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SALT LAKE CITY — One of Salt Lake's youngest residents, newborn Griffin Willardson, was in no mood to wait around for his birth. Not only could he not wait the three days until his due date, but he couldn't even give his parents time to make it to the hospital.
Griffin was delivered on the shoulder of I-215 Southbound near 4500 South on Tuesday, July 5. He weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and measured 19.25 inches, his mother Abigail Willardson said.
"Despite the location, everything was perfect," she said.
Her husband Ray Willardson said the couple had been at home with their daughter Sophie when Abigail Willardson began experiencing contractions. At first the couple didn't think much of it, but the contractions began arriving more frequently until they were five minutes a part. At that point, they decided to go to the hospital.
"I started throwing everything in a bag as fast as I could," Ray Willardson said.
With her contractions intensifying quickly, the family gave up on packing their things and headed for the car. Once on the road, Abigail Willardson said she encouraged her husband to speed, flash the lights, honk the horn or do whatever else it would take to get to the hospital quickly. He, on the other hand, was hesitant to throw caution to the wind.
She said, "We got to a red light and I said 'just run it.'"
"I couldn't do it," he said.
Just as the family was entering the I-215 on-ramp, Abigail Willardson's water broke. They made it about a half-mile before pulling the car over, accepting that their son would be born in an unusual location and trying to get the car as far off of the road and away from traffic as possible.
Ray Willardson called 911 and was able to give his location before the call was interrupted by Griffin, ever-anxious to hurry these along. In the 911 recording, provided by the Utah Department of Public Safety, Willardson is heard saying he can see the baby's head and tells the dispatcher "I gotta go." The dispatcher attempts to give delivery instructions but goes unanswered and moments later Griffin's first cries are heard.
"It happened so fast," Ray Willardson said. "I don't know if I had time to really panic."
Griffin is the couple's second child and both parents said their experience when Sophie was born helped them through the experience.
"If it wasn't for that, I don't know what I would have done," Ray Willardson said.
Abigail Willardson said the couples instincts took over and after one good push Griffin "slipped right out."
The couple said paramedics arrived soon after Griffin was born. On scene, medical personnel were calm and told the parents that Griffin looked healthy, which was confirmed when they family finally made their way to the hospital.
"He passed all of the tests and everything," Abigail Willardson said.
Those first chaotic moments aside, the couple said Griffin is a well-behaved little boy. He always lets them know when he's hungry, they said, but doesn't keep them up too much at night.
Email:benwood@desnews.com
