Lee County dispatchers, Sublette first responders help save baby’s life during delivery

SUBLETTE – Two Lee County 911 dispatchers and four Sublette fire crew members were awarded by Mercyhealth on Thursday for their lifesaving actions that led to a successful home birth.

“It’s a miracle of life right before our eyes,” Lee County 911 Director Shelley Dallas said at Thursday’s award ceremony.

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Lee County 911 Dispatchers Kelly Boos (left) and Jesica Knipple meet Ryan and Cheyenne Edwards Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the Sublette Fire Department. Boos and Knipple talked Ryan through unwrapping the umbilical cord as his wife was giving birth to son Wilder. (Alex T. Paschal)

The night of April 28, Ryan and Cheyenne Edwards of Sublette were at home with their daughters Atley, 2, and River, 4, when Cheyenne – who was 35 weeks pregnant – started going into labor.

At 11:35 p.m., Ryan called 911 and said “the baby is coming out right now,” Dallas said.

When the child’s head came out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. Ryan told the dispatcher, “He’s not moving. He’s struggling and turning purple,” and the dispatcher gave him instructions for how to remove the cord, Dallas said.

A short time later, Ryan said, “He’s out. He’s crying. ... He’s completely out, and he’s opening his eyes,” Dallas said.

At Thursday’s event, Lee County 911 dispatcher Kelly Boos said, “It was just this huge flood of relief hearing him and knowing that he was OK.”

The family, along with their new addition, baby Wilder, attended the event where Dr. John Pakiela of Mercyhealth in Rockford handed out six stork pins to those involved. They included Lee County 911 dispatchers Boos and Jesica Knipple, and from the Sublette Fire Protection District, Assistant Chief Nick Dinges, EMS Capt. Mary Ehlers, firefighter/paramedic Jennifer Stampfler and first responder Roger Wittenauer.

Wittenauer immediately went to the scene and helped with the stimulation process, Dinges said.

Sublette Fire Chief Kevin Schulz said his crew’s response “makes me proud” – specifically when you think about the chain of survival in rural communities.

First responders face different challenges in rural areas, such as further travel times, fewer resources and the potential for more complex medical scenarios. April’s event was one of them.

It’s “very rare, and we had a great outcome,” Dinges said.

He said Sublette fire has never had an in-field delivery as far as he knows, and Dallas said that it also was a first for Lee County 911.