‘Guardian angel' found after 2013 roadside labour ordeal
Rebekah Lawrence turned to Facebook hoping it would help her find the stranger who stopped to help during a surprise roadside labour.
Eight years on, Lawrence now knows who her “guardian angel” is.
On February 16, 2013, Maureen Huta was leaving her local Countdown in Homai.
Driving back from her food shop with her nephew, Huta noticed a woman lying on the ground “on all fours”.
That woman was Lawrence, who had gone into labour on the side of a road in South Auckland.
Huta approached Lawrence and realised she was not okay and looked like she was in labour. Huta stayed with Lawrence and her partner until the ambulance came.
Once Lawrence was in an ambulance, Huta followed Lawrence’s partner home, where she sprang into action to help pack a hospital bag for baby and mum.
After dropping Lawrence’s firstborn off at his grandmother’s the pair made a quick dash to the hospital in hopes of making the birth.
“It’s really important to have your support right there for your partner but we just missed by like five minutes,” she told the Herald.
Being a complete stranger to the family, Huta said it was a “privilege” to be part of young Tyrell’s birth story.
Huta recently received a spiritual reading and was Googled “guardian angels” and that is how the pair reconnected, through a story the Herald published earlier this year.
“I was quite emotional because I knew it was me,” Huta told the Herald.
“It sounded like the story that happened eight years ago.”
Huta decided to contact Lawrence to share the good news and she said it was “quite emotional”.
“I [have] seen her photo I knew it was her, I felt warmth from it,” Lawrence told the Herald.
Lawrence said it was “unbelievable” the pair were able to reconnect.
“It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
The pair shared stories and photos, speaking about now nearly 8-year-old Tyrell.
Although they are at different ends of the country, the pair are certain they will meet again in person.
“I read the story and pinched myself,” Huta said.
Back in February, Lawrence told the Herald she had had the stranger on her mind for eight years.
“I remember her telling me she’d love to meet this lovely dude when she was calming me down,” the Christchurchbased mum of three said.
After Lawrence gave birth, Huta met baby Tyrell Lawrence-fidow. As time went on the pair kept in contact, until Huta lost her phone number.
“I did often think about her and what they are up to these days.”
Although Lawrence calls Huta her guardian angel, she does not see herself that way and hopes other women would do the same in a similar situation. — NZ Herald