A 911 dispatcher in Oakland was honored Friday for coaching a father through a surprise home delivery over the phone.
On Feb. 12, Monica Rios, a dispatcher, received a call from Martin Diller. Calmly, she helped him to deliver his son, baby Jack.
The home birth was unplanned. Ricky Doorman delivered Jack in her bathroom.
“Ricky just locked in, almost like an athlete. It was intense but so fast, you never had a chance to sort of second guess,” Diller said.
“I was having contractions, but I didn’t even know they were strong enough to have the baby, so he had his own plan, and it all worked out,” Doorman said.
Even though Fire Station 8 was just minutes away from their home, baby Jack was so excited to enter the world that by the time engine 8 got there, he had already been delivered.
“It’s crazy hearing how calm Monica was and how she really guided us in such a cool way,” Doorman said.
Rios, who was five months pregnant at the time, said she was focused on being a calm voice.
Five weeks later, the family met Rios for the first time as the Oakland Fire Department honored her with a stork pin for her part in Jack’s delivery.
“I’m very grateful for them to acknowledge the work that we do,” Rios said.
“It meant a lot for us to come here and thank Monica in person because it is a powerful thing to deliver a child and for her to be there over the phone to really support us and our family, it means a lot,” Diller said.