LOGAN, Utah — A family gathered last week to celebrate the arrival of their newborn baby, not knowing that her arrival would help save her grandfather.
Baby Gia was born a little early, at just 37 weeks old, at Logan's Cache Valley Hospital on Sept. 3. She was healthy and right away, her family's whole world.
The next day, her grandparents came to visit their very first granddaughter at the hospital.
"It was just a normal morning," said Gia's mother, Aintzane Simpkins.
Simpkins' father got up because he was experiencing heartburn. That's when everything quickly changed.
"All of a sudden, he just falls to the ground," Simpkins said.
Within seconds, staff rushed to their hospital room, trying to revive him. Derek McLeod, a registered nurse at Cache Valley Hospital, said Gia's grandfather basically died. After CPR and four shocks, hospital staff brought him back to life. McLeod said his heart was working at just 20 percent when he was flown by helicopter to Ogden Regional Medical Center, where surgeons implanted a defibrillator.
"We're very blessed that it happened right here because they saved her grandpa's life," said Valerie Aguirre Alt, Gia's grandmother.
Now home, Gia's grandfather, Toby, 53, is sore with some fractured ribs — but alive.
"It really hit close to home for me because this gentleman is the exact same age as me and I have a grandson and I can't imagine not being there to watch my grandson grow up," McLeod said.
The family says they believe baby Gia's arrival brought new life, yes, but also a miracle.
"We call her our little lifesaver," Simpkins said.
