Burning Man birth surprises Utah couple in the desert
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A scene from the 2023 Burning Man festival, which experienced heavy rain. Photo: Julie Jammot/AFP via Getty Images
A Salt Lake City couple ventured to the desert last month for the Burning Man festival and came home with an unexpected delivery: a baby.
Why it matters: That's the last place I'd want to give birth.
Catch up quick: The new parents, Kayla and Kasey Thompson, who said they didn't know they were expecting, were asleep in their RV camper last Wednesday when Kayla began experiencing sharp cramping, the New York Times reported.
- The couple soon realized she was giving birth.
- After the 3-pound, 9-ounce baby girl was born inside their camper, Kasey called for help, somehow summoning a dream team of medical professionals you'd want during this weirdly specific crisis: an OB-GYN in his underwear, a neonatal care nurse and a pediatric doctor.
- Nurses later told Kayla, who said she "didn't have any symptoms," that she didn't look like she was about to have a baby — despite being around 36 weeks pregnant, per the Times.
The big picture: This year's festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert was plagued by chaotic weather and 6- to 8-hour delays to enter the event, and now it is the scene of a homicide investigation after a man was found dead.
- The nine-day gathering attracted about 72,000 attendees last year — its lowest number of festivalgoers since 2018, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
What they're saying: "That was the hardest decision of my life," Kasey told the Times about choosing between watching his child get on the medical airlift or staying with his wife in the ambulance ride to the hospital.
- Ultimately, he got in the ambulance after a doctor advised him to stay with his wife, telling Kasey the doctor himself would secure the baby's passage on the flight.
The latest: As of Tuesday, a GoFundMe fundraiser launched last week raised about $16,000 toward its $18,000 goal to support the family's medical expenses, costs of lodging, supplies and more.
- "Their world has just been flipped upside down completely," Lacey Paxman, Kasey's sister, told the Times.
What's next: The Thompsons said they plan to take their child on the next trip to Burning Man.