Ambulance workers honored for help in delivering baby

FARGO – Gary Armstrong was in an ambulance when he heard his baby cry for the first time.

Ronan James Lerado Armstrong was born on Aug. 27 on Interstate 94.

“It was probably the scariest, most exciting thing,” Gary, of Barnesville, Minn., said.

On Monday, two employees of F-M Ambulance and three employees of Barnesville Ambulance received the Early Bird Award for delivering Ronan and taking care of his mother, Sallie Armstrong.

The award recipients were paramedic Shawn Holter and EMTs Mike Sylstad, Tom Hamm, Nick Pinsonneault and Jessica Dabbert.

“We had a little bit of a hard time,” Holter said. Ronan’s umbilical cord was caught around his neck. “But the baby was fine,” he said.

On the morning of the 27th, Sallie thought she was in labor, so she and Gary called the birthing unit at Essentia Health in Fargo.

Gary said he was on the phone with Sallie’s mother when he overheard Sallie on speakerphone with the birthing unit. They told his wife to hang up and call 911.

Police arrived just before Barnesville Ambulance. The ambulance EMTs loaded Sallie onto a stretcher and started transporting her to Fargo.

F-M Ambulance intercepted on I-94, so Holter could assess Sallie.

“Things weren’t progressing well,” Holter said, so he asked the ambulance driver to stop the vehicle. Then, he and the EMTs delivered the Armstrongs’ baby.

Gary said he told Sallie everything would be OK right away, but he felt a sense of relief when he heard their baby cry for the first time.

“Shawn (Holter) got him breathing,” Gary said.

“I don’t know if it was an adrenaline rush or what,” Gary continued, “but I almost passed out after everything.”

He was amazed at how quick the ambulance workers were.

“It was pretty crazy, how quick everything went,” he said.

Ronan was the second baby that Holter helped deliver, but it was the first that EMT Dabbert helped with.

“It was just not your typical call,” Dabbert said. “It was awesome.”

After the baby was delivered, Sallie and her newborn son were transferred to Essentia.

Ronan was in the neonatal intensive care unit for only a couple of hours, Holter said.

“It went well,” he said.

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