Most of the city was furious at city workers during the great Blizzard of 2010 — but one family was praising two NYPD heroes who rushed an expectant mom through the storm so she could deliver a little snowball of joy on Monday.
Baylee Kaityln Gonzalez was born at Wyckoff Hospital in Bushwick — and as happy as parents Chastity Guadmud and Frank Gonzalez were, they reserved some of their joy for Officers Walter Sledge and Mymon Roriguez.
“The Police Department went above and beyond for us,” said Frank. “They got a lot of flack over the last couple of days, but what they did made the difference.”
Gonzalez, already the father of two, said his wife started having the tell-tale contractions at about 7:45 am on Monday — two days before her due date and smack in the teeth of an epic storm that rendered his motor vehicles useless.
“I look out the window and see both our cars completely buried,” said Gonzalez. “There was no way I could drive, so I called 911 and was told that an ambulance was on its way.”
The couple soon realized that Chastity’s contractions were getting closer — and the ambulance was not.
“It was 8:20 am and I got a call from 911 that the ambulance was stuck and couldn’t get through,” Gonzalez explained.
With the ambulance out of service, Officers Sledge and Rodriquez got the call and headed towards the family’s home on Menahan Street in nearby Queens, a neighboring borough.
On the way, the gumshoes caught a big break — a doctor was waiting for a bus and flagged down the officers.
As luck would have it, the doctor worked in maternity, so the dynamic duo was now a trio of heroes.
The snow angels were unable to make it directly to the house and had to park four blocks away, trekking the rest of the way on foot.
“The doctor evaluated Chastity and said either you can start boiling water to deliver this baby at home or you can try to make it to the car,” Gonzalez said. “We didn’t want to have the baby here because what if something went wrong?”
So the entire group left the house and headed to the car, reaching it after 20 minutes of serious drama.
“My wife was doubling over in pain, while I held her up and the two police officers tried to clear the snow away with their feet,” Gonzalez said. “We just didn’t know what else to do.”
The officers put the pedal to the metal — but Mother Nature (some mother!) kept hurling snow. The squad car didn’t get to the hospital until after 9:15 am.
“Blizzard Baby” Baylee was born at 12:50 pm weighing six pounds, six ounces. Her parents and two brothers know it wouldn’t have been possible without two officers who wouldn’t quit.
“I’m so happy she didn’t have to be born at home,” said Chastity. “What those officers did was amazing, we’re very grateful.”
