Shedly Appolon said she knows her 29th birthday is one she will never forget.Her birthday was on Friday, and she was driving on I-95 in Martin County when she became dizzy.She lost control of her car and drove into a pond.She immediately called her fiancé, Woody Sully.”She said, ‘I’m in the water.’ I paused, and I’m like, ‘You in the what? Did you get into an accident?'” Sully said.That’s when the phone died.As the car sank front-first, Appolon was trapped. “I tried to open my driver’s side door and my passenger door, but they were both submerged in water, so I couldn’t get out,” she said. “I started feeling water on my feet. So, I started to panic a little.”That’s when a good Samaritan named Logan Hayes swam about 40 feet to the car, opened the back door, and pulled Appolon to safety. “When he swung that door open, I was like you are an angel,” Appolon said.Paramedics rushed Appolon to HCA Lawnwood Hospital, where doctors performed an emergency C-section. Sully was present when their daughter, Ivory, was born seven weeks early, weighing three pounds and 14 ounces. “Hearing that first cry after she came out was the most beautiful thing ever,” Sully said.”She’s very lucky. She’s blessed,” said Dr. David Rubay, trauma medical director at the hospital. “She lost the car, but she has a baby.”Monday, Appolon got to hold Ivory for the first time.”Feeling her breath come in and out and having her hands touch me and feeling her heartbeat, it was surreal,” Appolon said. She called Ivory her miracle baby.”We can share this with her one day, and I can laugh with her. And now that we share a birthday, our bond is tighter than ever,” Appolon said.Appolon expects to be released from the hospital on Tuesday, while Ivory will remain for a few weeks due to her size.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. —
Shedly Appolon said she knows her 29th birthday is one she will never forget.
Her birthday was on Friday, and she was driving on I-95 in Martin County when she became dizzy.
She lost control of her car and drove into a pond.
She immediately called her fiancé, Woody Sully.
“She said, ‘I’m in the water.’ I paused, and I’m like, ‘You in the what? Did you get into an accident?'” Sully said.
That’s when the phone died.
As the car sank front-first, Appolon was trapped.
“I tried to open my driver’s side door and my passenger door, but they were both submerged in water, so I couldn’t get out,” she said. “I started feeling water on my feet. So, I started to panic a little.”
That’s when a good Samaritan named Logan Hayes swam about 40 feet to the car, opened the back door, and pulled Appolon to safety.
“When he swung that door open, I was like you are an angel,” Appolon said.
Paramedics rushed Appolon to HCA Lawnwood Hospital, where doctors performed an emergency C-section.
Sully was present when their daughter, Ivory, was born seven weeks early, weighing three pounds and 14 ounces.
“Hearing that first cry after she came out was the most beautiful thing ever,” Sully said.
“She’s very lucky. She’s blessed,” said Dr. David Rubay, trauma medical director at the hospital. “She lost the car, but she has a baby.”
Monday, Appolon got to hold Ivory for the first time.
“Feeling her breath come in and out and having her hands touch me and feeling her heartbeat, it was surreal,” Appolon said.
She called Ivory her miracle baby.
“We can share this with her one day, and I can laugh with her. And now that we share a birthday, our bond is tighter than ever,” Appolon said.
Appolon expects to be released from the hospital on Tuesday, while Ivory will remain for a few weeks due to her size.