Phillip Nothnagel of Vanderbijlpark writes:
What started out as a normal day at American Battery Company on Tuesday, 7 January 2020, soon developed into an event where staff and other community members stepped up to the plate when a fight for survival broke out for a mother and her about to be born baby.
“We noticed a young lady lying next to the road and I simply wanted to establish if we could help,” says a Good Samaritan who served as roadside doctor commented. (The Good Samaritan, a mother of two, requested not to be identified). She says it appeared as if the young lady was experiencing severe stomach cramps and Emergency Services were contacted by Mr Sam Kirsten from American Battery Company.
The Good Samaritan soon recognized the tell-tale signs of a pregnant mother being in labour. The pregnant mom was apparently in the process of going door to door in search of employment when she collapsed on the roadside.
A “Random Stranger” suddenly appeared and the man told the Good Samaritan something few will ever hear: “You are going to have to take her pants off, I will get in trouble. This baby is coming.”
The Good Samaritan ran across the road again for towels and grabbed everything in plain sight that could assist when delivering a baby, while ongoing advice and words of encouragement were being shouted by colleagues and what had developed into a growing crowd of bystanders and staff from the centre opposite where this scene unfolded.
Immediately returning to where the woman was lying next to the road, through the expertise of the Random Stranger and the Good Samaritan following his every instruction, the Good-Samaritan-Random-Stranger duo welcomed a baby boy into the world.
This story doesn’t stop there: The new born baby was not breathing!
“The ‘Random Stranger’ guided me step by step. ‘Turn the baby around. Do this NOW. Do that NOW.’ To hear the baby crying was such a relief!” says a very emotional Good Samaritan.
This team effort saved the life of the baby of a young lady lying next to the road – and possibly her life too.
According to bystanders, Emergency Services arrived on scene hours later. The mother and baby were taken to a local hospital by ambulance and are recovering while still under care. The paramedics complimented the heroic efforts of the duo.
* Sedibeng Ster’s comment: Phillip and Retha Nothnagel, well-known residents in the local community, have donated urgently needed items such as baby clothes, nappies, food and other items and are appealing to the public to also assist the mother by donating baby products or anything that can help her as she is in desperate financial need. To make a donation, kindly call 064 686 3363 (No cash donations will be accepted).
DA Councillor Salome J. Van Rensburg of Ward 2 in Emfuleni congratulates the mother with her new born son and compliments the Good Samaritan, the Random Stranger and everyone who assisted the mother and baby on the scene.
