Mum's sweet name for baby born at 18,000 feet
Chrystal Hicks has a unique story to tell her son who was born at 18,000 feet in the air.
She was 35 weeks pregnant and unexpectedly started contractions in her small town of Glennallen, Alaska.
“At about 7 or 8 p.m., [the contractions] really started getting stronger, and then finally my neighbour came over and called 911,” she told Insider.
On August 5th, she boarded a Lifemed Alaska plane and her water broke 20 minutes into the flight at an elevation of 18,000 feet.
“I had to push right away,” Hicks said. “I rolled over on my back, and then all of a sudden, he was out.”
At first, she wasn't sure what to name her fourth child, but her cousin gave her a great idea.
Hicks came up with the name Sky Airon which describes succinctly where he was born and the unique story he came with.
Her delivery was shocking for the Lifemed Alaska team, who said that onboard deliveries are rare.
“In my 20-plus-year career, I can think of maybe four [births],” Lifemed Alaska’s Chief Operations Officer, Steve Heyano, told Insider.
However, the plane flies with an Isolette, which is an incubator that has life-support capabilities just in case a birth does happen on board.
Patients on flights are also in good hands with onboard care providers, including neonatal nurse practitioners, flight paramedics and nurses.
Despite Sky's exciting start to life, he initially had respiratory problems and was placed on a breathing machine in a neonatal intensive care unit in Anchorage, Alaska.
He has since been discharged after two weeks and is safely at home with mum and his new siblings.
Photo credits: Insider