An officer from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection was reunited with a young girl who he helped deliver six years ago at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to CNN.
Their first meeting happened during a chilly morning on December 8, 2016. Officer J. Lott was having a typically busy day at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which is a major border crossing between Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, California in the United States.
As lanes throughout the San Ysidro Port were swarmed with travelers and the officers that were inspecting their cars, Lott received an emergency call regarding a woman who was in distress.
Lott saved Alexa who was born breech
The call was directed to Lott as he was a trained Emergency Medical Technician. The agency said in a news release that was issued last Thursday that when Lott arrived at the scene, he discovered a pregnant woman who was going into labor inside her car.
Lott said that he just trusted his training at the time. He knew, however, that if he remained calm, the mother, the father, and everyone around him would stay calm. He added that deep down inside, he did not want to fail them.
Alexa Garcia was born breech, meaning that the baby's head was positioned to come out last. That added danger to the pressure of delivering an infant while surrounded by chaos in the port.
After the infant was delivered, the emergency escalated when everyone realized that the baby was not breathing. Lott said that the baby was really blue, and she was not breathing and unresponsive.
Lott said he quickly administered chest compressions on the baby, and after about five or six, Alexa started crying. He said he was already on his knees, and he just buckled. He remembered saying to himself to just keep on breathing baby, please.
Lott and Alexa got to meet again just two months before the child turned six years old. This time, their reunion was under much relaxed circumstances.
Emotional reunion between families of Alexa and Lott
According to the news release, there was not a dry eye in the room when Alexa bounced in at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. She smiled as she made her way toward Lott, giving the officer a hug. It was a happy reunion with Alexa accompanied by her parents and two siblings, while Lott was joined by his wife. The two families had a grand old time as they shared memories from that fateful day.
Both families also exchanged gifts with Lott receiving a framed photograph of himself holding baby Alexa on the day he delivered her, and Alexa receiving a teddy bear in a Customs and Border Protection uniform.
Alexa's dad said during the reunion that he believes God put an angel in their hands that day, and that angel saved his wife and baby's life.
