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GIVE TODAY >>'Miracle Jane Doe': 9-year-old Guardian Angel saves life of abandoned newborn
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Nine-year-old Elysia Laub is being called a "guardian angel" after discovering a newborn baby lying in her backyard and ultimately saving the baby's life.
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
7/12/2016 (1 decade ago)
Published in Marriage & Family
Keywords: Newborn, abandoned newborn, baby, Indiana, Guardian angel, Miracle, Jane Doe, Safe Haven
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "I knew it was alive and I knew we had something. I could not second guess myself. I knew we had to get help," expressed Elysia to NBC Chicago.
Originally believing the small pink object crying was one of her family's baby pigs, Elysia ran to get her mother's help. Elysia's mother, Heidi Laub, quickly urged her to call 911 after they discovered the baby was covered in maggots, and her placenta and umbilical cord were still intact.
"I thought it was a robotic doll. Then I ran to the baby and scooped it up and I said, 'Elysia run to the house and call 911 as soon as possible,'" Heidi stated, explaining they took the baby inside and wrapped her in a blanket.
According to NBC Chicago, the baby only suffers from a minor sunburn, but without Elysia's interference, it is likely she would have died a few hours later. The baby, dubbed "Miracle Jane Doe," is currently still being treated in a hospital.
"It's obvious that this child, from the medical reports, was born just a few hours before it was found," said Sheriff John Buncich, noting that she could have been left out overnight.
The Safe Haven Law is active in most states, including Indian where the newborn was discovered. Mothers have the option to safely and anonymously hand over their child without fear of prosecution.
"They can walk away and they can feel good. They can feel that they have done something responsible and loving," explained Dawn Geres of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation to ABC Chicago.
It is not clear why the baby's mother did not take this route, but police have taken DNA from the newborn in hopes of finding the woman's identity.
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