'Right place, right time:' Twin Lakes mother miscarries inside Walt Disney World bathroom, strangers step up to help

 

TWIN LAKES, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The saying goes, "in the right place at the right time," and for one Twin Lakes woman, that couldn't have been truer.

Meaghan Cheverette and her 8-year-old, Bella, left for Florida's Walt Disney World on Tuesday, May 9 for a mother-daughter trip.

The two spent the first day at Epcot and headed to Magic Kingdom the next. 

"We really had a great start to our day, I felt fine. Everything was normal," Cheverette told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White. "We had a reservation at the Be Our Guest restaurant in Magic Kingdom, and I said, 'oh, you know, Bella, let's go the bathroom before we sit down."

But when they entered the restroom, Cheverette said things took a sudden turn. 

"I just felt kind of a gush, and I'm like, 'oh, that wasn't right,'" Cheverette said. 

Her daughter, Bridget Debora, had just entered the world at 17 weeks and three days old. 

"I just remember thinking to myself, it's too early. It's just too early," Cheverette said. 

After telling Bella to go get help, Cheverette said she immediately began calling out.

"I just started screaming, 'is there anyone medical? Is there anyone medical? I just had a baby,'" Cheverette said.

Call it a coincidence or call it fate, a nurse with 30 years of experience was also inside using the restroom, who jumped into action. 

"That's what I knew. I'm like, 'okay, it's gonna be okay, we're gonna be okay,'" Cheverette said.

From then on, it was like a blur.

"It's like all moms stopped what they were doing, and I am so thankful. And on probably what was the worst day of my life? To have complete strangers -- someone was handing me a diaper. Someone was handing me water. Someone was on the phone with 911," Cheverette said, noting that another woman literally handed her the shirt she had been wearing to wrap Bridget in while they waited for medics to arrive.

"That's the definition of a mom, you know, as we were approaching Mother's Day weekend. It's like as a mom, it doesn't matter if it's yours or the woman next to you, you just react," Cheverette continued. 

Cheverette said the cast members at the restaurant stepped in to distract Bella, offering her fun drinks, chicken strips, and a blanket.

But the help and kindness didn't stop there. 

When the two were transported to the hospital, Cheverette said an emergency room nurse quickly began occupying Bella and keeping her calm.

She also credits the OBGYN doctor, who rushed to her aid and started comforting her. 

"I'll never forget, she walked up to me. She introduced herself to me and she grabbed my hand, and she goes, "I just want you to know this was not your fault. It's not because you came to Disney. It's not because you flew on an airplane. It's not because you were walking around. It's not because you rode rides," Cheverette said. "She goes, 'these things sometimes just happen and there's no explanation,' and she cared for me in a way that I've never been cared for."

Cheverette's husband was able to fly out and meet them Friday, on which she asked him to take Bella back to the park to complete their vacation, so she could go on the rest of the rides and meet her favorite character, Stitch. 

Disney hotel officials also offered the family plenty of toys, souvenirs, and stocked their hotel room with food.

"Disney just went above and beyond for her to try to make it as magical as possible, even though it was a horrible situation," Cheverette recalled gratefully. "My mom always taught me, look for the helpers, and I have so many helpers along the way, with this being the most difficult time I think I've ever had in my life."

She turned to Facebook, posting online to try and connect with everyone who had helped inside of the bathroom.

Within hours, hundreds of supportive messages had flooded the post.

"I sat there and I read through every comment, every person's words, and I didn't feel so alone," Cheverette said. "I never expected that."

While she was able to get in touch with the nurse, she hasn't yet been able to find the woman who gave her the shirt.

Now, she, Bella, her husband, and their 12-year-old son are back in Wisconsin.

The family said they purchased a red rose bush to plant in their front yard as a way to honor their Disney princess who was born inside of the beast's castle.

"Disney is a magical place. Now, this is not what I wanted to have happen there," Cheverette said. "But it's something we'll remember forever."