Woman Nearly Gives Birth at Obamapalooza

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 6, 2008 11:25PM

Obamapalooza was a memorable experience for anyone who attended, but it's even more memorable for attendees Erin and Mawi Asgedom. The couple were watching President Elect Obama speak when Erin went into labor. She said, "Before we went, we realized that our contractions were about seven minutes apart. We decided to take the risk and witness something that was very historic." The couple left and walk nearly a mile to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where Erin was admitted and gave birth to a healthy Sawyer Tewolde Asgedom. Father Mawi, an immigrant from Ethiopia, said, "I feel like I've had the best 12 hours one can have. I got to witness a momentous moment in the history of democracy, Barack Obama, and then now I have my son here, who can be anyone he wants to be."