When TikToker @ihatepetehegseth was born, her beef farmer dad, who never had any formal medical training, saved her life when the doctors were unable to do so.
“He’s been a beef farmer his whole life, like grew up in that environment, grew up around animals, went to college for agricultural sciences,” explained @ihatepetehegseth.
“He still works at the farm, and the job he does, he works closely with agriculture, animals, horticulture, stuff like that.”
When @ihatepetehegseth was born, she had a ton of fluid in her lungs. The doctors performed all the standard procedures to drain the fluid from her lungs, but nothing was working.
She was turning purple and was actively dying. The doctors declared that she wasn’t going to make it. Her dad panicked and made a last-ditch effort to save her.
He quickly explained to the doctors what he did when calves are born because they are also born with a lot of fluid in their lungs. The doctors told him that it would be a huge liability, and he couldn’t do it.
He pushed the doctors aside, flipped @ihatepetehegseth upside down, and held her by the legs. The fluid immediately drained from her lungs, saving her life.
The doctors were stunned. They had really believed she was going to die. She went home a completely healthy baby and didn’t even need to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.
“I would not be here today if it weren’t for my father being some random beef farmer, who has no knowledge of medicine outside of animals, and just knowing this is what we do to cows,” said @ihatepetehegseth.
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Many people took to the comments section to praise her beef farmer father for stepping in and using his skills to save her life. They also pointed out that medical care for humans and veterinary care overlap more often than you might think.
“I work in veterinary medicine, and the amount of correlation between humans and animals needs to be respected!” exclaimed one person.
“Now, it’s part of a newborn resuscitation to do ‘postural drainage,’ which is a modified version of what you are talking about. Your dad is amazing. I am so glad he trusted his instincts!” commented another.
“My dad grew up on a dairy farm. That man gave me more/better advice than the lactation consultant/Tiktok/Reddit, or anything else did. My mom said, ‘I can’t believe you keep comparing her to cows,’ and I told him to keep the advice coming. It works,” shared a third.
“My dad was able to safely help deliver my brother (unexpectedly) because of his experience with helping deliver calves. Agricultural knowledge is far more valuable than we are led to believe,” added someone else.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
