One helicopter, three planes, and a car journey: How hero soldier spent
14 hours and travelled 3,500 miles to see birth of son
PUBLISHED: 16:12 GMT, 13 July 2012 | UPDATED: 07:39
GMT, 14 July 2012
As efforts to get back in time
to witness the birth of a child go, one soldier's dedication in returning from
Afghanistan must certainly rank highly.
Corporal Simon Mercer took
four flights from Afghanistan to reach his wife's hospital bedside in just 14
hours.
And the hero soldier arrived
in the nick of time to see her give birth to the couple's first child.
Surprise: Corporal Simon
Mercer had taken two weeks off in August to witness the birth of his son, but
baby Heath Mercer arrived early
The 30-year-old, who is
currently serving in his fifth grueling tour of Afghanistan, had planned two
weeks leave in August so he could witness his baby being born.
But instead, the soldier
received a call to say wife Karen, 35, had gone into labour nine weeks early.
In a Herculean effort to
return him in time, military officials scrambled a helicopter and flew him to a
waiting plane which took him to another airfield.
Simon was then ushered on to a
second plane before flying to another airstrip, where he met up with an
aircraft taking troops home for leave.
Dedication: Corporal Simon
Mercer said he was 'incredibly proud' of his wife for giving birth to the
couple's first son
The flight touched down at RAF
Brize Norton, Oxon, where a car was waiting on the runway to collect Simon and
take him straight to Salisbury District Hospital.
He finally reached the
maternity ward 14 hours later - at 3pm on June 10 - where midwives were giving
Karen, an administrator, drugs to delay the labour.
Baby Heath was born at 12.35pm
the next day after a three-day labour and weighed just 3lb 3oz. He was
immediately rushed into an incubator.
Tearful Karen, who lives in
Bulford Camp, Wiltshire, said it had made 'all the difference' to have her
husband present at the birth.
Beaming: Karen Mercer,
pictured with her new baby Heath, said it made a real difference to be joined
by her husband for the birth
She said: 'We had planned for
the labour and were hoping that Simon would be able to take his ‘R&R’ in
August as I was due on August 13.
'I had felt a few pains
earlier in the day but didn’t think anything of it and was taking a booked tour
of the hospital when they said I had gone into labour.
'It was such a huge shock. All
I could think was that I wasn’t ready and it was way, way too early. I was so
worried about the baby and whether he would be okay.
'My midwife phoned the Army
and made them understand the gravity of the situation. They made the decision to
send him home.
'They organised a helicopter
and then three planes to bring him here. When he arrived it was just such a
relief.
At his father's side: Baby
Heath Mercer cuddles his dedicated dad Corporal Simon Mercer
'It was amazing for him to
actually be there during labour, to hold my hand. He was completely over the
moon that he had made it.
'It meant so much for him to
be there and give Heath a cuddle.'
Simon, who joined the Army
aged 18, is currently based in Nad Ali District in Helmand Province and has an
advisory role with the Afghan National Army.
He was able to fly back to
Britain following a call from a worried midwife to the Ministry of Defence’s
Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre.
The soldier, from Chelmsford,
Essex, and his wife had decided not to find out the sex of their baby before
the birth, which was scheduled to be on August 13.
Karen added: 'Si had been
convinced that the baby was going to be a girl so it was a real surprise for
him when it was a boy.'
Sleeping soundly: Little Heath
Mercer is sure to be proud of his father's commitment when he is old enough to
realise
Simon, who has spent the last
two-and-a-half years in Afghanistan, was able to spend two weeks at home with
Karen and Heath.
The new father-of-one, who
returned to the war torn country three weeks ago, said: 'It was pretty kind of
flash to bang the whole way through.
'I think it took about 14
hours from leaving Afghanistan to walking through the hospital doors.
'It was just surreal. You kind
of add the leaving Afghanistan and being at home in such a short space of time
and then, all of a sudden, instead of it being me and my wife, it’s me, my wife
and my baby.
'I’m incredibly proud of my
wife for how well she’s been doing and incredibly proud of the little ‘un for
how well he has been fighting through.'
Karen has remained in hospital
with little Health, who now weighs 4lb 9oz. The little baby is expected to go home
for the first time soon.
Simon, who speaks to his wife
every four days to check on his son’s progress, is due to return home from his
fifth tour of Afghanistan in about three months
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