For Zavier Pestana’s parents, Melissa and Paul, the morning of December 18, 2013 was as crazy and hectic as it could be. Melissa was convinced she would have to deliver the baby in their home, but firefighters were immediately rushed over after Paul made a frantic 911 call. As soon as Melissa was in the back of the ambulance, she delivered Zavier, 7 weeks early. He didn’t have a pulse, and firefighters carefully started CPR on the tiny infant. But what was even more dangerous was the fact that Zavier was still in his amniotic sac. “The danger in itself it would be like trying to breathe with a dry cleaning bag over your face,” Capt. Glen Morgan said.
The team was able to remove the sac and continue CPR until they arrived at the hospital. It wasn’t until that Zavier’s umbilical cord was removed that he took his first breath on his own. Now, almost 2 months after the ordeal, Zavier and his parents visited the firefighters that saved his life.
