Little guy's early debut halts traffic

Forget the stork. This birth comes by copter.

By LOGAN NEILL, Times Staff Writer
Published August 11, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Tristen Lee Leach has no idea what kind of commotion his birth caused. But, in time, he will have a fascinating story to relate to his friends.

The tale will involve rescue workers, fire trucks, police cruisers, a helicopter and standstill traffic on a busy Hernando highway.

For now, the newborn boy rests quietly at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. But the maddening ordeal of his delivery on Tuesday still echoes in the lives of Jonathan and Deverie Leach.

"For a while, I didn't think we were going to get through it," said Jonathan Leach, 21. "Things just got crazy."

Indeed, the scene that unfolded earlier this week was nothing like the couple had envisioned for the delivery of their first child. During the first six weeks of Deverie's pregnancy, they learned that their son would be born with a form of gastroschisis, a non-life-threatening defect in Tristen's abdominal wall that allowed several of his internal organs to develop outside of his body.

Deverie, 20, was put on bed rest, and her obstetrician scheduled her caesarean section delivery for Aug. 20.

Tristen, it seems, couldn't wait.

About 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jonathan arrived home for lunch from his job with the Hernando County Utilities Department to find his wife in heavy labor. With contractions coming five minutes apart, her doctor at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg agreed that the couple needed to get there soon.

Shortly after leaving their home in northwest Hernando and pulling onto the Suncoast Parkway for the two-hour trip to St. Petersburg, Jonathan looked over to find his wife in distress. He immediately pulled to the side of the road and called 911. Within a few minutes, the couple was surrounded by Spring Hill Fire Rescue paramedics.

With the contractions now coming at two-minute intervals, and with no local hospitals equipped to handle the delicate nature of Deverie's pregnancy, the couple was out of options. The Florida Highway Patrol held up northbound and southbound traffic along the parkway to create a landing zone for a Bayflite medical helicopter.

Less than 30 minutes later, Deverie delivered her 7-pound, 2-ounce son by caesarean section at Bayfront.

Shortly afterward, Tristen underwent the first of several operations he will need over the next several weeks to correct the birth defect. The Leaches will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House in St. Petersburg until their son is released from the hospital.

Jonathan Leach said he and his wife are thankful for the quick actions of Spring Hill Fire Rescue personnel and others who helped get them to the hospital in time.

"They were great," Jonathan said. "I can't imagine what would have happened without their help. In the end, I guess we were pretty lucky."

Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@sptimes.com or 352 848-1435.

[Last modified August 10, 2007, 21:29:09]