Firefighters reunite with baby they brought into the world 22 years ago

A beautiful moment of destiny has unfolded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with a reunion between a brave team of firefighters and a young woman they helped deliver 22 years ago. Janea is still getting to know more about herself. “I’ve never seen a baby picture of me,” Janea said, as per WNCT. Its been more than two decades since Winston-Salem firefighters helped deliver Janea Watson as a 22-year-old woman and she recently met with her heroes. “Janea said,  I was just shocked and excited,” Janea said.

“It happened on Nov. 10 at 6:27 in the morning,” said Ron Hepler, former fire captain of Station 3. The team answered their 12th call at a residence located on Greenway Avenue. “Nothing got in our way. We got out and went in, the grandma said ‘we didn’t call any firefighters.’ I said ‘when the ambulance gets here, we’ll back out the way,'” Hepler said.

They understood that they had to take prompt action. "About that time, the mom said ‘the baby was coming.’ I dove from me to you and caught the baby,” Hepler said. “That was my first time seeing a baby picture of me and hearing the story about my birth,” Janea said.

Six months after Janea was born, her grandmother organized the initial reunion. Though Janea was too young to recall the reunion, it's why, more than 20 years later, her grandmother organized another one at Fire Station 3 in Winston-Salem. “I was determined to find him. I found all three of them,” said Jennie Watson, Jane’s grandmother. “They said the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. They had to move in fast…they did a terrific job. Once she cried, that was it. They knew everything was safe.”

“She was shy, but she warmed up to it. I was so happy to see she made it through life to be the person she is now,” Hepler said. Janae is incredibly grateful to the firefighters who responded to the emergency. “I want to say thank you and I’m grateful for them,” she said. Janea said she was grateful for the pride the firefighters had in her growth and development and she expected the relationship to continue for an extended period. The reunion was a souvenir of the incredible work firefighters do every day. It was also a beautiful moment for Janea and the firefighters, who had the opportunity to celebrate a life they helped bring into the world.