First, there were the snow removal trucks, then there were the weekend road closures, and by the time Joe Culzac got his wife to Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital there was yet another mishap – the front doors were locked.
But the baby couldn’t wait.
"I don't remember anything. The only thing I remember is trying to breathe," Sylvia Ortega Culzac told CTV Montreal. The Laval mother was in labour, and the usual 20-minute drive to the hospital took much longer due to numerous delays on the road.
"We couldn't get from the 13 to the 40 because of snow removal . . . We ended up taking the highway going towards the South Shore, towards the Champlain Bridge. We were just lucky enough that Atwater Ave. was open," Joe Culzac told CTV Montreal.
When they arrived at the front entrance of the hospital, Culzac banged on the doors. It was after 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, a time when the doors are typically locked for security reasons.
By then, the baby was on its way.
"I was thinking my baby has to come out right now, or she might not make it. I think I just did what any other father would do," Culzac said.
Culzac ran back to the car and delivered his newborn daughter, Jasmine Culzac, in the hospital parking lot – just steps away from the door.
"I was panicking inside, but there was really not time to panic. It was just adrenaline and instincts taking over."
According to the newborn’s big sister Justina Culzac, who was in the car during the ordeal, her father "was really calm."
"It was like he didn’t hear anything," Justina told CTV Montreal.
"I think shock is a short word for it,” Joe Culzac said. "There's no getting out, there's no moving around in the car obviously, it was just total shock and trying to keep it together for everyone."
A statement issued by the McGill University Health Centre said, after visiting hours, access to hospital buildings is limited to ensure the safety of patients, family members and staff.
"The patient had called the birthing centre while she was in active labour and was asked to go to the emergency department, where a team was dispatched to greet her. However, the parents showed up in front of the main doors on the ground floor," the statement read. "As soon as healthcare staff noticed that the father was in need of help, they took immediate action."
Culzac said he didn’t even have time to think about whether he was approaching the right set of doors.
"I wasn’t thinking about Emergency downstairs. I wasn’t thinking about the small door in the middle. I was thinking about the doors I know, which are the main doors."
Fortunately, the delivery was successful and both mother and baby are now safely at home, in good health.
"Every morning we’re waking up and wondering, did this really happen?” Ortega Culzac said. “It’s just amazing, amazing we were able to do this."
With a report from CTV Montreal’s Kelly Greig
