Draper Lewis, after helping deliver his new "U-Haul baby" along Interstate 94 early Tuesday, admitted he should have heeded his family's advice.
"They said I shouldn't try to get back to Chicago, and they were right," Draper said with a chuckle Tuesday morning while describing the memorable birth of his daughter Amaya Christine inside the rental truck.
Draper, 27, told his parents and grandmother about the events. Their reply, according to Draper in a phone interview Tuesday: "We're happy, but we told you so."
Draper's wife, Angel Lewis, was due March 17. She had been having periodic contractions for about a week and was already dilated to 3 centimeters last week, he said. They thought they could make the trek without incident.
"I figured we could make it, but I was wrong," he said. "She came when she was ready. I was trying to make Chicago and ended up having a new addition, a U-Haul baby."
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All that family advice doesn't matter now, Draper said, referencing the healthy condition of his daughter and wife Angel, 26, who was transferred Tuesday from Black River Memorial Hospital to a La Crosse hospital.
"It's most definitely quite a story," Draper emphasized, adding that "it's the first thing I'm putting on Facebook. We're all doing OK, and that's the big thing."
The Lewises left Chisago City, Minn., late Monday in their packed rental truck and car in tow, heading for Chicago, where family members and a postal job for Draper awaited.
Wisconsin State Patrol reports said the Jackson County Sheriff's Department received a call about 12:01 a.m. Tuesday that a woman was giving birth along I-94, about nine miles southeast of Black River Falls.
A trooper arrived eight minutes later and said the baby had been born and was doing fine. An ambulance took Angel and the newborn to the hospital.
Draper said he wasn't sure where on the interstate they were when his wife started mentioning they needed to find a hospital.
Draper didn't want to pull his U-Haul over along the highway, fearing he and others might be in jeopardy during the late night, misting weather and fast traffic. But the baby had already been born and was in Angel's pants.
His demeanor around noon Tuesday was much different from his more agitated condition apparent on the nearly 19-minute 911 call released by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
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"It was wild," Draper said. "People were hysterical. It just all happened so fast. It was crazy. My wife just said, stop panicking and get over here and get my baby. I was crying and shaking and ready to run down a dark road."
Draper's 3-year-old daughter, Alyssa, also was in the truck, and she was "wide awake and screaming," he said. "She's doing OK now. We're all happy, but we're kind of stuck here for a while."
The county is participating in a pilot program with Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse to provide emergency medical dispatch guidelines in situations where medical help is needed, Sheriff Duane Waldera said.
As a result of this participation, the call was connected with Gundersen Lutheran's Dispatch Center for triage and pre-arrival instructions for the caller.
The program provided valuable assistance in this situation, Waldera said. Instructions for care of the mother and baby were provided until EMS units arrived and transported them to Black River Memorial Hospital.
Part of the instructions included clearing the baby's mouth and taking a shoelace and tying the umbilical cord. Draper wrapped the baby in his jacket and did his best to care for his wife, daughter and baby until emergency officials arrived.
While others were caring for the family, Black River Memorial's environmental services department cleaned out the cab of the moving truck and the housekeeping staff washed clothes for the family.
"I never want to go through anything like that again," Draper said with a laugh, adding that he kept the shoestring used on the umbilical cord. "That's never going back in a shoe."
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Copyright (c) 2011, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis./Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
