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Cherokee Nation EMS Paramedics Aaron Houston and Jimmy Summerlin.

TAHLEQUAH, OK - A week ago, snow and ice covered the roads in northeastern Oklahoma, and travel was nearly impossible. But babies don’t wait on the weather, and three paramedics with the Cherokee Nation Emergency Medical Service found themselves delivering a little girl in the back of an ambulance.

"We got the call about 7:30 last Wednesday night," said Aaron Houston, one of the paramedics. "The woman had tried to come into town, but the truck got stuck so she and her husband called the ambulance. The roads were really bad. Even the highway felt like the roughest dirt road."

Houston and fellow CNEMS paramedics Jimmy Summerlin and Greg Whiteday rushed to the woman’s house, and got back on the road as soon as possible. "I think the rough road stimulates contractions," Houston said. "As we were heading towards the hospital, she was having hard contractions. It was the woman’s second child, so I told her, ‘You’ve had a baby before, how soon do you think you’re going to have this one?’ She told me, ‘I’m going to have it anytime.’"

The ambulance continued towards Tahlequah City Hospital, but pulled into a parking lot when it became apparent that the baby was ready to enter the world.

"Thankfully, there were no complications. It was a great feeling to catch a newborn baby, to be the first person to touch a brand new life," Houston said. "I wish everyone I work with could experience that feeling. We dried the baby off, and the dad came back and cut the umbilical cord."

The ambulance continued on to the hospital, where employees greeted the new arrival with great fanfare. "We all went up there the next day," Houston said. "The family thanked us, and it was great to see the look on the mother’s face." Mother and child have since been released from the hospital.

Houston says that he and his co-workers aren’t heroes.

"We were just doing our job the way we’re supposed to," Houston said. "I was fortunate to deliver the baby, but it was a team effort by all six of us: the mother, the father, the baby, and the three of us paramedics. We see a lot of bad stuff doing this job, but this was the best possible call we could’ve gone on. That’s what makes it all worthwhile."