WASHINGTON — This Christmas is a special one for nine-month-old ZaNiyah and her family.
ZaNiyah was born in March in the middle of Minnesota Avenue, but she wasn't breathing. Members of the D.C. Fire and EMS Department were close by, and were flagged down to help with the delivery of the baby girl.
"We had literally just left an appointment, a sonogram appointment, and they didn't say anything was wrong, so for me to go into labor a few hours later ... it had me worried," Cierra Duckett, ZaNiyah's mom, said.
She was born without a pulse, but D.C.'s Bravest helped her take her first breath. Officials helped ZaNiyah the entire way to the hospital, trying to keep her alive.
"We had hope and we had faith," Duckett said. "And she was fighting, she really fought for her life."
On Christmas Eve, ZaNiyah, her mother Cierra Duckett, and other family members are reuniting with the officials that saved her life. They're celebrating the efforts of D.C.'s Bravest, and the strength ZaNiyah had back in March as she fought for her life.
"They did their job well," Duckett said. "They did their job really well."
D.C. Fire and EMS said members of D.C.'s Bravest received "Cardiac Care Save Coins" from ZaNiyah's mother for their lifesaving efforts. Duckett said she will never forget that day, and will continue to tell ZaNiyah how she was born.
"She was a miracle," Duckett said. "She was saved."
