A 57-year-old woman had a surprise reunion with the man who saved her life when he successfully delivered her as a premature baby — despite the fact that he was an inexperienced intern at the time.
A ‘TEXTBOOK’ DELIVERY
Dr. Donald Craig told the story to CBC Canada, explaining that in 1968, he was working as an intern at General Hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick, when the doctor on call asked him to oversee a woman whom he believed was about to deliver a stillborn baby.
Because the doctor on call had to leave to attend another birth, Craig knew he had to brush up on his skills — especially after learning the baby was breech — so he turned to a textbook for guidance.
After studying for several hours, he was called into the delivery room, where he still expected to deliver a deceased baby. The delivery was difficult, and Craig reportedly had to break the infant’s clavicle in order to deliver her. To his astonishment, the newborn cried as soon as soon as she entered the world.
“My heart took off faster than the baby’s heart, and the mother started crying — ‘Is that my baby crying?'” he shared.
Though she was born three months early and weighed just two pounds at birth, that little baby, Krista Barczyk, is still alive today, as is her mother, Dorothy Fillmore. Both credit Craig for saving Barczyk’s life.
“If it hadn’t been for him, none of what I went through in my life would have happened. I never would have fallen in love. I never would have played sports, I never would have gotten married, had my three children and been able to have grandkids,” Barczyk said.
Craig was quick to credit the work of another specialist doctor who treated Barczyk in the hospital in the days and weeks following her birth.
“I delivered that baby, but [the other doctor] had the skill, and was trained to handle it from there,” Craig said.
A HEARTWARMING REUNION
Barczyk surprised Craig in April, presenting him with the New Brunswick Medical Education Foundation’s Champion of Care award at a gala.
“I didn’t hear half of her speech because I was so shocked,” Craig said. “Then I got a copy of her speech and I printed it off to put up on my wall.”
Barczyk, who attended the event with her daughter, described the impact Craig had on her life.
“You can tell your birth story 100 times, but when you’re standing with the man who basically saved your life … it really hits you pretty hard.”
