Paramedic services student Elise Faragher had no idea her routine hospital placement would see her helping to deliver the baby of someone very familiar.
The third-year student was at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital when her lecturer, Aaron Collins, and his wife Lexy, came in to have an elective C-section.
Mr Collins had taught Elise anatomy, physiology, and all about what happens during childbirth.
« I was confused and shocked when I first saw Aaron on the day, » Ms Faragher said.
« I thought he might have come to visit me on placement, but I quickly realised that wasn’t what he was there for.
« Once baby Luca had been checked, I tapped Aaron on the shoulder and asked if he’d like to cut the cord – a student doesn’t get to ask their lecturer that question very often. »
Mr Collins, who has taught Ms Faragher since her first year, and she said they get on really well.
« We have a lot of fun and jokes, » she said.
« Aaron is very caring and supportive, and he has been there to help me gain confidence throughout the last few years. »
Since assisting with the birth, she has gone on to help deliver her first baby while on placement with the ambulance service.
It was a « surreal moment » seeing her at the hospital, Mr Collins said.
« She was very professional and checked with us both that we were happy for her to stay, which we were, » he explained.
« She did incredibly well assisting in a birth with her lecturer present…. it’s a situation that could have felt daunting, but she did everything she should have done. »
He added that Luca was doing really well.
« He’s hitting his milestones just as he should be, and he’s putting on weight nicely while giving us lots of laughs and babbles; everything a baby should be doing, » he added.
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