Firefighters save life of two-day-old Grand Prairie baby who stopped breathing

A Grand Prairie mom got to meet and thank the heroes who saved her newborn daughter's life.

Baby MacKenzie was just two days old when she suddenly stopped breathing. The firefighters who responded managed to revive her on the way to the hospital.

MacKenzie stopped breathing for more than 10 minutes. She’s still recovering, but her parents were happy to formally introduce their daughter to the firefighters who wouldn’t give up on saving her life nearly six weeks ago.

Lt. Adan Elizarraras first met MacKenzie on Feb. 26 after a frantic 911 call.

“She was laying in my lap and she let out a scream and then went limp and stopped breathing,” said mom Mikayla Harris. “I was terrified!”

Her grandmother Cathy MacLeod ran in from the other room.

“I kind of put her in the palm of my hand and thinking maybe that would get things going,” MacLeod said.

Dispatcher Alerick Anthony worked to guide her through CPR.

“She was already on the right path, so what I pretty much had to do, you know, make sure she had the right tempo, make sure she had the right pressure,” Anthony said.

Firefighters arrived and rushed the unresponsive infant to the hospital. But MacKenzie would spend the next three and half weeks recovering at Children's Medical Center in Dallas.

She’s now 38 days old and still relies on a feeding tube. She’s at home recovering and the cause of her initial condition is still a mystery.

“They couldn't find any real reason why her heart stopped,” Harris said.

The family credits the first responders with saving MacKenzie’s life -- but the firefighters give that credit to grandma for her quick thinking.

“I don't believe that we would have the outcome we have today if it weren't for you,” firefighter Robert Mazac said to MacLeod.

It’s a happy ending and sigh of relief for a group of first responders who just kept thinking of their own children as they fought to give MacKenzie her chance at a future.

“We’re just gonna be excited to see her grow up and she has six new dads at the fire department so we’re excited for that.”