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?”
Tunisian opposition wants political prisoners freed before taking part in presidential election
Fury over NYC restaurant reservation scalpers making $80k a year by hoarding coveted dining slots
Family of American man believed to be held by Taliban asks the UN torture investigator for help
Noah Cyrus flashes her bottom in extremely low
New EPA rules would force plants to capture emissions, shut down
Xavi says Barcelona's improved play has been key to changing his mind to leave the club
Dua Lipa is all about 'Radical Optimism,' in her music and other pursuits
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch to have surgery on knee after sideline collision, AP source says
Lawyer says Iran rapper famous for songs after 2022 killing of Mahsa Amini sentenced to death