One Pound ‘Miracle baby’ Born in New Bedford

What started out as a week full of medical complications for Rebecca and Derrick Kimball, culminated in a several hours of chaos that resulted in the birth of their third child Kennadee three months early. Together, with their immediate family assisting, they delivered and saved their one-pound, 6-month old child right here in New Bedford.

Rebecca Kimball was 28-weeks pregnant when her labor started on Sunday, October 20th. But according to Rebecca’s sister, Berlynn Trundy González, “Doctors stopped her labor because it was too early for her to deliver the baby.”  After a two-day stay in the hospital, she was sent home to her house in New Bedford.

Later that evening, Rebecca was feeling uncomfortable and took a shower. After some serious pain and bleeding, she quickly gave birth to Kennadee with her husband in their bathroom.

Here is the account from Berlynn Trundy González:

My sister was screaming and my brother-in-law Derrick told her not to push, but my sister felt she had to. My sister pushed and the tiny baby girl was delivered almost instantly. They didn’t know if the baby was even alive so they started screaming and crying. My mom and I live on 2nd floor underneath my sister’s apartment. My mom said she heard my sister scream and knew the baby was coming. I ran upstairs and I saw blood all over my sister’s bathroom. It looked like a crime scene. I asked my sister what happened and she didn’t say anything. She just opened her hands and showed me a tiny baby that wasn’t moving.

 

Derrick (the baby’s father) was talking to a 911 operator and was told to tie off the baby’s cord. It has to be cut or tied off, or the baby would be poisoned. So we looked for a string and my mom found my nephew’s shoe and removed the lace. Derrick then tied the cord off, but the baby wasn’t breathing. My sister used her fingers to open her baby’s mouth and scooped out the fluid from the womb. She then sat down and put the baby on her body under a towel and then the baby started to breath. It was like the Hallelujah moment when I saw my niece’s little body moving and breathing on her own.

 

We heard sirens outside so my mom ran out to make sure they didn’t pass our house. The EMTs ran up our stairs with a baby delivery kit, not expecting the baby to be born already. An EMT saw the baby in the towel, wrapped her in a heated blanket, took her out the house and rushed her to St. Luke’s Hospital.Then they wrapped my sister in a robe and carried her by hand down the stairs because a stretcher wouldn’t fit in our narrow hallways. The baby was air lifted from St. Luke’s to the Providence Woman and Infants Hospital where my sister had just left the day before.

 

They weighed the baby at 1lb, 15oz estimated born at 2:20 a.m. on October 23rd, 2013. Her height was unknown since they didn’t want to stretch her fragile body. Baby Kennadee was given a feeding tube and breathing tube, a blood transfusion, a CT and brain scan, an finally an MRI. All tests came back fine with no scars or bruising from falling onto the bathroom floor. She is a miracle baby. She is now three days old and is the smallest baby in the entire Neonatal intensive care at Providence Woman and Infants Hospital.

 

Special thanks to Berlynn Trundy González for telling this story. A big thanks to the local 9-11 operators, EMTs and hospital staff who helped save this baby. Congrats to Rebecca and Derrick Kimball on their new baby girl Kennadee!