Dad Uses Coronavirus Mask to Bind Umbilical Cord After Wife Gives Birth in Parking Lot

A Kentucky man discovered another use for his coronavirus face mask by welcoming his son into the world over Mother’s Day weekend.

David Patrick used a COVID-19 covering to tie off the umbilical cord of his newborn when his wife, Sarah, gave birth in the parking lot of a hospital after they found the doors to the facility locked, per the Louisville Courier-Journal.

“It was even the least complicated delivery of the three kids,” David told the outlet. “And for my wife, they asked on a scale of one to 10 what her pain level was, with 10 being the highest, and she said a one and maybe needed ibuprofen. That’s all she took.”

Navi Bond Patrick was born after the couple went through quite an ordeal.

Waking up in the middle of the night on May 9, Sarah told David she was having contractions and they headed to the nearest hospital.

Upon arrival, they were unable to enter the Women’s Pavilion as the doors were locked.

“We had no idea why, and it was probably 30 or 40 degrees out,” David explained.

After her water broke, Sarah “collapsed” right outside of the hospital.

“I’m not a doctor. I don’t have a number to reach anyone in the building. We’re basically in a concrete wilderness,” he continued. “She’s in a lot of pain, and she’s ready to get this thing over with.”

David then called 9-1-1 and the dispatcher proceeded to talk him through the next steps.

“I put my phone speaker and set it down. My wife is screaming — ‘He’s coming! He’s coming!'” David explained. “I suddenly see about a third of the top of my new son’s head so I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is really happening.'”

After Navi’s head popped out, his body soon followed. “Just flips out like a fish,” David explained.

David wrapped Navi in his leather jacket as the dispatcher told him to find something to bind the umbilical cord.

“We both had boots on, so we didn’t have shoe strings available,” David said. “But my grandmother had knitted COVID-19 masks for the family. I found a mask and rolled it like a really tight tortilla.”

Minutes later, an ambulance showed up and the the family was able to get inside the hospital where doctors delivered Sarah’s placenta and helped her recover.

The hospital’s security director apologized for the doors being locked and said the hospital would improve in the future, but there were no hard feelings from the Patrick family.

“Everybody’s happy. Everybody’s healthy,” David said. “We thought we had planned for everything, but obviously there were a couple little holes in the plan.”