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Baby Delivered 35K Feet In Air Thanks To Doctor On International Flight

It was the last thing he expected on a flight from Paris to New York, but Dr. Sij Hemal, a Wake Forest School of Medicine grad, was about to get a first-class ticket in a way he never imagined.
Dr. Hemal was seated next to French pediatrician, Dr. Susan Shepherd, and together they delivered a healthy baby boy. Pic. Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic News Service 

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- It was the last thing he expected on a flight from Paris to New York, but Dr. Sij Hemal was about to get a first-class ticket in a way he never imagined.

That’s after a passenger on the flight, Toyin Ogundipe found herself in labor 35,000 feet in the air!

Dr. Hemal is a Wake Forest School of Medicine grad, and is in his second-year as a urology resident at Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute.

He was aboard the flight after attending a wedding. He and another doctor, Susan Shepherd, a pediatrician found themselves getting ready to help deliver a baby.

Ogundipe went into labor about midway into the flight as the jet flew away from the southern coast of Greenland.

Both doctors suggested Ogundipe be moved to the first-class section.

“My ticket to first class,” said Dr. Hemal with a laugh.

As Ogundipe contractions accelerated the doctors knew they were in for a delivery.

“I just tried to think ahead to what might go wrong, and come up with a creative solution,” said Dr. Hemal who delivered seven babies during medical school.

Cleveland-Clinic-Baby-Plane

Thirty minutes later Ogundipe gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Jake.

See Cleveland Clinic Full Article Here

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