Dallas, TX – Just one minute of Mother’s Day this year turned out to be the most memorable ever for Betzabeth Perez. It’s also unforgettable for the security officer who delivered Perez’ baby girl in the hallway at Medical City Dallas.
After contractions began, Perez and her partner Adolfo Soto hustled to Medical City Dallas, which was close to their home. Perez had delivered her third of three children at home and she anticipated her fourth one to be a quick birth. With no time to get to the emergency room, they pulled into the nearest entrance. Security officer Eli Davila sprang into action, grabbing a wheelchair as the couple pulled into a hospital entrance.
"I saw Betzabeth and Adolfo pull up quickly. It was clear she was in labor and I brought a wheelchair out to them," says Davila, a security officer at Medical City Dallas for six years. "While we were walking to the elevator, the baby started to crown and I knew I had to react quickly."
Just outside the elevator door, security video shows a pregnant Betzabeth Perez wincing. When the door opens seconds later, she has a healthy 6-pound, 10-ounce baby cradled in her arms. Security cameras show the birth took about one minute.
"The baby starts crying and mom got really calm. I told her everything's going to be fine,” says Davila, who is also a father of two children now in their twenties. “I want to be part of the baby’s life, and celebrate Mother’s Day and birthdays, coming along as she grows. Seems to me like she’s going to be another one of my kids.”
Medical City Women's Hospital Dallas labor and delivery colleagues quickly ensured mom and her baby girl, named Mia, were comfortable and performed afterbirth care.
"We are proud of the excellent care provided by all of our colleagues in the delivery of baby Mia," says Jay deVenny, CEO of Medical City Woman's Hospital Dallas with a smile. "Eli's quick assessment and willingness to help a patient in need takes ‘other duties as assigned’ to a new level and speaks to our colleague’s commitment to delivering excellent care."
Medical City Women's Hospital Dallas is Level IV Maternal Designated, the highest level of care designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The hospital was recently awarded Best Hospital to Have a Baby in Dallas County by DFWChild Magazine readers and is one of America's Best Maternity Hospitals, according to Newsweek.
“I’ll always be grateful for Eli’s help and how he checked up on us afterward,” says Perez. “That truly says how good of a person he is. He went above and beyond.”
Two weeks later mom, baby – and the security officer – are doing well and plan to see each other soon for the first time since they left the hospital.
“This doesn’t happen every day,” jokes Davila.