‘She is a miracle baby’: Sacramento firefighters reunite with premature baby born on highway

By Carolina Estrada

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — In a heartfelt reunion, Sacramento firefighters reconnected with 6-month-old Daleyza, a baby they saved after she was born prematurely on Highway 99.

One night in June, Jazmin Quijano unexpectedly went into labor at just 22 weeks.

“I just feel like it was more and more, like my contractions,” said Quijano.

The hospital in Stockton, where she was supposed to give birth, wasn’t equipped to care for a premature baby.

Quijano and her husband rushed to UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, but her contractions kept getting stronger.

“I told him [start] calling,” said Quijano. “I know I’m going to have her here.”

They called 911 but it was too late, Quijano said she suddenly felt something warm and her baby was born.

“I wouldn’t hear her cry,” said Quijano.

After breaking the baby’s sac and performing CPR, she did her best to keep her firstborn child alive.

Minutes later, five Sacramento firefighters arrived.

One of the first responders, Adrienne Bisharat, said they found the mother with her baby wrapped up in a sweatshirt on her lap.

“We find out that it’s a premature baby, so that raises the stress level a lot,” said firefighter Jeffrey Switkowski.

The mother and baby were taken to the UC Davis Medical Center, where for 146 days the baby fought for her life.

“I see this small, little baby, she was hooked up to like a lot of stuff,” said Quijano.

Switkowski told KCRA 3 one of his wishes was to meet the baby one day.

That wish came true Wednesday afternoon when Quijano and her daughter made a surprise visit to Sacramento Fire Station 6.

“I’m always going to be very thankful for what they did for her, so now she has a new family,” said Quijano.

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