In the 24 years she has been a midwife, Cathy Rude has braved her share of storms and flooding to get to a laboring patient. But last week was the first time the 63-year-old faced flood waters so high that her only way to work was to hitch a ride on an inflatable swan.
Rude says the flood waters on her Katy, Texas street were up to her waist, making it impossible to transport her birthing supplies without damaging them. When she learned her patient, Andrea Haley, had been having contractions for several days and was approaching active labor, the two women began planning a way to get Rude to the birthing center for the delivery.
“I was concerned, as she was, that if her water were to break, things would happen very quickly,” Rude told TODAY Parents. “So, we started asking how I was going to get out of the house if that happened.”
As Haley’s labor progressed, she drove with her mother and her husband, Daniel, to attempt to pick Rude up in their truck. When they arrived in Rude’s neighborhood, however, they learned that it would be impossible to get down the street due to the floodwaters. After being unable to get in touch with friends who owned a kayak, Haley spotted a woman on a large, white swan drifting down the flooded street.
“Andrea yelled out the window of the truck and said, ‘Hey, would you be willing to give my midwife a ride so she can deliver my baby?’” said Rude.