An expectant father made it to the hospital just in time to see his son being born – thanks to a complete stranger who gave him a lift.
Ryan Groom, 25, was left stranded and unable to travel in the ambulance because of coronavirus restrictions when his fiancée Tara-Louise Spencer, 28, went into early labour.
Ryan, who does not drive, rang seven taxi firms who all told him they couldn’t help, before turning to a local Facebook group at 3am to ask if anyone was awake who could drive him to the hospital.
Amazingly Aeman Ali Afzal, 25, saw the plea for help and came to Ryan’s rescue.
The new dad-of-two, who made it to the delivery room with an hour to spare, said: “I’m still shocked by Aeman’s kindness and generosity. I can’t thank him enough.”
Ryan was woken in the early hours of Tuesday morning (21 April) when Tara-Louise went into labour a week early.
He called their midwife and an ambulance, which arrived in minutes, and Tara-Louise was whisked to Blackburn Hospital.
However, he was left without any way of joining her when he wasn’t allowed in the ambulance.
He said: “When the paramedic told me I had to get a taxi, I instantly knew I wouldn’t be able to get one.
“I had been reading on Facebook that all the taxis around here have been stopping to keep the drivers safe.
“It was horrible. I actually didn’t think I was going to get there. I was hopeless.”
In a moment of panic, Ryan posted on Blackburn Life – Local Coronavirus Support Group, a Facebook page with over 4,000 members.
Fellow Blackburn resident Aeman responded to Ryan’s plea and told him he would drive him.
Aeman said: “I thought, is this real? It looked like a joke but then Ryan commented saying ‘she’s pushing as we speak’.
“So I just got in the car and set off to him as soon as I could.”
It took ten minutes for Aeman, a film-maker, to drive to Ryan’s house and he said the expectant dad was “really flustered” by the time he pulled up.
He said: “I was masked up, gloves on, fully PPE’ed so I said, ‘hang on mate before you get in the car, put these gloves on’.
“He just looked really out of it and he was really worried. He didn’t know how far along Tara was because she obviously wasn’t answering the phone.
“Once we were in the car I tried to keep him talking and get to Burnley General Hospital as soon as I could.”
The pair made it to the maternity ward 20 minutes later with only an hour to spare and little Jack Arron Groom was born at 5:01am.
He was a week early and weighed 6.9lbs. Both baby Jack and new mum Tara-Louise, who also have a 20-month-old, Harry are well and now back home.
Ryan, who is currently unemployed, said: “It was a surreal moment when he was born. I can’t really remember it because I was still shell shocked that it was happening.
“Everything was happening so quickly and the nurse told me when I got to the hospital Tara was going to have a normal birth instead of the cesarean she was booked in for a week later.
“It was a bit of a blur.”
Luckily little Jack was born without any problems and the family of four are now self isolating at home in Blackburn.
New mum Tara said: “It was upsetting when we were told Ryan wouldn’t be able to come in the ambulance.
“I was already feeling the urge to push and knew Jack would be arriving a lot quicker than we had anticipated.
“I began preparing to give birth to our son by myself.
“But the next thing I knew, Ryan walked through the door and he was by my side, holding my hand and able to witness Jack coming into the world.
“I’m so glad we were able to go through it together as our previous birth experience with our first son was an emergency c-section, so Ryan couldn’t be in the theatre with me.
“I can’t thank Aeman enough for the kindness he showed, he’s become a part of our birth story forever and can’t wait to share with our baby boy when he is older.
“And a massive thank you to the NHS staff that looked after me while I was alone and scared, they were amazing. We need more people like them and Aeman in the world.”
Good Samaritan Aeman has already been round and dropped off a hamper for newborn Jack and a pamper kit for Tara.
He said: “If people need help, you’ve got to try to help them haven’t you?
“My daughter Eila-Rose is three now and I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I missed her birth.”
Ryan added: “Aeman was fantastic. Not only has he gone above and beyond giving me a lift he has been back around and given Tara a hamper and baby a Jack a hamper.
“It’s a bit unreal. It’s all down to Aeman for getting me there. I can’t thank him enough.”