A one month old baby, now healthy and thriving after being born prematurely at home, has been named an honorary constable of the Sarnia Police Service.
Brodie-Lynn has received the designation for "being a real trooper and fighting the good fight."
City police officers, firefighters and Lambton EMS paramedics were recently reunited with the little girl, after she made a dramatic entry into the world on June 11.
First responders were dispatched to what was believed to be a baby not breathing and when officers arrived, they discovered the infant had just been prematurely born, was still attached to the umbilical cord, grey in colour, not breathing and unresponsive.
Constable John Sottosanti says officers quickly started CPR and the baby and her mother were transported to hospital once paramedics arrived. Little Brodie-Lynn, at 34 weeks gestation, stayed in hospital several weeks to receive the care she needed.
Sottosanti says 911 workers respond to thousands of calls each year and calls of this nature are fairly rare.
"Unfortunately, a lot of times we don't know what we get ourselves into until we walk through the door," says Sottosanti. "So, obviously the officers would have been in shock themselves, but they gathered their senses and used the training they had to deal with the situation appropriately."
He says the three officers and paramedic who responded that day were thanked with a visit from the family on Sunday.
"It was very special. Especially for the officers," says Sottosanti. "You could tell by the officers, and the parents, that all were overwhelmed with emotion to see the baby again and it was really nice."
Sottosanti believes it was the first home delivery for all three officers.
"One [of the officers] is a parent already and the other two have not had children... I don't know if they will after this," Sottosanti laughs.
He says if it wasn't for everyone's quick response and teamwork, the event could have ended tragically.
