Let’s get one thing straight here: Is there really anything Chick-fil-A can’t do??
You may know the basic overachievements like always being closed on Sundays because the founder Truett Cathy loved Jesus. Or that they never fail to leave us feeling like we graced them with our presence (it is actually their pleasure to serve you). Not to mention, for less than $10 and 10 minutes, you can get what I like to call, the Lord’s chicken.
And don’t even get me started on those waffle fries.
Chick-fil-A does it all. They have mommy car-side pick-up so you don’t have to lug four littles into a busy restaurant or wait in the drive-thru. They give back to the community, and y’all, their food is down-right crave-able.
But did you know Chick-fil-A also delivers babies?
A San Antonio Chick-fil-A made headlines this past month after a laboring Texas mom made the obvious choice of stopping by the chicken palace before welcoming her little nugget into the world! (See what I did there?)
As Falon ‘Maggie’ Griffin went into labor on July 17th, she and her husband Robert had a plan: load their daughters up in the car, meet their family friend at their favorite spot — Chick-fil-A — to hand the girls off, and head to the hospital to welcome their new baby girl.
Two of the three went according to plan.
“By the time we got to the restaurant , Maggie was in active labor and said she REALLY had to go to the bathroom. But it was after 10pm and Chick-Fil-A was closed,” Robert writes in a Facebook post, detailing the events of the night.
They knocked on the glass and the Chick-fil-A staff let Maggie in to use the restroom as Robert finished loading the kids into their friend’s car.
When he returned to find Maggie inside the restaurant, a manager informed Robert that his wife was in the bathroom and she was screaming.
A High-Risk Pregnancy
Maggie’s pregnancy had been considered high-risk for several reasons according to grantability.com. A combination of Maggie’s epileptic seizures and the fact that she’s 36 years old, had doctors on high alert.
“The delivery date was set for August 1st. The Griffins were told that there would be eight to ten doctors in the room to assist with the birth as well as residents from University Hospital to observe. It was planned that the baby would be rushed to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) following her birth where she would undergo testing, including an echocardiogram, to ensure her health was stable. Maggie was told that there would be no skin-to-skin contact following the birth until after all testing was complete.”
Fast forward to July 17th.
There are no doctors, no residents, no machines and no monitors. Just Robert and Maggie, alone, in a Chick-fil-A bathroom stall, in active labor.
“I was praying to God in the stall,” says Maggie. “That’s all I could do was pray.”
“So there we were,” Robert continues. “My wife and I in a tiny stall in the bathroom, and I could see the top of our little girls head crowning as maggie was straddling the toilet. I told Maggie, ‘sweetie, we are gonna have to do this right here, right now.’”
Robert called for a manager to dial 911 and bring any clean towels as he and Maggie began to deliver their baby.
“When she got to the shoulders, I realized the chord was wrapped around her neck TWICE.”
As to not panic Maggie, Robert calmly told his wife to relax for a minute and was “somehow able to unwrap the chord from the baby’s neck/“
“With two more strong pushes, and using my shirt for a towel, out came Gracelyn Mae Violet Griffin.”
Paramedics arrived about ten minutes later and the restaurant staff helped keep Gracelyn warm by heating up towels in the kitchen.
“Cut the chord while still in the bathroom, kept Gracie stable and mom calm, and it all worked out….not as planned, but everyone’s healthy.”
As all of the chaos started to wind down, Maggie began to replay the last 30 minutes of her life.
“Oh my gosh we just had a baby in Chick-Fil-A,” Maggie told a local San Antonio news station. “I was like, ‘This really happened. How is this my life right now?'”
In addition to Gracelyn’s birth certificate reading, “Born in Chick-fil-A,” the hospital had Robert sign as the attending physician.
Chick-fil-A also awarded Gracelyn with their own certificate, blessing her with free Chick-fil-A for life, and a guaranteed first job when she turns 14.
The store operator is already helping to plan Gracelyn’s first birthday party bash at Chick-fil-A.
Praises for this little miracle and her mommy’s health as well as God’s incredible equipping of Robert and the Chick-fil-A staff.
And as always, praises for Chick-fil-A. Truett Cathy would be proud.
