It’s been over four months since one of Jefferson’s youngest residents was brought back to life and her family couldn’t be happier.

Cecillia is the daughter of Brooklyn Smithson and Monty Westphalls. On June 12th, when Cecillia was just four-days-old she stopped breathing. Brooklyn describes the incident and her reaction.

“She kind of looked weird. So I called my mom (Christy Smithson) back in and at that moment she started changing colors and (we) couldn’t find a heartbeat or anything. I was in pure panic mode. I really didn’t have time to think about things, I just kind of rushed around. I was very disoriented, like I couldn’t find my way around my own house.”

Cecillia’s heartbeat came back when Jefferson Police Captain Heath Enns responded and performed CPR. Then Cecillia was taken to Greene County Medical Center and later transported by air ambulance to Blank Children’s Hospital. Cecillia’s grandmother Christy Smithson tells Raccoon Valley Radio, Cecillia was diagnosed with several medical issues, with the most serious being trisomy 13 as a fatal outcome. However, when Cecillia was treated at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City her diagnosis was changed to non-fatal. Christy shares her reaction to the new result.

“Just the fact that she’s not fatal, that right there was a huge blessing. Because disabilities and disorders, we can live with those, that’s not a problem. But how do you accept losing your child?”

Some of Cecillia’s other medical conditions include pierre robben, which is an undeveloped lower jaw that allows her tongue to slip back in her mouth and cut off her breathing; laryngomalacia, which is the lack of cartilage in her throat causes her trachea to collapse on itself. There is also an issue with a vein above her heart that may require surgery in the future. Cecilla is also medically diagnosed as blind. 

Brooklyn says her baby requires 24-hour care, and constant trips to the hospitals in Des Moines and Iowa City. While it will be an uphill battle for her baby, Brooklyn says she’s thankful her child is alive.