Facebook group helps man get to hospital for birth of son during massive snowstorm

The Pittsburgh-area county community rallied to help a soon-to-be father be there for the birth of his son during a historic snowstorm on Sunday.

Around 5 a.m. on Sunday, Jordan Siters' water broke, about three weeks ahead of her Feb 15 due date. The first-time mom and her boyfriend, Dalton Tabron, called an ambulance.

Their fears of becoming first-time parents were heightened not only by the relentless snow falling outside but also by the ambulance's arrival. Tabron was told that because of the weather, he couldn't ride along to the hospital. 

"I had to watch her leave upset because I couldn't go with her, and I was scared of missing the birth," Tabron said.

Desperate to find a ride in a car durable enough to take on the weather for the 20-minute drive from Belle Vernon to Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, the soon-to-be father turned to Facebook and a neighborhood crime watch page.

"At first, they heard over scanner about Jordan's water breaking," Tabron said. "I saw it, and when I found out I couldn't go, I did reach out."

The post with Tabron's desperate plea for someone brave with a 4-wheel drive vehicle was shared dozens of times. Then, about an hour and a half after Siters left for the hospital, Tabron got a call from someone willing to help.

"I just kept thanking them and God for them coming to save the day and drive on the roads with how bad they were when no one else wanted to," Tabron said. 

Tabron got to the hospital in plenty of time to be by Siters' side and welcome their first baby into the world. The baby boy was born around 4 p.m. Sunday.

The experience is also what inspired the name for their snowstorm baby. Tabron said the couple took a suggestion from the Facebook group that made it their mission to reunite the new family when the forecast forced them apart.

"That's where Bylur came from," Tabron said. "Everyone in the group wanted a snowstorm name."

Used in names or titles to evoke winter or powerful natural phenomena, "Bylur" is the Icelandic word for snowstorm.

Like the name, Siters said having her first child during the area's worst winter storm in over a decade wasn't planned, but she said it was definitely worth it.