Starbulletin.com



Dispatcher’s training
kept new mom steady

Daneen Kaili gets an award for
helping a mother give birth


WAILUKU >> Maui police dispatcher Daneen Kaili has helped a choking baby dislodge a piece of candy and a choking adult perform the Heimlich maneuver on herself to pop a soda cap from her throat.

But helping a woman through the birth of a baby was a first.

"It feels great. That's icing on the cake," Kaili said.

Kaili, 42, who has been a dispatcher for 15 1/2 years, received a commendation from the Maui County Police Commission yesterday for helping 23-year-old Moana Cockett while an ambulance was sent to assist her.

Cockett, a Lahaina resident, gave birth to a baby boy at her brother's home in Kahului shortly after he made a call to police at 12:32 a.m. Dec. 5.

"The baby's out already," Cockett said in a recorded emergency call.

"Wipe his nose and his mouth. ... You're going to be OK," Kaili said.

Using a Powerphone emergency procedures manual while conversing with Cockett, Kaili made sure the umbilical cord was not around the baby's neck and that the baby was breathing without obstructions.

The umbilical cord was around the baby's arm, and Kaili told Cockett to move it off the baby's arm while not pulling on the umbilical cord.

"You're doing good," Kaili said. "They're coming any minute."

She told Cockett to keep the baby lying on its side, with its head up and feet facing her.

After several minutes the ambulance came, and Kaili told Cockett: "All right. Well, congratulations."

"Thank you," Cockett said.

The baby, Robert Lawrence Kemani Ho'omanawanui Cockett Jr., is the second child for Moana Cockett.

Kaili said although she gave birth to her child at her home through a planned delivery, she relies on the manual when advising people on emergency calls, and she receives training regularly on emergency procedures.

"That training has paid off several times," she said.

--Advertisements--
--Advertisements--


| | | PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION
E-mail to City Desk

BACK TO TOP


Text Site Directory:
[News] [Business] [Features] [Sports] [Editorial] [Do It Electric!]
[Classified Ads] [Search] [Subscribe] [Info] [Letter to Editor]
[Feedback]
© 2004 Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- https://archives.starbulletin.com


-Advertisement-