Baby Geber is a seven-pound, 11-ounce boy born in Apopka on October 30th, 2023.
That first sentence looks like the beginning of a typical birth notice you might see in hundreds of newspapers across the country. But as you know, The Apopka Voice doesn't publish the typical.
No, it takes more than being born to make it onto our news site.
But on his very first day in existence, Geber delivered the unexpected... or more accurately, he was delivered in a most unexpected way.
It all started with a phone call... of the emergency three-digit type.
Apopka Police Officer Adsudalah Brooks and Recruit Officer Laura Crespo responded to a 911 hang-up call, but while en route, the dispatch updated it to a female giving birth at home. A second update said if they got there before the Apopka Fire Department, they would be delivering the baby.
Upon arrival, Brooks and Crespo heard a female inside the residence in distress. The front door was locked, so the officers continued to the side of the residence, where they were able to make entry. A family member directed them to the mom, who was in active labor.
Brooks, a father of two, said he immediately recalled being part of his own children’s birth and began assisting in the delivery.
After a couple of successful pushes by mom, she delivered a healthy baby boy. Brooks cleared the baby’s airway and gently rubbed him until he gave his first cry. Paramedics from the AFD arrived on the scene and continued care.
Geber, and his mother Eligia, were transported to a local hospital in good condition.
“Helping bring a baby into this world is the best feeling I have ever experienced as a police officer,” said Brooks.
“I never expected to experience something like this during my first week of field training," Crespo said. "It was amazing!”
It isn't often an article that includes a 911 call, police responding to a woman in distress, a paramedic response, and a transport to the hospital ends in anything less than a catastrophic outcome. But in this case, catastrophe was replaced by life.
Not a bad day's work, Officers Brooks and Crespo. But hopefully, in the future, you can deliver a couple of babies per shift. But in all seriousness, thank you for your service.
And a special thank you to Sgt. Kim Walsh of the APD for providing additional details on this story and to the Apopka Fire and Police Departments for what you do every day.
And to you, Baby Geber, thank you for bringing a ray of sunshine into the community at a time when we seem to dealing with more darkness than we care to. Thanks for giving us the feel-good story of 2023, and good luck to you as you move forward from this inspiring beginning. May you be blessed with 100 or so years of life, and may they be as exciting and uplifting as your first day in Apopka.
