CINCINNATI — It was 21 years ago a firefighter delivered a baby girl in southwest Ohio. But what makes this story even more remarkable is the two have formed a friendship.
What You Need To Know
- Will Mueller delivered Camryn Hagl in an ambulance 21 years ago
- Mueller said he wasn’t even supposed to work that shift, but added it to distract him from the anniversary of his father’s death
- Camryn’s mom, Julie, promised Mueller she would stay in touch and did just that, bringing Camryn to the firehouse every year on her birthday
- Now, Camryn and Mueller have created a special bond; she even invited him to her high school graduation and her upcoming Air Force swearing-in
It was the middle of the night when the Colerain fire department got the call for a potential baby delivery. Julie Hagl remembers it like it was yesterday.
“We pulled off the side of the road, which I didn’t know that we did and he said your water broke and then the next thing you know, here she came!” Julie said.
Colerain Fire Department got the call for a baby delivery in the middle of the night on March 3, 2022 (Spectrum News/Katie Kapusta)
Will Mueller helped deliver little Camryn Hagl.
“I was born in an ambulance,” Camryn said. “I was very quick and easy. Obviously Will cut my umbilical cord and my dad was right behind us. But he’s always late to everything so he couldn’t, unfortunately, be there, but it is what it is and I’ve built a relationship with Will.”
Mueller wasn’t even supposed to work that shift that night.
“It was the one-year anniversary of my father’s death, and I had picked up an extra shift just to distract myself away from that memory,” Mueller said. “And little did I know that later on that night that we would be called for a potential delivery. And so now each year this event comes around, I’m reminded more of the gift of life as opposed to the anniversary of my father’s death.”
But that wasn’t Mueller’s first delivery nor the first time he was promised the family would stay in touch. But that’s where this story turns different.
“Since I had heard it before, I thought well sure that would be great if we stayed in touch but I wasn’t really expecting it to be honest,” Mueller said.
But Julie brought baby Camryn to the firehouse, and that continued.
Julie Hagl brought Camryn to the firehouse as a baby and continued to do so. (Will Mueller)
“My husband said we have to make sure we keep in touch with them,” Julie said. “So it was probably, I’m going to say six months, Camry was about six months and we went to visit and we just haven’t stopped visiting.”
Now, the two meet every year on Camryn’s birthday. Mueller has seen Camryn grow up through the years. Camryn even inviting him to her big life events, including her next big step in life, the Air Force reserves.
Camryn and Mueller have created a special relationship (Spectrum News/Katie Kapusta)
“He’s kind of like a second dad to me,” Camryn said. “I invited him to my graduationm and he’ll be there when I swear in to the Air Force.”
Mueller gets emotional thinking about being included in Camryn’s life like this and said it’s meant so much to have this special relationship.
The two plan to stay in touch after Camryn leaves for the Air Force reserves (Spectrum News/Katie Kapusta)
“To see her make these life decisions, to be able to walk alongside her in that, to be able to celebrate these moments with her really does mean a lot,” he said.
