Barrington Hills police officers Brian Baird, left, and William Walsh checked in on newborn Jaxtyn Schwartzlow at Amita St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates last week, after lending his parents a hand with a roadside delivery.
Two Barrington Hills police officers are credited with a huge assist for their help at the scene of the roadside delivery of a baby boy last week.
Besides his parents, Grace and Tyler Schwartzlow of Wonder Lake, officers William Walsh and Brian Baird were the first to welcome baby Jaxtyn into the world when he arrived sooner than expected last Tuesday morning.
“Mom and Dad did most of the heavy lifting,” Walsh told us this week. “Our first concern was the baby’s well-being. Find his vital signs, make sure he had clear and unobstructed airway. Make sure he’s breathing, has a heartbeat, his fingers were moving.”
It all went down just before 7 a.m. March 2, as the Schwartzlows were on their way to Amita St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates for the birth of their third child. Grace’s water had broken about 5:40 a.m.
As they drove down Algonquin Road in the family minivan, it became clear to Grace that Jaxtyn wasn’t going to hold off until they reached the hospital.
“I knew he wasn’t going to wait, so I told my husband to pull off on a side road and call 911,” she said.
Tyler pulled over at Old Sutton Road and phoned for help, while Grace reclined her seat as far back as she could to prepare for what seemed inevitable. “Obviously, you knew it was a possibility, but until 30 seconds before we pulled over on the side of the road, I didn’t think there was a possibility that we wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time,” Tyler said. “(Grace) was really keeping her cool, but for a couple of minutes, there was a little bit of panic for me.”
Read more of the Daily Herald column here.
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