Shock, panic heard in 911 call after woman in vegetative state gives birth

PHOENIX — Newly released audio from a 911 call gives a glimpse into the frantic scene at a Phoenix, Arizona, health care facility after a woman who had been in a vegetative state for 27 years gave birth.

Five minutes of audio from the 911 call made Dec. 29 from Hacienda Healthcare were released Friday, The Associated Press reported. The call spurred Phoenix police to begin a sexual assault investigation.

The call begins with a woman yelling, “The baby’s turning blue! The baby’s turning blue!”

The woman, who identified herself as a nurse, then relayed information to the dispatcher.

“One of our patients just had a baby, and we had no idea she was pregnant,” the nurse said.

She said the infant wasn’t responsive and that other nurses were giving the baby CPR. The nurse repeatedly told the dispatcher that the delivery was a “complete surprise.

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“About four minutes into the call, a baby can be heard crying in the background.

“Oh, the baby’s breathing. Oh, my God. Thank God,” the nurse said, sounding relieved.

It’s unclear whether the nurse heard in the call regularly cares for the incapacitated woman.

Both the woman and the baby boy are recovering in a hospital, KPHO-TV reported.

The 29-year-old woman has been incapacitated since a near-drowning incident when she was 2 years old and has been a patient at Hacienda Healthcare since she was 3. Investigators are trying to determine who impregnated her.

Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson told KPHO-TV that DNA was gathered from "a large number of individuals."

The revelation that a woman in a vegetative state was raped inside a care facility has horrified many, the AP reported. The Hacienda Healthcare CEO resigned earlier this week, and the facility announced new safety measures, including not allowing male staff members to enter the rooms of female patients without a female staff member present.

The woman's family members, who are members of the San Carlos Apache tribe, released a statement through their attorney saying they are "outraged, traumatized and in shock by the abuse and neglect of their daughter at Hacienda Healthcare," and that they are "not emotionally ready to make a public statement," KPHO-TV reported.

Cox Media Group