A woman went into labor inside a McDonald's bathroom in Lake Wales on Monday and gave birth to a baby boy with the help of some employees.
"She said to a couple of employees, 'Go and get something'", said the woman's grandmother, Barbara Albert. "She said, 'Get some boxes and let's flatten them out and get her to lay down. She can't have the baby over the toilet.'"
Albert said her granddaughter, Shardonnay Hill, 20, was only 6 months pregnant. They stopped at the McDonald's at 416 W. Central Ave. in Lake Wales at about 9:30 a.m.
"I stopped to get a cup of coffee," Albert said. "She stopped to use the bathroom."
The grandma said a few McDonald's employees helped Hill give birth while talking to a Polk County dispatcher. Bay News 9 got a copy of that 6 minute call. The baby was born a little more than 5 minutes into the call.
Caller: "The baby's out."
911: "The baby's completely out of her, still in the sack?"
Caller: "Should we bust it?"
911: "Yes, go ahead and bust the sack."
Caller: "Oh, the little baby's moving. There he is."
911: "Is the baby crying or moving?"
Caller: "Not yet."
Albert said the baby was not breathing when he was born but luckily at that point paramedics had arrived.
"The paramedics finally gotten there," she said. "At that time, I seen the baby changing color."
The grandma said the baby was transported to Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport and was later airlifted to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
"I just hope and pray that the baby will be okay," said Albert. "She's a young mother, it's her first pregnancy, first baby. So she's upset."
Albert said the baby boy's name is Joshua murphy. The baby's aunt said he'll likely get a nickname.
"That's her favorite restaurant and we need to call him Ronald," said Vanessa Richardson. "That's what we need to call him. His nickname is going to be Ronald McDonald."
A McDonald's manager declined a request for an interview.