Looking forward to a blessed year with their newborn
Stolen baby Danisha Maxwell back safely in her mother’s arms.
ALTHOUGH MANY persons kicked off the beginning of a new year in merriment, with hopes and dreams and the possibilities of great things to come, it is quite likely that no family was happier than Milton Maxwell and his wife Angel Praba, who held their one-month-old baby close as the clock struck midnight. Giving thanks for having her back after she was snatched mere inches from her mother’s arms at the University Hospital of the West Indies in December last year.
On December 9 last year, one-day-old baby Danisha Milton Maxwell, who turned a month old last week, was asleep in a cot next to her mother. After nurses administered pain medication to Praba, she became drowsy and fell asleep. When she woke up her baby was missing.
The horror that followed, and later the relief of getting their second child back, is something the Maxwells never want to experience again.
Today, Danisha’s parents are trying not to focus on what happened, but to bask in their blessings.
“It was a special Christmas and new year for us. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start my new year, and it was all because of our baby. She is the perfect gift,” the proud father told The Gleaner. “On Christmas Day, we went to church and then we had a gettogether with friends, and it was the same thing New Year’s Day. When we went to church, the reverend prayed for her and also prayed for us, so it has been a fabulous time,” he continued. Praba noted that though the incident was very scary, she is now experiencing limitless joy and happiness. “When I didn’t see her ... oh, I don’t want to remember that day, it was a bad day. The first time I saw that my baby was alive and back in my arms, I can’t explain the happiness I felt. When she went missing I cried tears of sadness; but when she came back, we cried tears of happiness. I prayed so hard for them to take back my child,” she recalled. Maxwell said, “She called me at 10:40 in the morning, saying that the baby is missing. I couldn’t say anything, I was just blank. We checked everywhere, even the dust bin,” he said smiling. “At three o clock, we were still confused and then at about 5:45 (the same day), while I was at the prime minister’s office, I was informed that my baby was found.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start my new year and it was all because of our baby. She is the perfect gift. ”