A new viral video out of Indiana displays a nightmare scenario for any pregnant mother. Mercedes Wells, a mother of multiple children, arrived at Franciscan Health Crown Point Hospital on Sunday, November 16, because she believed she was in active labor. However, the treatment she received from the staff was nothing like she had expected.
Hospital staff chose to discharge Wells even though she appeared in visible pain and said that she was experiencing contractions. They told her to return home and wait for her labor to progress.
Cherise Thompson, Wells’s sister in law, claimed that she was pleading for treatment.
"Mercedes begged her. She begged her," Cherise said, of the nurse. "She said, 'I'm really in active labor. I can feel it, contractions as I walk. I mean my pain. I'm telling you, I can feel it.' And she just ignored her."
The video later shows Wells being wheeled out of the hospital.
Wells’ husband rushed her back to their vehicle in hopes of finding another hospital. However, they would never make it.
Just eight minutes later, Mercedes gave birth to her daughter on the side of the road, with her husband delivering the baby.
"He grabbed, like, a blanket, and then put the baby on Mercedes' chest, my niece on her chest, and drove the rest of the way to the hospital, to Munster Community," Thompson said.
While the family is grateful that the baby is healthy, they are now calling for change following this traumatic incident.
"I want there to be some sort of change so that other families don't have to experience this," Thompson said.
Franciscan Health Crown Point stated in a press release that it is investigating the incident.