Cheryl Ann Roy
Patient Story: Cheryl Ann Roy
The People & Places behind Sawyer’s Story
- CommSpec: Jeremy Bean
Nurses: Tom Gutow & Cameron Bird | Paramedics: Eric Mailman & Craig Barrett - Asset: Ground transport intercept
- Location: Downeast EMS to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center
Cheryl Ann Roy of Calais delivered her first three children by C-section and planned to do the same with the twins she was carrying, but when her water broke in the middle of the night at 34 weeks, she knew it was way too early. That wasn’t the 36-year-old mother’s only challenge. She would need to get to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for an emergency C-section and a Nor’easter was on the way.
LifeFlight sent a crew by plane to meet her in Calais, but as the storm worsened, the pilot could not land in Princeton and turned back. With time of the essence and the Nor’easter howling, a new plan was developed. Downeast EMS began the precarious drive across Route 9 with Cheryl Ann, who was by then in active labor, along with two RN’s from Calais Community Hospital and a Paramedic from Downeast. Meanwhile, with aircraft no longer an option, the LifeFlight crew were now in the critical care ground truck to intercept Downeast ambulance.
Cheryl Ann doesn’t remember much of the trip, but she’ll never forget the rapid switch between the ambulances in white-out conditions outside the Wilderness Lodge in Township 24. The LifeFlight crew quickly evaluated Cheryl Ann, whose contractions were now two minutes apart, and continued to give her medications to slow her labor while communicating with the physician. The team arrived safely at EMMC where the obstetrics team was waiting. Within an hour, baby Elizabeth came into the world with sister Abigail just 8 seconds behind her.
Because the girls were premature, they spent 10 days in the NICU, while Cheryl Ann recovered from her surgery. She remembers paramedic Craig Barrett coming in to check on them. “I hugged him,” she says. “I don’t think we could have gotten to the hospital without them.”
The girls had a little catching up to do, but today they’re reaching all their milestones, learning to walk, and are interested in everything. Now parents of five, Cheryl Ann says she and Tom are still open to expanding their family, but without the dramatic road trip across The Airline Road in a blizzard.
