A grateful mother and father named their baby girl after the “clear and calm” 999 call handler who made sure she was delivered safely. Chloe Kusander-Lown, 34, did not have time to make it to the hospital for the birth of Jemima Edna, so her husband Dominic Lown, 33, was called into action at their home in Surbiton.
Today he said he did not believe his daughter would have survived without emergency medical dispatcher Dean Abel, who instructed him over the phone from the London Ambulance Service control room. The couple gave her the middle name Edna — an anagram of Dean.
Mr Lown said: “Our daughter was born in the bathroom. The call was taken by Dean and my wife and I want to express such gratitude. His instructions were so clear and calm. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without him.” He added: “Dean advised me to get out some towels for the floor and asked if I could see the baby’s head
“As soon as I said yes he said I’d have to deliver the baby. He asked me to make sure her face was clear and she could breathe, and to make sure the cord wasn’t round her neck — and after that she started crying.” Ms Kusander-Lown, a tax manager, had endured a 52-hour labour with first child, Jonty, two — but Jemima Edna was born in minutes.
Mr Abel is trained to assess patients over the phone, give lifesaving advice and give instructions on a range of procedures from delivering babies to CPR. He said: “I’m honoured the family would think of me in such an amazing moment in their lives.
“Edna is a name that’s becoming rarer, so to think the name will live on due to that moment is just lovely. At the time I felt like I was speaking to a lovely family … I was just doing my job but now it’s something that I will remember for ever.”
After the birth, at 9.15pm on July 8, the family were monitored by Mr Abel until an ambulance arrived and took them to Kingston hospital. Mr Lown, who works in asset management, said: “We will be sending Dean a card and would love him to meet Jemima in the new year.”
Source: Evening Standard
