Photo: Courtesy Keyana McIntyre
“I went to the hospital near our house in Pender County and it was closed. They told me to go to the Family Dollar parking lot,” McIntyre tells PEOPLE.
The 25-year-old first-time mom, who was 41 weeks pregnant, was in labor and in a panic.
“It was really scary. By the time I got there, I could feel the head,” she says.
That hospital parking lot had been turned into a fully-equipped mobile hospital thanks to what’s called Carolinas MED-1. The Charlotte-based mobile medicine unit includes two makeshift operating rooms and space for treating 14 critical care patients.
Courtesy Atrium Health
When McIntyre arrived, Dr. Andrew Godfrey, an emergency room physician at Atrium Health in Charlotte, quickly checked her out.
The 33-year-old doctor has delivered more than 30 babies as part of his ER work, but he’d never been through the entire labor process. He was honest with his patient and his team.
“We were all nervous together,” McIntyre tells PEOPLE.
Godfrey says he was concerned about any potential problems that could crop up and after McIntyre was in labor for several hours, he decided to call for backup – asking the highway patrol to send a helicopter for a local OBGYN.
“Four or five minutes after the doctor texted me that they had lifted off, Avah was born,” says Godfrey.
Courtesy Keyana McIntyre
She and her boyfriend had planned on naming her Avah Jade, but made a last minute change. Her middle name is “Storm.”
“When she’s older, I’ll tell her the whole story. Since she came during the storm, there’s a lot more meaning, there’s a pretty good story behind her name,” says McIntyre.
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“I’ve been thinking about them ever since I gave birth and I wanted to tell them thank you again,” she says. “They took care of us. Because of them I had a safe birth.”
Godfrey was already on the road home to Charlotte so the two FacetTimed and plan to keep in touch.
“Actually, it’s just the greatest moment, period.”
source: people.com
