January 31, 2023 |
Winter weather and road closures forced the Medicine Bow marshal to perform a frontier-style birth.
On January 29th, Marshal Roger Hawks of Medicine Bow said he was manning the snow barrier on Route 30 when around 11 a.m., he received a call about a woman in labor. Marshal Hawks said it was 11:26 a.m. when he arrived at the house and the woman didn’t appear to ready to give birth.
When he realized the woman wasn’t in immediate danger, Marshal Hawks said he went downstairs to speak to her husband. He said he felt like medical transport would reach the scene before the baby arrived. Things didn’t work out as planned.
Marshal Hawks said it was only 10 minutes between the time he arrived at the house and the baby was delivered.
The healthy baby girl was born on January 29th, at 11:37 a.m. She was the third child for the couple. Marshal Hawks said he had never delivered a baby on his own before. Hanna’s marshal, Ted Kranenberg, who has delivered several babies in his time in law enforcement, said Hawks called him for advice.
South Central Wyoming EMS out of Hanna took the woman and baby to Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie where both are doing well. Marshal Hawks said he wanted to personally thank the two SCWEMS volunteers because he was not prepared for a medical emergency.
Marshal Kranenberg said it isn’t unusual for law enforcement to perform deliveries, especially in places with harsh winter weather. He said, after so much tragedy on the region’s highways, the successful delivery of Medicine Bow’s newest resident is a feel-good story.
After successfully delivering his first baby, Marshal Hawks said he has earned a new nickname: Doctor Hawks.
