A heartwarming reunion unfolded when a three-month-old baby girl named Fia Siciliano was introduced to the London Ambulance Service paramedic who played a pivotal role in saving her life during a dramatic turn of events leading up to her birth.
Fia’s remarkable journey began last October when her mother, Therese Siciliano, 40, experienced a harrowing ordeal. While picking up her daughter from school, Therese suddenly began bleeding heavily, a moment of sheer terror for any expectant mother.
“I have never been so scared in my life,” Therese recalled. I was doing my level best to keep it together, but for sure believed that my little girl wasn’t going to survive.
In a race against time, Therese’s husband, David, immediately dialled 999, and within minutes, Paramedic Katie Vaughan arrived at the scene in a fast-response car. Katie quickly assessed the situation and realized that Therese’s condition posed a grave risk to Fia’s life. Without hesitation, she called for additional assistance.
Therese vividly remembers the anguish she felt during those moments. “In the ambulance, I was already preparing for the worst possible outcome and telling my husband, ‘We need to be ready for this baby not being alive.'”
But against the odds, the staff at St George’s Hospital in South London detected the precious sound of Fia’s heartbeat.
Paramedic Katie Vaughan admitted that it was a career-defining moment. She said, “I was 95 per cent sure that Fia wasn’t going to make it. When we heard the heartbeat, it took every bit of strength for me to stop the tears of joy rolling down my face.”
Later that night, Therese went into labour, and at 7 a.m. the following morning, she gave birth to baby Fia, who arrived healthy, weighing 10 pounds and 6 ounces.
Just a week after the life-changing experience, Therese penned a heartfelt letter to the London Ambulance Service, praising Katie’s exceptional care. This touching expression of gratitude led to an emotional reunion at Wimbledon Ambulance Station.
Therese expressed her deep appreciation for Katie’s support, saying, “Katie made me feel so safe and comfortable. I will always remember and cherish the hug she gave me at the hospital after we found out Fia had made it. Women looking after women, mother to mother, and human to human—I needed that hug, and she saw it. Thank you for making a terrible time something I can look back on and still remember beautifully.”
Each year, the London Ambulance Service receives approximately 13,000 pregnancy-related emergency calls. The service has been at the forefront of maternity care in the UK, establishing a dedicated maternity team in 2015, focused on training medics and call handlers to handle such critical situations.
Camella Main, Lead Midwife at the London Ambulance Service, commended Therese and David for their calm and swift response in a challenging situation. She expressed her pride in Katie’s outstanding performance, highlighting the importance of rapid intervention in emergencies involving expectant mothers.
This heartwarming reunion serves as a testament to the dedication and compassion of paramedics like Katie Vaughan and the vital role they play in safeguarding lives and bringing hope to families in their greatest moments of need
