Husband in Coma After Cardiac Arrest, Wakes Hours Before His Son Is Born & Gets To Watch
After waiting for nine months, Minnesota residents Ashley and Andrew Goette were eager to welcome their first child into the world.
But the night before Ashley was supposed to be induced to deliver her baby, Andrew nearly lost his life.
At 39-weeks pregnant, Ashley went to bed on Oct. 16, anticipating the following day when their family would grow from two to three.
But her excitement turned to horror when she woke up to find her husband gasping for air, greatly distressed.
She quickly called 911, desperate to save her husband’s life.
“The dispatcher walked me through CPR, ’cause I am not trained,” Ashley told WCCO. “They wanted me to get him down to a hard surface but I explained to them that I am 39 weeks pregnant.”
Upon arrival, paramedics determined Andrew had suffered a full cardiac arrest and had gone without oxygen for an uncertain amount of time. They worked to restart his heart and rushed Andrew to the hospital, where he was placed in a medically-induced coma to try and reduce the severity of any possible brain injury.
The following day was incredibly uncertain, as doctors told Andrew’s family to prepare for the very real possibility that Andrew might have suffered significant brain trauma. If he survived, he likely would never be the same.
Ashley’s planned induction was postponed while she sat patiently by her husband’s side, promising him she would wait to have the baby until he was able to wake up.
“I didn’t want to think about having a baby without him,” Ashley told Minnesota’s Star Tribune.
“I’ve known him since I was 15. I don’t remember my life before him, and I didn’t want to think about what my life was going to be like without him.”
When the time came for doctors to bring Andrew out of the coma, all eyes were fixated on his, hoping for the best and bracing for the worst.
To everyone’s deep relief, Andrew woke with no sign of any brain trauma. He was perfectly fine, aside from his heart arrhythmia which doctors would fix after the baby was born.
Andrew was able to watch via FaceTime as his wife gave birth via caesarian section in the same hospital.
The couple rejoiced when their son, Lennon Andrew Goette, was born on Oct. 19. weighing 6 lbs. and 14 ounces.
“I was just so excited to be able to see him be born,” Andrew said.
While everything about Lennon’s arrival was unexpected and opposite of the couple’s initial plans, Ashley is just glad her little family is safe and sound.
“All of that is nothing,” Ashley said of her family’s ordeal. “He is coming home and that is all that matters.”
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