Lyndon Cordova and Sara Woodall were scheduled for an induced delivery of their second baby on Friday, June 19 at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs. They’d planned the day accordingly, but when Sara woke Lyndon early on Friday morning, she was already in labor.
Lyndon took their oldest child, Taya, who will be four in November, to her grandparents’ house before getting Sara into the car for the two-plus hour drive to Glenwood from Rangely. When they stopped for gas, Lyndon called the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office and asked about getting a police escort.
“They don’t do that,” Lyndon said, but they did agree that the road construction projects on the highways between Rangely and Rifle were a concern. The sheriff’s office contacted the contractors and a team with a pilot car was waiting for the couple to guide them through construction in a hurry.
The baby didn’t want to wait. About 10 or 15 minutes outside of Rifle on Hwy. 13 Sara told Lyndon she didn’t think they were going to make it to the hospital. Lyndon called 911 and requested an ambulance. They were met at the Rifle bowling alley, Fireside Lanes, by a fire truck, followed by an ambulance. Sara was loaded into the back of the ambulance and Lyndon rode in the front.
“We got on I70 and were about 10 minutes outside of Glenwood in South Canyon,” when Lyndon said he heard Sara scream. Their new daughter, Cora Mae, had arrived, weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz., and 18 inches long.
Lyndon, an employee at Prater Plumbing, said his boss was behind them and picked up the keys to their van from the bowling alley. He’s also grateful for the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office.
“The Sheriff’s Office really came through for us. I would have had to do it [deliver the baby] myself on the side of the road,” Lyndon said.
Mother and baby were both fine and doing well, and had returned home from their first well-baby checkup Monday.
By NIKI TURNER | [email protected]
