Miracle at McKinnell House
From left, mother Hannah Johnson with newborn Kahleel, father David Dumpson and 2-year-old son Kohen. Johnson gave birth to their new son Jan. 24 at The Salvation Army's McKinnell House. (ROBERT DeBERRY/The Salvation Army)
January 24, 2018 will be a day that David Dumpson and Hannah Johnson will always remember. That is the day they welcomed their new baby boy, Kahleel, into the world. What makes this birth so special is that Kahleel was born at 8:20 a.m. in room 14 at The Salvation Army’s McKinnell House, a homeless shelter for families.
I was more scared than he was said Johnson as the couple sat in the parent resource room at McKinnell House with their new baby and 2-year-old son Kohen. “The pain was crazy. The contractions hurt so bad,” she said.
According to Lt. Denice Delgado, Anchorage Social Services Director for The Salvation Army Alaska Division, the Jan. 24, birth is the first that has happened within the walls of McKinnell House. Delgado said they have had pregnant residents but none have given birth at the facility for homeless families.
Dumpson and Johnson have only been at the shelter for about six weeks, and giving birth in their room is not something the two had planned. According to Johnson their case worker had not planned on that either.
“Our case worker kept telling us we were not going to have the baby here. ‘We are going to have you in a house before you have the baby,’” Johnson said. “We even had an appointment the day before the baby came and she said that we were not having the baby here. Literally the very next day we had the baby at the McKinnell House.”
Johnson said that the family was getting ready for breakfast but she was not feeling very good. She said David told her she might not want to go to breakfast if she was hurting that bad. “So, we waited but I started getting my contractions. That was at about 7:30 a.m.”
Johnson said they decided they should probably go to the hospital but by that time it was too late. “I literally just put on my clothes to go to the hospital then bam, my water broke.” Johnson said she was on the phone with her mom the whole time. “She was like ‘why haven’t you called 911?’”
Hannah Johnson and David Dumpson hold their newborn son Kahleel recently at The Salvation Army's McKinnell House. (ROBERT DeBERRY/The Salvation Army)
About this time McKinnell House employee Jason Williams came to check on the mother-to-be. Johnson said he wanted to know why we did not come to breakfast and to make sure everything was alright. “David answered the door and said 'Hannah is in labor.'"
At first both parents were not sure she was going to have the baby right then but on advice of Johnson's mother the paramedics were called. “We were planning on going to the hospital,” said Johnson. “My mom was on her way in from Eagle River but she was taking too long so we called the paramedics.”
It was at this point that both Johnson and Dumpson knew this was happening right now. Johnson said every time there was a contraction she just dropped to the floor. The contractions came every minute so she knew they were not going to stop it.
Johnson said that the dispatcher on the other end of the phone told her to take off all her garments and lie on the bed. “That was when I knew that this was really happening.”
Johnson said her phone kept hanging up on the dispatcher. Because of this it was “just the two of us waiting for the baby to come.”
The dispatcher was able to call back and get Johnson on the line. "She kept calling back and asked if we could see the head," Johnson said. Johnson said they couldn’t see the head at that point and that really she was still hoping they were just huge contractions. “I was hoping we could still make it to the hospital.”
That would not be the case because as the dispatcher was coaching Johnson through it and telling her to breathe things started moving fast. Johnson said the dispatcher asked again if we could see the head. "And we were like oh my god there is the head.”
Dumpson said he was worried about getting the baby out safely. “I looked down and I saw a little patch of hair. Then she started pushing and I had to pivot his head. I had to move his head upwards so he could breathe. Then his head was out.”
Newborn Kahleel Dumpson. He was born Jan. 24, at The Salvation Army's McKinnell House. (ROBERT DeBERRY/The Salvation Army)
Both parents agree it went fast. “I started pushing and I screamed so loud. I don’t understand how nobody heard me. I was screaming. Then I just pushed three times and he was out,” said Johnson
Dumpson said once the baby was out he had to make sure the umbilical cord was not tangled up. “They told me not to pull on the umbilical cord too much so I just wrapped him in towels.”
“We really couldn’t do chest to chest at first so they said swaddle him up and wait for everyone to come, because everyone showed up late except for this baby,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she is happy that everything was ok. “I was happy that the umbilical cord wasn’t wrapped around the baby or anything like that. I am just happy David was there to catch the baby.”
A little over a week later both agree that this birth has been amazing and will give them something special to talk about for a long time. Dumpson said one of the cool things about this is that big sign out there. “Literally this is The Salvation Army, and I am a veteran. I don’t know, people probably would think, ‘I don’t want to have a baby in a homeless shelter’ but it was a really good experience.”
Johnson agrees. “This was the best experience. It was so awesome. We bonded like crazy. He delivered the baby. I will never forget that. This is one of the greatest memories ever, and it happened here.”
Johnson also said that this experience has shown David how tough she is. “I am 22 and experienced this. I finally feel like I gained my stripes. Because now he knows how tough I am. Even the paramedics were like ‘wow, how did you do that.’”
Dumpson agrees that she earned her stripes and even more respect. “I gained a lot of respect for her. I am really proud of her.”
The new parents said that next on their list is getting housed and getting a car. Dumpson said he is lined up to get job training and work so he can “provide a more stable foundation for this little mini family.”
From left are Hannah Johnson, 2-year-old son Kohen, David Dumpson and newborn Kahleel. (ROBERT DeBERRY/The Salvation Army)