Special delivery: Baby born in Lakewood Ranch parking lot

Donnie Nelson sped through Lakewood Ranch in a frantic effort to reach Lakewood Ranch Hospital for his wife, Jami Nelson, who was in labor.

It became clear they weren’t going to make it, so he pulled into a big parking lot he noticed on the left side of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, called 911 and geared himself up to deliver the baby.

“They were preparing me with things like, ‘Get a shoelace and a safety pin,’” Donnie said. “‘When he comes out, you're going to have to tie some stuff off.’ And I’m like, ‘OK.’”

Donnie estimated he was about two to three minutes from delivering the baby himself. Little did he know, the Lakewood Ranch YMCA parking lot he chose was a quarter-mile down the road from Manatee County’s EMS station on Malachite Drive. EMS District Chief Jason Evans and a crew of six EMS workers arrived immediately. Evans has delivered three other babies in his 20-year career, which he said is more than usual.

From that point, it took just seven minutes for Owen Nelson, the fourth child of Donnie and Jami, to make his way into the world inside the Nelsons’ car at 4:20 p.m. April 18 — feet-first.

“So often in this profession, we deal with end-of-life experiences, tragic events and chronic illnesses,” Evans said. “We see that so frequently, but to be able to bring a light into the world. There's nothing better. It's absolutely amazing.”

Evans, a Palm Aire resident, was only in the area to pick up some paperwork from the Malachite station, his base of operation. The moment he arrived on the scene, he knew the baby was coming. His first goal was to help Jami become as calm as possible. When Jami told him she had an appointment yesterday and was told by a doctor the baby was breeched, meaning he was going to come out feet-first, it raised his level of concern.

“Breech deliveries are very uncommon,” Evans said. “Sometimes there can be complications, but again, this is where we fall back on our training. That's why we train constantly for these kinds of situations.”

Jami said she was concerned because breeched babies often require C-sections. Luckily, Owen did not.

Evans said his job was to radiate calm on the outside and bring order to the chaos. On the inside?

“My heart rate was probably about 150 beats per minute,” Evans said.

One foot came out first. At that point, Jami remembered Evans telling her to push. The next minute, she said, was pure pain.

“But I knew that he had him, and I was instantly calm,” Jami said. “I don't think if he was there, just guiding me through it, and me knowing that he was on the other end, I don't know if I would have felt as safe. I felt really safe.”

The Nelsons, who are from Parrish, requested an opportunity to meet with Evans and the EMS crew that helped deliver their baby, resulting in a reunion May 12 at the Malachite EMS station.

"We wanted to say 'thank you for being there, definitely on time, because (Owen) did come so quickly,'” Jami said. “That he was a breech baby and that he was out with no complications … he's perfect. That goes to the ones that were there to deliver him. Just his health, him being here, we're so grateful.”