily hunkered down in the gym of a local church.
The Schleppys welcomed a healthy baby boy, Liam Alexander, at 11pm on Monday.
The newborn weighed in at 5 pounds and 2 ounces.The couple already are parents to five children but their newest addition is certainly the most memorable arrival of the brood. Mother and child were reported to be healthy and doing fine.
They had been transported to a nearby hospital until they could return home.
