PREP teacher Letitia O’Loan has a show-and-tell story that’s hard to top.
Hours before the first day of school this year, Mrs O’Loan was on the phone to paramedics to perform an emergency home delivery of teaching partner Megan Schultz’s second child.
The pair job-shared a Prep classroom at St Ignatius School, Toowong, and bonded instantly as young teaching mums.
“It so happened towards the end of the year we knew Megan’s little bubby was coming and her tummy was growing,” Mrs O’Loan said.
“Megan’s family is in the Sunshine Coast so we knew if bubby came in the middle of the night …”
Mrs O’Loan, who is a mother to two young children, offered to look after Mrs Schultz’s toddler son Nathan if the expectant mother and her husband needed to make an urgent trip to the hospital.
“And thank goodness she did,” Mrs Schultz said.
On Tuesday, January 24 at 3.30am Mrs O’Loan received a phone call with a “calm” request to assist Mrs Schultz’s husband Aaron with a home delivery two weeks before the due date.
Within 10 minutes, the two teaching partners were on the phone to paramedics.
“So (Letitia) just helped me get on to the floor and, with the paramedic on the phone, she helped deliver the baby.
“She was right in the hot seat.”
Mrs O’Loan said she maintained her nerves “until I saw her head come out”.
“I was praying to God, ‘Please let this baby cry’,” she said.
“And when the ambulance told us to get towels we got whatever we could grab, pillow cases and whatever was around, and they said both of you (Letitia and Aaron) need to help catch this baby; she flew out – she was ready to go.
“Within a few seconds of holding her, she gave a little jiggle, and then this beautiful big cry came out.
“I will never forget it as long as I live.
“I’ve been married, I’ve had my own kids but it will honestly stay with me for the rest of my life – it was spiritual and I feel I’m connected to this little baby forever.”
Adeline Bell Schultz (pictured) was born at 4.05am that Tuesday.
Mrs O’Loan said it was “incredible” to witness new life being born in a room.
“It was just so incredible to be there a part of it, to be there and hold her,” she said.
“When she first came out I bawled my eyes out.”
The ambulance finally arrived five minutes later to take Mrs Schultz and her husband to the hospital.
They also allowed Nathan and Aaron to cut the umbilical cord.
Mrs O’Loan stayed back to look after Nathan while “watching Robots and eating breakfast” at his request.
“Then we got upstairs, I’m sitting there with Nate going, ‘I can’t believe that’s just happened, I was asleep an hour ago’,” she said.
“So we’re watching Robots and eating breakfast as if nothing had happened, not realising that his whole world has changed.”
Mrs Schultz said finding a job at St Ignatius School “happened for a reason”.
“There was some greater plan there that this all happened, because I can’t imagine what we would have done,” she said.
The pair both praised their principal Roycelyn Wilden for offering mothers the opportunity to work part-time at the school.
“We’re lucky that we’re in a school that our principal Roycelyn has allowed all the four teachers here who are mothers … to adapt so they can work part-time teaching,” Mrs O’Loan said.
“We’re really blessed to have the opportunity to be able to work together and work really hard, love our jobs, but then also go home and be mums.”
Adeline Bell is now seven weeks old and is a healthy and happy baby, thanks to her mum’s teaching partner.
“Best day of my life,” Mrs O’Loan said.
