Baby Tiegan makes grand entrance at a snowy roadside
WHILE it’s safe to say that Storm Emma will be remembered around these parts for quite some time to come, for one couple it will be permanently engrained on their lives as they welcomed their second child in the snow at the side of the road.
Aaron Hayden and his partner Nicola (Nicky) Mullen had been watching anxiously as the snow mounted outside their home in Ballygarrett, all too aware that they could have to get to the hospital.
While the storm had blown over by Saturday, the roads were still in treacherous condition on Sunday morning when the time came and they had to head for the hospital. The pair were left with little option but to pack their belongings into the car and try and make it to Wexford General Hospital in time.
‘The conditions were terrible,’ said Aaron. ‘There were tracks from tractors and that kind of thing that I was trying to drive in, but we got as far as Oulart and I got stuck. I rang the emergency services and told them where we were and they said that they’d try and get someone to us as soon as possible.’
Perhaps showing just how bad the roads were, Enniscorthy Fire Service were dispatched to try and reach the couple and were forced to turn back. In the meantime, Aaron was doing his best to help Nicky get comfortable and taking instruction over the phone.
‘I was on the phone to the midwife and she told me to get Nicky into the back of the car,’ he said. ‘She told me what to do then and I delivered the baby there on the side of the road.’
That was not the end of it either. The couple were in the car for over an hour before emergency services eventually managed to fight their way through the snow and reach them.
‘It took them about an hour or an hour and a half to get to us,’ said Aaron. ‘They came with shovels and the plough to get us out of there and get us to the hospital. A few locals came by as well and they were great and brought out blankets and little hats to keep the baby warm.’
Eventually they did make it to Wexford General where Nicky and new baby Tiegan were given the once over. Speaking yesterday, Aaron said that both were doing extremely well and the family were now back home in Ballygarrett.
As she gets older, Tiegan is likely to hear the story of how she came into this world countless times, however, just in case there’s any doubt as to how much of a role the weather played in proceedings, it’s illustrated in her second name - Storm.
I WAS ON THE PHONE TO THE MIDWIFE... SHE TOLD ME WHAT TO DO THEN AND I DELIVERED THE BABY THERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
– AARON HAYDEN