KLEINMOND – One of the first things tiny Inathi Gordon Adriaans saw when he came into this world was the bright light of Overstrand firefighter Jaco Stemmet’s headlamp.
Stemmet, his colleague Tersius Arendse and EPW worker Peter Plaatjies came to the rescue when Inathi’s mother Monique Adriaans went into labour on Tuesday 11 April, one month before her due date.
The first-time mother said she was frantic and panicked when her mother called the emergency services shortly after 21:00 and was informed there was no ambulance available at that moment.
Odwa Mdwayi, the baby’s father, said he was extremely confused when he heard the firefighters were on their way.
Arendse and Plaatjies were the first to arrive on the scene, where they found Monique was experiencing strong contractions and was close to giving birth to her first-born.
Plaatjies assisted Arendse, who has a Basic Ambulance Assistant qualification, in getting everything ready for the birth while Odwa helped calm his girlfriend.
“I was nervous and sweating,” the father recalled. “I went out for fresh air, but she was screaming my name and I went back in to support her.”
Arendse stayed in contact with the control room to get regular updates on the whereabouts of the ambulance while timing Monique’s contractions.
“I realised the ambulance wouldn’t arrive in time and I called Stemmet who is my superior,” he related.
“My biggest concern was that the baby would be breeched.
“If that was the case it would have been safest to deliver the baby in a hospital, which is better equipped to deal with any complications, should they occur. I started praying to God for the baby’s safe delivery.”
Stemmet, who has an Intermediate Life Support qualification, rushed to the scene immediately. Shortly after his arrival they realised that the baby was ready to be born. But then load shedding occurred….
Luckily Stemmet came prepared with his headlamp, a tool that greatly assisted them in helping Baby Inathi into the world at approximately 22:45. Taking his headlamp along on call-outs, said Stemmet, has become second nature.
The ambulance arrived a short while later and transported mother and baby to Hermanus Hospital, where doctors could do the necessary follow-ups.VTo page 2.
