Last updated on April 7th, 2023 at 05:51 am
A loving military grandfather was granted leave to watch the birth of his granddaughter through a bottom floor hospital window – standing outside for hours into the night.
Jason Wingo, 44, is a staff sergeant with the Arkansas National Guard, but he was determined to be there for the birth of his daughter Clara’s first child.
Having been away from Clara and the family for a month, Jason was able to be granted leave to witness the birth.
Clara was due to give birth on May 21 – a time when Jason was scheduled to be away.
But with Clara’s water breaking on April 26 and Jason still on base nearby, the staff sergeant was granted 24 hours leave, so he rushed to Siloam Springs Hospital in Arkansas right away.
A determined Jason arrived at the hospital window around 2pm in the afternoon and he did not leave until after baby Heidi was born at around 11pm that night.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Clara,16, was only allowed to bring one visitor into the hospital with her, and so she chose her fiancé Devon DiVall.
Carla shared a video of her father’s dedication on TikTok, which showed Jason; his wife, Amber, 39; and Amber’s parents, Barbara and Roscoe Wade, standing outside the window wrapped in blankets.
The video received hundreds of thousands of likes.
Clara, from Gentry, Arkansas, said: “I couldn’t have done it without him – I really loved the support I received from my family.
“When I found out that my family couldn’t be in the room with me, I was devastated, but seeing my dad and having my family comfort me through the phone was the extra push I needed.
“The response on Tik Tok was overwhelming and surprising so many people reached out to let me know this story touched them.”
Story courtesy of T&T Creative Media