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American Morning
Doctor, Mother of Gunned Baby Speak
Aired June 26, 2002 - 08:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We now, for our viewers, have an incredible story of survival. A woman who was 7 1/2 months pregnant was ambushed by a masked gunman. She was shot four times. And as she walked up the stairs to her home, miraculously, Angelique McKinney survived, as did her unborn daughter, Adriel.
The baby was delivered by emergency C-section with a gaping bullet hole in her right arm and a serious gash in her right side. Mother and child are now, remarkably, out of the hospital. They were released on Friday.
Angelique McKinney and the physician who saved the infant, Dr. Angela Wilks, joining us now from Chicago with, also, the star of the show, baby Adriel.
Good morning to you ladies -- all three of you ladies.
DR. ANGELA WILKS, COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL: Good morning.
ANGELIQUE MCKINNEY, SHOT WHILE PREGNANT: Good morning.
KAGAN: Angelique, let's...
WILKS: Good morning to Adriel.
KAGAN: And to baby -- can we just get right to the baby and get a good little picture of her face there, the beautiful little girl? Can you just hold her up, Angelique, so we can see her? It looks like she's sleeping, which we'd all like to be doing at this time of the morning.
Oh, beautiful, beautiful, little girl.
As we look at her in your arms there, Angelique, tell us how this incredible story began. You have other children, and you were going up the stairs to your home and you were shot a number of times.
MCKINNEY: Yes. I was approaching my home, and out of nowhere, a masked gunman came and just started shooting at us. And it didn't ever seem like it was going to stop.
KAGAN: And one...
MCKINNEY: But once it stopped -- I'm sorry. KAGAN: How many times were you actually hit?
MCKINNEY: Well, I was actually hit four times, and the bullets went straight through me. But at that time it felt like I was hit at least 20 times.
KAGAN: And as I understand it, when paramedics showed up they actually thought you had been hit eight times, because the bullets, as you said, went straight through you...
MCKINNEY: Exactly.
KAGAN: ... and so there were eight bullet holes. So you were rushed to the hospital, and that's where Dr. Wilks comes in. They had to not only take care of you, but perform an emergency C-section.
MCKINNEY: Right.
KAGAN: And, Dr. Wilks, explain to us the condition of the baby when she taken out of Angelique's womb.
WILKS: OK, when the baby was handed to me, the baby was like a rag doll. The baby was very limp. That means the baby was just, just hanging there.
The baby was lifeless. The baby had no signs of life. And from that point on, we had to resuscitate very quickly and aggressively to get the baby's heart rate back and to get the baby to start breathing again.
KAGAN: And on top of that, this was a premature baby, so she was tiny.
WILKS: Right. This baby weighed 1,747 grams, which is three pounds and 14 ounces.
KAGAN: And just to give us a perspective, how much does she weigh today?
WILKS: Today this baby -- yesterday, the baby weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces. And I imagine today weighs 6 pounds.
KAGAN: So that tiny, beautiful bundle that we're looking at in Angelique's arms right now, she was about half that size when she came out?
WILKS: That's correct.
KAGAN: And, honestly, Doctor, when this tiny baby came out, only just a little over three wounds and with these bullet wounds, how hopeful were you that you were able to save this child's life?
WILKS: Well, whenever a baby is born when they, when the baby does not have a heart rate, you pray every minute that you can get the heart rate back, if this baby's heart rate has, was a heart rate that was lost within a matter of, you know, minutes or seconds before you received the baby. If the heart rate is gone for a long time, getting the heart rate back is not a joy, because sometimes these babies can -- will have a lot of problems.
So I imagine this baby's heart rate was lost very soon before the baby was handed to us. We were able to get the baby's heart rate back within a very, you know, good span of time. So the outcome, as you see, has been, you know, fantastic for the baby.
KAGAN: So you don't expect her to have any side effects from the trauma that she's been through?
WILKS: I expect the baby will have maybe some residual side effects and the baby will be followed developmentally, like all premature babies are. And as you know, this is a very stressful...
KAGAN: Absolutely.
WILKS: ... for the baby. It's going to be emotional, also, for the mother and, you know, in the future for the baby.
KAGAN: And Angelique, explain to us, speaking of emotion, how your recovery has been and how it has been to see your tiny daughter fight back and fight for her life.
MCKINNEY: Well, emotionally she strengthens me and encourages me. Every day I will go up to the hospital and when I was down, I would just look at her and say a prayer, and I would be OK. So emotionally, I have support as far as my family and my mom and my dad and my close friends and Dr. Wilks.
So everyone has been pretty supportive. So it's just taking it day by day.
KAGAN: And as this progressed, I understand that there is a suspect in custody. So that part of the story can go on.
Dr. Wilks, give us an update on each of the wounds that the baby faces and is recovering from: her arm, her head, and her general condition.
WILKS: OK. As far as her abdomen is concerned, that wound healed very nicely, and the scar is very minimal there. The arm wound was a through-and-through wound, and there were two wounds on the arm. And they're -- they held up very well. However, there is -- there's a small contracture of the arm wound near the elbow joint here, and the baby can just, can just, has -- can just about fully flex the arm.
There is a little contraction there where the mom is massaging this area, to stretch the skin so the arm can be fully extended. The baby moves the hand very well. The baby feels. The baby was fantastic when early on, when the baby was able to, you put -- put your finger in the baby's hand. The baby would grasp your hand. So we knew that the function was excellent for this baby.
KAGAN: And I understand also, of course, with premature babies, a problem, a big challenge is always the lungs. But this baby coming along just fine.
And Angelique, probably the most beautiful sound in your household right now is the sound of that baby crying, because it shows how well she's doing.
MCKINNEY: Yes.
KAGAN: Absolutely.
MCKINNEY: Every little noise.
KAGAN: Every little noise. You enjoy every little noise.
And thank you so much for bringing your beautiful bundle to bring in with us today, and so we could see her picture and see her and share your story. We don't get to tell too many stories with happy endings here, so we do appreciate that.
MCKINNEY: Thank you.
KAGAN: Angelique McKinney, baby Adriel and Dr. Wilks, thank you so much for sharing that story.
MCKINNEY: Thank you.
WILKS: Thank you.
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