Amanda Hess, an obstetrician at Frankfort Regional Medical Center in Kentucky, was being induced to give birth to her second daughter when she heard something that made her react immediately: another patient’s baby was in distress and the doctor on call had not yet arrived at the hospital.
She did not think twice. She put on a gown and boots over her own hospital clothes and ran to attend to Leah Halliday Johnson, who did not even know that the doctor helping her was also in labor.
Hess successfully completed the procedure, ensured that the baby was born safely, and only then returned to her room.
Hours later, Hess gave birth to her own daughter.
The story, first told by Dr. Hala Sabry in the Physician Moms Group, went viral because it shows something few professions demand: putting your own pain on hold to save someone else’s life.
