ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Kristin Paniptchuk’s water broke on Christmas Eve at her home in the western Alaska Inupiat village of Shaktoolik, and then she began to bleed profusely.
The local clinic in the tiny village of 200 people on the Bering Sea couldn’t stop the bleeding or the contractions brought on by a baby that wasn’t due for another two months. With harsh winds grounding an air ambulance from nearby Nome, medical staff called on their only other option: the Alaska Air National Guard. Five days after a military helicopter and then a cargo plane whisked Paniptchuk to an Anchorage hospital, she delivered her daughter Kinley, premature but healthy.
Over the past year-and-a-half, Paniptchuk, whose daughter is now a toddler, has been thinking about how lucky she was.
“I’m just really thankful that they were able to come and get me,” she said. “Who knows what would have happened if they didn’t?”
CJ Abrams' leadoff homer lifts Nationals over Dodgers 2
Sweden raises policy rate to 2.5 pct to curb inflation
Commentary: Chinese consumer market full of opportunities for global brands
Biden endorses House aid package for Israel, Ukraine
UN chief calls for reaching consensus on climate actions at COP27
Kristalina Georgieva to serve second term as IMF managing director
Kristalina Georgieva to serve second term as IMF managing director
The habits that add decades to your life
China's gross marine product exceeds 9 trillion yuan in 2023
Taylor Swift fan Ina Garten, 76, reveals even SHE struggled to buy Eras Tour tickets
UN chief to meet Ukrainian president in Kyiv