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An 18-year-old lifeguard had the craziest day in her three years working at a YMCA pool in Longmont, Colorado, over the weekend. What started out as a typical shift for Natalie Lucas quickly took a wild turn when one of the swimmers went into labor.
Tessa Rider, who was nine months pregnant, had been going to the pool every day to find a reprieve from the heat. As she was swimming, she realized she was about to give birth to her third child.
"Then it suddenly dawned on me that we were not making it to the hospital, and he was coming out right then and there," Rider told KMGH.
Lucas saw Rider was in distress and sprinted over while asking another swimmer to call 911.
"The husband tells me they're having the baby, and I'm like, 'Alright.' And the adrenaline kicks in right then and there," Lucas said.
Within five minutes, baby Tobin was born on the deck of the pool. Rider praised Lucas for keeping her calm during the ordeal.
"She was there to do anything we asked. And the first thing I could think of was, 'could someone hold my back up?' And she did, and it was perfect," Rider said. "The baby was already kind of coming out, and it was quick. I would say less than five minutes that it all happened."
Paramedics arrived a few minutes later and gave Tobin a clean bill of health but took Rider and Tobin to the hospital as a precaution.
The YMCA granted Tobin a lifetime membership.
"He's definitely going to be a swimmer," Rider joked.
Lucas, who is heading to college in the fall, told the Washington Post that helping Rider deliver Tobin was an experience she will never forget.
"It was definitely a rewarding experience to know that I was helping them, and I was a part of this big moment," said Lucas. "I don't think it's something either of us will ever forget."