'The Newborn Gave Mother Strength to Survive'

Her newborn son was the one who gave her the strength to survive. Mother Diana Patiño kept checking repeatedly to make sure her baby Juan David was still breathing. And as long as her child was alive, she refused to give up hope of survival herself.

On Sunday, speaking to the BBC at a clinic in Caracas, Diana recounted the harrowing memories of the devastating earthquake. She and her 18-day-old son were rescued from the rubble of a collapsed multi-story building.

At the time of the earthquake, she was washing dishes in her eighth-floor apartment in the northern coastal area of La Guaira. At first, she thought it was just a mild tremor, but she quickly grabbed her baby.

Diana said, "I felt like I was flying. Then I felt like I was sinking under water and debris. After that, I fell into a hole and got trapped there. I don't know how I managed to hold onto my baby, because I was flying through the air. I was crashing into furniture."

She said she screamed at first, but later realized no one could hear her. So she told herself not to waste her energy unnecessarily.

Clinging to her son gave her hope to survive: "As long as he was alive, I wanted to stay alive too. Every moment, I kept putting my hand to his nose to check that he was breathing."

She added, "I told myself I wouldn't waste my energy screaming. I would only scream when I heard someone's voice or footsteps nearby. I don't know how I managed to stay so calm. My left leg was trapped under concrete. I couldn't move. One side of my head was pinned against a stone."

Seeing a Bible under her body amidst the rubble gave her renewed hope. "That's when my fight for survival truly began."
Diana could see a faint sliver of light, like the eye of a needle, piercing through the darkness. Moments later, she heard her brother's voice calling her name. That's when she screamed with all her might.

She said, "I told myself, this is my only chance. I screamed at the top of my lungs. With every ounce of strength, I shouted, 'I'm here.' Then he said, 'I've found you, and I promise I won't leave until I get you out.'"

Her brother kept that promise. On Thursday night, after an extremely careful and complex rescue operation, the mother and her newborn son were pulled out alive from the rubble.

Diana suffered serious injuries to both her legs in the earthquake. Fortunately, however, her baby Juan David is almost completely unharmed.

Diana's husband, Gerson, was returning home and parking his car at the exact moment the earthquake struck. He managed to climb over a fence and reach safety, but upon seeing the collapsed building, he had nearly given up hope that his wife and child had survived. Later, he described their rescue as a "miracle."

Last Wednesday, two powerful earthquakes—measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude—struck Venezuela within just one minute of each other. The tremors caused the collapse of numerous multi-story buildings in the capital Caracas, the port city of La Guaira, and surrounding areas. So far, the government has confirmed at least 1,450 deaths. However, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) fears that the death toll could exceed 10,000. Thousands of people are still missing, and rescue operations continue.