Baby Arrives During Blizzard
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Meet Vada Fritzsche Johnson. She was born during the Chicago Blizzard of 2011.
Her mother, Julia Johnson, says she went into labor after the power went out in her home.
"We decided we need to go to the hospital, and at this point, I'm in enough pain that things are becoming pretty urgent," she told CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot.
Julia's husband, Andy, went to dig out the family car. He soon realized, though, driving to the hospital wasn't an option.
"The wheels were spinning once I was in the drive lane," he said.
With labor pains increasing, Andy started making calls to relatives with trucks. His father told him everyone else was blocked in by snow, too.
So, Andy called 911.
"The firefighters came into our apartment. They took her vitals, and about five minutes after that, the ambulance showed up," he said.
But when the ambulance arrived on the couple's street, it couldn't get through because of all of the snow. Julia had no choice. She had to walk a half a block, while in labor, through the brutal blizzard, to get to the ambulance.
"They tried to help me along, but I had a contraction hit halfway down, and the snow was hitting my face," Julia said. "Then I said, 'Nobody touch me, I need a minute.'"
The ambulance rushed Julia to Swedish Covenant Hospital. Forty-five minutes later, Vada was born.
"I'm going to tell her, when it's your turn, make sure you have a baby in the summer," Julia said.
The baby's due date was Super Bowl Sunday. Her mother jokes that once Vada heard the Bears weren't playing, she chose the blizzard as her arrival date to make a grand entrance.
The Johnsons say they're also very grateful to the firefighters and paramedics who got to them during the blizzard.
