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All in the Family: Grandma Delivers Granddaughter

Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009 | Updated 6:42 AM EST

NBC Connecticut

Friday morning started with a trip to the hospital for Shenell Olen. The Hartford mom-to-be says she thought she would give birth to her first child that morning, but doctors sent her home.

Her mom, Cheryl Greene, was with her. “They sent us home around 7 and said she wasn’t ready, so around 10, I go check on her and she was under the covers. I was like 'Are you alright?’ and she was like 'No, the baby’s coming!' I was like, 'The baby can’t be coming now!'"

But little Lliana Marie couldn’t wait. Cheryl called 9-1-1 and 6-year veteran dispatcher Melissa Duncan helped the family deliver the baby. But first, Shenell said, Cheryl had to calm down. “She was freaking out and she ended up handing the phone to my stepfather and he calmly talked to them on the phone.”

Duncan walked stepfather Marlo Black through a couple of critical survival steps before the ambulances arrived. And before long, Cheryl had delivered her own granddaughter.

The whole family says they couldn’t have done it without Duncan’s help. Apparently, delivering babies is something she knows well. She has three girls of her own.