Patient Story: Stacie Newman
This story appeared in the July 2025 issue of “Dispatches.“
Stacie Newman remembers the June 2017 birth of her son, Joseph, as a smooth process with no complications. While she admits the unknowns of childbirth can be scary, especially the first time, everything went as planned for Stacie and her husband, Zach, who drove to the hospital when she started having contractions.
“My son was a normal vaginal delivery. Super easy,” Stacie said nonchalantly. “I went in the hospital and had him and that was it.” Joseph joined older sister Haidyn, as the Newmans grew to a family of four.
Seven years later, in December 2024, Stacie had a much different experience during the birth of her daughter Sophie. “This was a little bit more traumatic,” said Stacie, who was transported in both an ambulance and a LifeFlight helicopter to traverse eastern Maine and reach the critical care she needed for an emergent C-section.
The original birth plan was for Stacie and Zach, who live in Calais, to drive an hour and a half to Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital in Ellsworth when Stacie reached 39 weeks. Stacie and her doctor had a C-section scheduled to deliver her baby girl.
However, the couple’s plan was quickly derailed on the night of December 2, 2024, which was three weeks before the scheduled C-section.
That night, Stacie was at home when she experienced placenta previa. The condition occurs when the placenta is abnormally positioned and is covering or lying too close to the cervix. Placenta previa can cause complications during delivery, lead to heavy bleeding, and, in severe cases, be life- threatening for both the mother and the baby.
“I actually started bleeding a lot, like hemorrhaging,” Stacie recalled.
She and her husband immediately got in their truck and headed for Calais Regional Hospital. While driving on Route 9, Stacie’s condition seemed to be getting worse. The couple pulled over to the side of the road and called an ambulance for help.
“They picked me up and took me to the hospital in Calais,” Stacie recalled.
While Stacie was in the ambulance, administrators at Calais Regional Hospital arranged for a LifeFlight helicopter to transport her to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) in Bangor. Stacie needed a higher level of care than was available in Calais, which does not have inpatient obstetric services.
A LifeFlight crew consisting of pilot Dustin Smiley, flight nurse Denise Saucier, and flight paramedic Stephen Levins was dispatched from Bangor and arrived at the hospital around the same time Stacie did. The medical team was briefed on Stacie’s condition and loaded her into the helicopter to transport her to EMMC.
There was not enough room in the helicopter for Zach, who, as most dads, wanted to take part in their daughter’s birth. So, he drove the 95 miles from Calais to Bangor with a friend, while Stacie took to the sky with the crew in green flight suits whom she had just met. “I was scared to fly,” she admitted.
While in the air, the LifeFlight crew stepped in to offer both medical care and emotional support for the nervous expecting mother.
“I remember getting in the helicopter and Denise, the flight nurse, held my hand the whole time,” said Stacie. “They put night vision goggles on me, which was super cool, so I got to look out the helicopter window with those on which was awesome. They knew how anxious I was and this was a bit of a distraction.”
The drive to Bangor can take an hour and a half from Calais. In a LifeFlight helicopter, the crew got to the hospital in about thirty minutes. “If we didn’t have LifeFlight, it could’ve been bad,” said Stacie.
Since her husband had to drive, Stacie knew there was a chance he might not make it in time for the birth of their daughter. When the crew landed in Bangor, Denise offered to stay with her until Zach arrived. “Denise was just so supportive; I really loved her. She made my experience so much better,” said Stacie.
Within a half hour of landing at EMMC, Stacie underwent a C-section. Fortunately, Zach arrived just as she was being brought in for the procedure. Their daughter Sophie was born at 7:30 PM that evening, weighing seven pounds and nine ounces.
Stacie, who is originally from South China, Maine, says access to healthcare is more limited in Calais. Leading up to Sophie’s birth, she had to drive more than a half hour to go to her obstetric appointments. When she lived further south, there was more access to doctors, hospitals, and specialists, she said. Fortunately, when she needed to get to a higher level of care at a moment’s notice, LifeFlight stepped in to help.
“We’re very lucky to have LifeFlight,” Stacie said. “They were just amazing.”
Today, Stacie is back at work as a medical assistant at a doctor’s office in Calais. The family of five enjoys spending time together, along with their two dogs. “I’m not a very exciting person,” she said with a laugh, “I’m really boring.” But with three young children, Stacie is absolutely fine with “boring.” She is grateful for both her family and to LifeFlight.
