BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
Once Mrs. Candace Crossley went into labor at her Wesley Chapel home, things happened quickly. Within a very short time, she, her husband, Clenton Crossley, her 2-year-old daughter, Cayla, and older sister, Ms. Chrystal Bussey, were in the car en route to the hospital.
Her due date was November 15th. However, as the labor pains began to come closer together, Mrs. Crossley realized they weren’t going to make it to the hospital. Her husband pulled the car over to the side of the road and she said, Ms. Bussey went around to the front passenger side as the 9-1-1 dispatcher gave instructions over the phone.
“I’m glad my sister was there. We stayed calm and we all had a part to play,” Mrs. Crossley said.
Within five minutes, Catelyn Crossley made her debut into the world. She weighs 5 pounds, 13 ounces and is a healthy addition to the family.
Once emergency personnel arrived, mother and daughter were transported to St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital. Both are doing well.
Of the birth that is unique is more than one way, Mrs. Crossley said, “It was amazing and I feel blessed because so many things could have gone wrong. But it didn’t and she’s just perfect.”
A Tampa native, Mrs. Crossley graduated from Hillsborough High School in 2004. She’s a stay-at-home wife and mother.
When asked if she plans on having more children, she said no, and that her husband is “fine with two girls.”
As far as her daughter being born on Halloween, Mrs. Crossley said, “It’s just something freaky that happened on Halloween.”
