Hero pregnant mum saves hubby’s life – then goes downstairs to give birth
Ashley Goette was 39-weeks-pregnant and snuggled up in bed with her husband Andrew one evening when she realised something was amiss.
“I think my husband can’t breathe”
Her husband was not snoring and in fact, something entirely unfamiliar was going on with his breathing. A worried Ashley called 911 immediately with a looming sense of dread.
“I think my husband can’t breathe,” the Minnesota mum told the dispatcher. “He was just making these sounds. I think I need to give him CPR.”
But a very freaked out and nervous Ashley had never performed CPR before.
“I’m pregnant,” she told the operator. “I can’t do this.”
The dispatcher quickly began to talk her through it, and do it she did, right there on the bed – because her VERY pregnant state meant she wasn’t able to move Andrew onto the floor.
She continued CPR until paramedics arrived and took over. Ashley’s husband then was rushed to hospital, where he was placed in a life-saving induced coma to protect his organs and reduce the chances of long-term – or even fatal – complications.
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“I was not going to have this baby until he woke up”
A devastated Ashley’s thoughts were torn between worrying about her comatose husband and preparing for the imminent birth of her baby.
“I didn’t want to have to think for one second about having to do any of this without him,” Ashley explained during a media conference, Fox affiliated news service KMSP reports.
“I kept telling him the whole time he was asleep, or in his coma, that I was not going to have this baby until he woke up.”
Posted by Ashley Goette on Saturday, 20 October 2018
“Thumbs up”
A day later, Andrew was woken from his coma and the outlook was much better than anticipated.
“He turned out to be fully responsive and neurologically intact,” a press release from Andrew’s healthcare provider explained.
Not only that, he made it clear that he was cognisant and began engaging with his visitors.
“Opening his eyes, he focused on each family member in the room,” the family’s GoFundMe page explains.
“They asked him to squeeze my hand and he did, wiggle his toes and he did, thumbs up with your right, thumbs up with your left, yes! What everyone witnessed was unexplainable. Joyful.”
Image via Goette family Go Fund Me
Side-by-side
Another day later, as Andrew began his recovery ahead of a newly scheduled heart procedure, Ashley was wheeled into the labour ward one floor down. Her unwell, but on the mend, hubby was wheeled along beside her.
“Because of limitations in the OR, Andrew would have to watch via Facetime in the next room. Not the situation they had hoped for, but the whole week was full of unexpected events so what was one more!” the Go Fund Me page explains.
“Then at 5:16 we all welcomed Lennon Andrew Goette, 6lb, 14 oz of cuteness who got to meet his dad right away!”
The doctors that treated Andrew said Ashley saved her husband’s life.
“I don’t think Andrew would be here today if it weren’t for the actions of Ashley,” Dr Alex Teeters said, The Washington Post reports.
Andrew’s now undergone his life-saving heart procedure and the outlook seems brilliant for this lovely family. Yes, they’ve got a bunch of giant medical bills to contend with … but they’ve also got one another and that very nearly was not the case.
ACE JOB, Ashley!
