Windsor Baby Born in Ambulance Just Blocks from Hospital in Dramatic Delivery
A Windsor mother's frantic rush to the maternity ward ended in an unexpected location when her baby was delivered in the back of an ambulance parked just a few hundred yards from the hospital doors. This dramatic birth occurred on March 4, 2026, creating what paramedics are calling their "No. 1 call of all time."
A Rapidly Escalating Situation
Taylor Cabana, who was already several days overdue, experienced her first contraction around 5:30 p.m. Within just ten minutes, her contractions intensified to less than a minute apart. By shortly after 6 p.m., the situation had become urgent enough that her mother called 911 for emergency assistance.
Two ambulance crews from Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services were immediately dispatched under standard protocol—one for the mother and another for the anticipated newborn. The paramedics raced to the Riverside home on Windsor's east side, unaware they were about to participate in one of the most memorable calls of their careers.
Paramedics Spring Into Action
"It was right at the start of our shift," recalled paramedic Anna Mitrev. Her colleague Sal Bertucci added, "We didn't even have our uniforms fully on. I was definitely tripping over myself rushing to the ambulance."
Bertucci and Mitrev from the Tecumseh station arrived alongside a second crew consisting of Lilly Pattinson and Geoffrey Mackenzie from east Windsor. They found Cabana's labor progressing at an alarming rate. Husband Ryan Rock described the chaotic scene: "They were just pulling the gurney out when I got home. I was moving cars out of the way so Sal and Anna could back in their ambulance."
The Unexpected Delivery
Inside the ambulance, it quickly became apparent there would be no time to reach Windsor Regional Hospital's Met campus. "I originally didn't think we were going to deliver the baby ourselves, in the ambulance," Mitrev explained. "That changed shortly after we were on the way to the hospital. When we saw the head, we knew delivery was imminent."
Bertucci, who had more experience including delivering his own child, took the lead. He pulled into a parking lot at Tecumseh Road East and Walker Road as the delivery began, just a short distance from the hospital. "I've never seen that, in movies or anywhere," he said of the moment. "But that kid's eyes opened immediately."
Myles Kenneth Rock was born at 6:57 p.m. on March 4, mere minutes before the ambulance would have reached the hospital. This type of emergency response is classified as a "precipitous delivery"—a rapid labor occurring in less than three hours that accounts for only a small percentage of births.
A Grateful Reunion
While all four paramedics were trained in childbirth procedures, none had previously delivered a baby independently before this incident. The family recently visited Essex-Windsor EMS headquarters to thank the paramedics and introduce them to baby Myles.
"We just wanted to come down and say thank you again to these great paramedics, in person," Cabana expressed. "These paramedics handled it all really well. I wanted Myles to have a photo taken with them, as a memento of how it all happened. Most people can't say that that's how they were born."
Reflecting on the extraordinary speed of her labor experience, Cabana noted, "I've been telling people that this labour, start to finish, was shorter than the average feature film."
For Bertucci, this call stands apart from all others in his career. He simply called it the "No. 1 call of all time," capturing the unique nature of this emergency medical response that brought new life into the world just blocks from where hospital staff were waiting.
