'Spectacular' Lynchburg Area JFAD crew delivers Pricetown woman's baby in back of ambulance

A Pricetown woman is grateful for the help of Lynchburg Area Joint Fire and Ambulance District personnel, after an unexpectedly fast labor led to EMTs delivering her baby in the back of an ambulance last month.

Having already given birth to two other babies, Virginia Gadzinski thought she had plenty of time to get ready and head to the hospital in Cincinnati when she went into labor with her newborn daughter, Wren. She said her water broke Friday, June 30 at 2:31 a.m., and she jumped in the shower.

Twenty minutes later, she said, she felt the urge to push and called for an ambulance to respond to her home in the Pricetown area.

“I had held off on pushing at home until they got there,” Gadzinski said. “It was a really fast labor.”

Instead of going to Anderson Mercy, where she had planned to deliver, Gadzinski said the Lynchburg Area JFAD crew headed toward Clinton Memorial Hospital in Wilmington. Baby Wren had other plans, however, and the ambulance driver had to pull over at the intersection of state Routes 124 and 134 in Lynchburg.

With the Lynchburg Area JFAD team as well as her mom, Tonya Brown, and boyfriend, Nick Jackson, by her side, Gadzinski gave birth to her 9 pound, 8 ounce baby girl Wren Jackson at 5:01 a.m. in the back of the ambulance.

“It was a two and a half hour labor,” Gadzinski said. “We thought she’d be closer to eight pounds, so [her size] was a surprise. She was definitely my biggest baby, but my fastest delivery and easiest one to heal from.”

Gadzinski had nothing but praise for the individuals who helped deliver baby Wren, including Lora Kelly, Anthony Carrington and JD Moberly of the Lynchburg Area JFAD.

“I was very happy that everything went as well as it did despite the circumstances,” she said. “Lora was the head EMT and was absolutely wonderful.

“Their whole team was spectacular.”

Gadzinski said she asked Kelly if she had ever delivered a baby before, and Kelly told her this was her first time “doing the catching and coaching” as the lead EMT, although she had witnessed two other births in an ambulance.

“She helped keep me calm, that’s for sure,” Gadzinski said.

Lynchburg Area Joint Fire and Ambulance District Chief Jeff Turner told The Highland County Press that for their jurisdiction — serving four townships and the Village of Lynchburg — delivering babies “does not happen very often.”

Two weeks after that eventful birth — on Friday, July 14 — Gadzinski, Jackson and baby Wren paid a visit to the fire station to thank their staff again for their assistance.

“I went over there and brought the baby with me so they could all see her,” Gadzinski said. “They’ve reached out to me since, and I knew they’d love to see her. Lora was over the moon.

“I am beyond happy with their care.”