CHICAGO – The couple was determined to get to Grant Park on Election Night, despite the fact that the pregnant woman was six days overdue. They had tickets –– so they were going.
Mawi Asgedom said he and his wife listened to Obama speak, awed, but all the while recording contractions every three to four minutes for about 90 minutes. When the pain became too intense, the pair made their way out of the park and tried to get a cab to take them to the hospital.
Since the streets around the Grant Park event were closed to traffic, the cab search was futile. Asgedom said they walked the mile to Prentice Women’s Hospital, pausing every couple of minutes for more frequent contractions.
The woman was five-centimeters dialated when they arrived at the hospital and their son was born at 5 a.m.
Asgedom said the couple considered naming the boy Barack Hussein Asgedom, but opted for the name they had, apparently, settled on previously: Sawyer Tewolde Asgedom.
Like Obama, Sawyer is the son of an East African man and a Midwestern woman. Sawyer’s mom grew up in Fulton, Ill., and Mawi is a former refugee from Ethiopia who has been a resident of Illinois since age 7.
Mawi Asgedom referred to Tuesday night as “the best 12 hours of our lives,” adding that he knows his son “can do and be anything” in this country.