KICKS 105’s Danny Merrell Shares Details, Photos of His First Grandchild, Anabella

A little over 29 years ago, Chandler Danielle Mae Merrell was born at Nacogdoches Medical Center.

In the hours leading up to her delivery, I did live updates on KICKS 105 radio.

Anabella Arrives

On July 30, 2025, my oldest daughter gave birth to Anabella Mae Oriti, my first grandchild.

She weighed 5 pounds, 10.5 ounces, and measured 19 inches in length. She was born approximately three weeks early.

Surprise #1

On Tuesday, July 29, my daughter went to see her OB/GYN for a check-up. Little did she know that she wouldn't be going back home for several days.

Chandler was coming up on the 37th week of her pregnancy, but her doctor saw that her amniotic fluid was low and decided that inducing now would be the safest option.

So, my wife and I got the call that she was going to be admitted into St. Luke's in Sugar Land. We made the trip to Houston to be there for Anabella's arrival and to help Chandler and Adam (husband) with whatever they needed.

Surprise #2

Glenda and I spent the night at Chandler's house, about a 30-minute drive to her hospital in Sugar Land. We gave our daughter one instruction: please text us when you have dilated to about a four, giving us plenty of time to get there for Bella's arrival.

Without going into too many medical details, Pitocin was administered when Chandler was half-asleep. She went from a 1 to a 10 in less than two hours.

So, basically, when she fully awoke, she was fully dilated. That's when the text came to my wife and me that we needed to "Get Here!"

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Some Things We Learned In Our Haste

Basic functions become exponentially complicated when you're in emergency rush mode. Such as:

• Dropping your toothbrush on the floor when brushing your teeth.
• Setting up a retractable doggie gate. Finally got it to work, even though it was upside down.
• Forgot to put the doggies inside the room with the doggie gate.
• Had to set up the doggie gate again

My worries about getting stopped for speeding on the way to the hospital were unfounded. Apparently, going 20 miles an hour over the speed limit does not merit staying in the passing lane in Houston.

Giving Thanks to God

In all things, give thanks to God. Even when life brings you bad news or terrible events, give praise to Him. God loves you so much that he has given you life and the gift of the opportunity for eternal salvation.

That is the greatest gift of all.

The addition of Anabella ranks way up there, too. Thank you, Jesus.