12/17/2009 6:00:00 AM DPS makes special delivery Baby decides he couldn’t wait to get to hospital
WARREN OCKRASSA/Courtesy
Darren Winters, left, and Charles Main pose with Natasha Watahomigie and her newborn boy, Tyson. Winters and Main delivered Tyson in a DPS helicopter minutes before landing at Kingman Regional Medical Center. The helicopter was piloted by Scott Williams, not pictured.
KINGMAN - A Department of Public Safety flight crew made a special delivery Tuesday when an expectant mother went into early labor.
Making the delivery even more special is the fact that the baby is the second member of his family born in a DPS helicopter.
Tyson Watahomigie, Jr. was delivered at 8:25 a.m. Tuesday, just minutes before the helicopter was to land.
"They kept telling me to hold on, but he wouldn't wait any longer," said Tyson's mother, Natasha Watahomigie.
Watahomigie, who lives in the Supai Village located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, had planned to come into town Wednesday to stay with relatives in Peach Springs while she awaited her son's birth.
The Supai Village is accessible only by helicopter or horseback and Watahomigie wasn't due until Dec. 27.
She began feeling uncomfortable around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday but it wasn't until 4 a.m. that her contractions began.
Donna and her husband, Tyson, dropped off their two daughters at a family member's home and then drove to a village clinic, where the doctor was unable to find any medical-evacuation helicopter to respond.
DPS was contacted around 6:18 a.m. to make the 130-mile trip to the village.
DPS crewmember Charles Main said the 45-minute trip to the village was uneventful.
After arriving and assessing the mother's condition, the crew thought they had enough time to make it to the hospital and were just minutes away when the baby was delivered.
Main said he took care of mom while fellow crewmember Darren Winters handled the actual delivery.
"It's very cramped quarters in there," Main said. "It's one thing to be in an ambulance or hospital setting.
"This made things interesting."
Main said crewmembers receive labor and delivery training as part of their paramedic courses.
He said the call was an optimistic change of pace from the law enforcement and accident calls the DPS helicopter is normally called out for.
There were no complications with the delivery. Tyson weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 ozs. and was 19 inches long.
Tyson is the second member of his family to be born in a DPS helicopter. Natasha's sister, Donna, delivered her daughter in-flight on Christmas Day 1998.
That little girl was named Ariyanna, because she was born in the air.
"They're telling me to nickname (Tyson) 'Chopper,'" Watahomigie said.
Although baby Tyson was born in-flight, the place of birth on the birth certificate will be listed as KRMC.
Medical protocol says a child's place of birth is determined by where the placenta is delivered, explained Jamie Taylor with KRMC.
Doctors are keeping baby Tyson under observation for the next several days because of concerns with his breathing. Once home, he will join his two sisters Ami, 3, and Chenell, 2.
Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, December 21, 2009
Article comment by:
Bear
What does it matter about the father. Tyson (father) was there at the clinic. Again keep in mind the helicoper only has so much room.
CONGRATS on the new one. I think Chopper is a cute nick name. Hopefully mom and baby will be home for the holiday. What a Christmas for the girls.
Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009
Article comment by:
puzzled
No mention of a father? He will be joined at home by two siblings but what about the father?
Posted: Thursday, December 17, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
thats just great news, I know some of the watahomigie's and i am very glad all turned out great..
